RUINS OF THE CHURCH
The abbey was founded in the beginning of the twelfth century by Saint Bernard.
The major portion of the church dates back, however, a century earlier. It was sacked during the Revolution, but the ruins now covered with verdure have an impressive grandeur.
Enter the principal nave by the doorway seen on the left in the view opposite.
After traversing the body of the church, consisting of the central nave and two side aisles, we see enormous fragments of the arches strewn on the ground. As seen in the photographs on p. [232]. Nature has resumed her sway, and tall trees rise from what was the choir and the apse of the old church.
RUINS OF THE CHURCH
By way of the small but charmingly planned park, we arrive at the abbey buildings proper (see p. [233]), which form the habitation of the proprietor. They are formed of two wings, built in the eighteenth century, and united by a charming arched gallery covered with climbing plants. These buildings were much more extensive before the Revolution, and several hundred monks devoted themselves in the calm of this remote forest-valley to a life of contemplation, interrupted only by rural tasks.
A river traverses the abbey from one end to the other, but the monks made important works in order to render it subterranean for a portion of its length. Thus it passes under the buildings and crosses the centre of the park, flowing through underground arches, so solidly constructed that the passage of centuries has left no apparent weakness.
