Paradoxplace Italy Spain Portugal France Britain Photo & History Galleries

Medieval Christian Church Architecture, Art and History Page Links

European Abbey, Cathedral and Church Pages

About Paradoxplace

French

Abbey, Church and Cathedral Photo Page Links

Link to the Spanish Roads to Santiago de Compostela

Link to Medieval Pilgrims' Roads of France

Link to the Via Francigena - Pilgrims' Road to Rome

Cathedral and Abbey Page Links for      Italy    Britain    Spain & Portugal

Back to France Photo & History Pages        Books about France

This map comes from a great little book titled "Medieval Church Architecture in Western Europe" published by les éditions Fragile.

As the map implies, the book (available in English as well as French) has a French focus.

 Buy from Amazon USA (read the customer review which is as good as it gets - but check to make sure you have the right language edition)

Also sold at some of the (rare) good church bookshops in France.

Links to pages about the Medieval Christian Church

LINK

Paradoxplace pages relating to the Architecture, Art and History of the Medieval Christian Church in Western Europe.

Some Early Medieval French (and other) Saints, Kings and Queens

LINK

The Cistercian Order - History

Intro

1   2

And books on Cistercian Abbeys

Foundation Cistercian Abbeys in Burgundy

LINK

French Cistercian Abbeys

(marked below with an * asterisk)

LINK

Links to all photos of Cistercian Abbeys in Paradoxplace.

NORTH AND CENTRE

Île de France, Picardie, Nord Pas de Calais, Normandie, Bretagne, Centre Val de Loire, Pays de Loire

Including Paradoxplace pages on Paris, Chartres, Le Mans, Tours, Fontevraud

BURGUNDY CHAMPAGNE AND EAST

Bourgogne, Franche Comté, Alsace, Lorraine, Champagne Ardennes

Including Paradoxplace pages on Vézelay, Autun, and Reims

WEST

Poitou Charentes, Limousin, Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrenées, Auvergne

Including Paradoxplace pages on Poitiers, Moissac and Ste-Foy Cathedral (Conques)

SOUTH

Languedoc Roussillon, Rhône Alpes, Pyrenées Atlantiques, Cote d'Azure

NORTH AND CENTRE

Île de France, Picardie, Nord pas de Calais, Normandie, Bretagne, Centre Val de Loire, Pays de Loire

La Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris

Basilique St-Germain des Prés (Paris)

Basilique St-Denis (Paris)

La Trappe Abbey *

Inaccessible "head office" of the Cistercian Trappists (they of the strict observance) in Normandy.  The only time you'll get to see anything other than the gate and smelly gift shop is at Sunday morning mass.

San Benoît-sur-Loire (Fleury Abbey)

Germigny-des-Près (Carolingian Oratory)

La Cathédrale Notre Dame de Chartres

Located to the west of Paris, Chartres is the most medievally complete of the great gothic abbey church / cathedrals of Europe - worth spending at least a day following the sun around the "poor man's bible" narrative stained glass windows, and popping out occasionally to inspect the three great three-door portals.

Église St-Genest, Lavardin (Loir Valley)

Église St-Jacques des Guérets (Loir Valley)

Cathédrale St-Julien, Le Mans

The 400 year story of the building of Le Mans Cathedral

Royal Abbey of  l'Épau, Le Mans *

Royal Abbey of Fontevraud

Burial place of Eleanor of Aquitaine, her second husband - the Plantagenet King Henry II - and son King Richard I.

Cathédrale St-Maurice, Angers

Cathédrale St-Gatien, Tours

Noirlac Abbey *

Beautifully restored Cistercian Abbey, cloister, chapter house, unusual two storey refectory etc in the classically simple Cistercian Romanesque style located in central France.  Now a very accessible museum, 9 hours a day, 7 days a week, and also used for concerts etc

Sept Fons Abbey *

Energized, friendly and youthful 50 strong Cistercian monastic community in uncistercian architectural surroundings.

BURGUNDY, CHAMPAGNE AND EAST

Bourgogne, Franche Comté, Alsace, Lorraine, Champagne Ardennes

La Cathédrale Notre Dame de Reims (Champagne)

On the site where Pepin was baptized (maybe), dozens of French Kings were crowned, and in the city wiped out by German artillery in WW I and where they surrendered to end WW II.

Basilique St-Remi (Reims, Champagne)

Huge Romanesque Abbey Church on the outskirts of central Reims

Vignory, Church of Saint Etienne (Champagne)

If you want to see an unusually original and extremely old church, on the medieval Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome but absolutely away from the touring circuit, then Vignory is one option.  The nave, apse and ambulatory of L'Eglise Saint-Etienne de Vignory (just north of Chaumont in Champagne) are essentially the same as when they were built in the mid 1000s.  It is said that the design of the arrestingly beautiful Abbey of Sant'Antimo in Tuscany was based on Vignory. 

Basilique Ste-Madeleine, Vézelay (Burgundy)

MORE

Benedictine abbey and major pilgrimage centre, now in the care of the the Fraternité Monastique de Jérusalem.  Maybe the greatest of Romanesque spaces, filled with light and narrative sculptures.

Salieu - Basilica of Saint Andoche (Burgundy)

The old Abbey Church, now Basilica of Saint Andoche, has been beautifully restored over the past six years and has more West Burgundian narrative capitals ... this time with tasteful modern lighting available.

Avallon - Eglise St-Lazare

Old much altered Clunaic Priory church which used to have a bit of Lazarus' skull, and now has an old set of carved Zodiac signs over the porch.

Autun, Cathédrale St-Lazare (Burgundy) & Musée Rolin

The Cathedral dates back to the 1100s, and includes a magnificent medieval tympanum and other narrative sculptures which are amongst the best preserved examples of their genres in existence.

Abbey of Cluny (Burgundy)

One tower remainder and reminder of the the first internationally powerful abbey of the early middle ages, north of Macon.

The 5 Foundation Cistercian Abbeys *

Citeaux, Pontigny, Clairvaux, Morimond and La Ferté (all in Burgundy)

Abbey of Citeaux *

Just down the road from Nuits St-Georges and where the Cistercians started.  Now note of the forest and only a bit of one of the old abbey buildings left, and the Cistercians who have reinhabitated the place make even that difficult to visit.

Abbey Church of Pontigny *

The only foundation Cistercian abbey church still there.

Morimond Abbey *

Foundation Cistercian abbey, now just a ruined arch in a peaceful meadow.

Abbey of Fontenay *

Classic Cistercian abbey and monastery in a beautiful setting.  Now a museum.

SOUTH WEST

Poitou Charentes, Limousin, Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrenées, Auvergne

Notre Dame la Grande, Poitiers

Cathédrale St-Pierre, Poitiers

Baptistère St-Jean, Poitiers

L'Église Ste-Radegonde, Poitiers

L'Église St-Hilaire, Poitiers

Abbaye St-Savin-sur-Gartempe

Église St-Nicholas, Civray

Église St-Pierre, Aulnay

Cathédrale St-Front, Périgueux

Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Bazas

Église St-Saveur, St-Macaire

Abbaye St-Pierre de Moissac

Home to the oldest cloister in Europe and, most importantly, the iconic Romanesque trumeau statue of the Prophet Jeremiah.  It is in fact probable that the main capital sculptures of the lower cloister of the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos (south of Burgos in Spain) are a bit older.

Villeneuve d'Aveyron

Wall paintings of medieval pilgrims in the old part of the bastide monastery church.

Carthusian Hospital Monastery of  Saint Sauveur,  Villefranche-de-Rouergue

Notre Dame de Villefranche-de-Rouergue

LINK

LINK

Closed to visitors October 1 to June 30

Rare (for France) set of in situ misericords

Cathédrale Ste-Foy de Conques

Magic old pilgrimage abbey tucked away on the side of the steep Dordou valley just under the Auvergne.

Église de Perse (Espalion)

Bessuéjouls (pilgrims' church near Espalion)

Evocative little Romanesque pilgrims' chapel in a church tower on the via Podiensis

St-Côme d'Olt

Aubrac

Old monastery and hospice church on the freezing plain of Aubrac.

Notre Dame Cathedral, Le Puy

Plus a ground view of Bishop Godescalk's Chapelle St-Michel-d'Aiguilhe - perched 82M (270 ft) in the sky and accessible via 268 steps which we did not take.

Basilique St-Juien, Brioude

SOUTH

Languedoc Roussillon, Rhône Alpes, Pyrenées Atlantiques, Cote d'Azure

Fontfroide Abbey *

Valmagne Abbey *

Senanque Abbey *

For other Paradoxplace links visit the home page

All original material on this site © Adrian Fletcher 2000-2013.  The contents may not be hotlinked, or reproduced without permission.