Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sept-Fons

Diou

The stubborn silence of a monastic community nearly nine hundred years old, still alive amid the ponds of the Sologne bourbonnaise.

Founded in 1132 by monks from the abbey of Fontenay, on a marshy heath then considered unhealthy, the abbey of Notre-Dame de Sept-Fons belongs to the Cistercian order. Ruined several times during the Hundred Years' War and then the Wars of Religion, suppressed at the Revolution in 1791, it was re-established in 1845 by Trappist monks, who restored it for good. The community, one of the largest in France, long ran a brewery and developed "Germaline", one of the very first dietary food supplements marketed in France.

Getting there : Not listed as a historic monument; abbey still active (Trappist monks), guesthouse and shop open to visitors, services open to the public. Approximate coordinates (abbey site, commune of Diou).

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound