Royaumont Abbey is a former

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

, located near

Asnières-sur-Oise Asnières-sur-Oise (, literally ''Asnières on Oise'') is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. The 13th–18th century Royaumont Abbey is located in the commune. Population Twin towns * Cutigliano, Italy ...

Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.

, approximately 30 km north of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

History

It was built between 1228 and 1235 with the support of

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

. Several members of the French Royal family were buried here (and not in

Saint Denis Basilica The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...

), for example, three children and two grandchildren of Louis IX. The thirteenth century encyclopedist

Vincent of Beauvais Vincent of Beauvais ( la, Vincentius Bellovacensis or ''Vincentius Burgundus''; c. 1264) was a Dominican friar at the Cistercian monastery of Royaumont Abbey, France. He is known mostly for his ''Speculum Maius'' (''Great mirror''), a major work ...

was a brother at the Abbey as well. The abbey was dissolved in 1791 during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

and the stones were partly used to build a factory. However, the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

, and

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the La ...

remained intact. In 1836 and 1838, respectively, two operas by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

composer

Friedrich von Flotow Friedrich Adolf Ferdinand, Freiherr von Flotow /flo:to/ (27 April 1812 – 24 January 1883) was a German composer. He is chiefly remembered for his opera ''Martha'', which was popular in the 19th century and the early part of the 20th. Life ...

opened at Royaumont—''Sérafine'' and ''Le Comte de Saint-Mégrin''. In the early 20th century, the abbey was bought by the Goüin family who in 1964 created the Royaumont Foundation, the first private French cultural foundation. Today, the abbey is a tourist attraction and also serves as a cultural centre.

World War I

From January 1915 to March 1919 the Abbey was turned into a voluntary hospital, Hôpital Auxiliaire 301, operated by

Scottish Women's Hospitals The Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Services (SWH) was founded in 1914. It was led by Dr. Elsie Inglis and provided nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, cooks and orderlies. By the end of World War I, 14 medical units had been outfitted and ...

(SWH), under the direction of the

French Red Cross The French Red Cross (french: Croix-Rouge française), or the CRF, is the national Red Cross Society in France founded in 1864 and originally known as the ''Société française de secours aux blessés militaires'' (SSBM). Recognized as a public u ...

. It was especially noted for its performance treating soldiers involved in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

. After the war the Chief Medical Officer, Miss

Frances Ivens Mary Hannah Frances Ivens CBE FRCOG (1870 – 6 February 1944) was an obstetrician and gynaecologist who was the first woman appointed to a hospital consultant post in Liverpool. During the First World War she was chief medical officer at the ...

CBE MS(Lond) ChM(Liverp) FRGOG (1870–1944), was awarded membership of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Royaumont Abbey in popular culture

The novel ''In Falling Snow'' by Australian writer

Mary-Rose MacColl Mary-Rose MacColl (born 1961) is an Australian novelist. MacColl's first novel, ''No Safe Place'', was shortlisted for the 1995 Australian/Vogel Literary Award. In the 2016 Queensland Literary Awards, she won The Courier-Mail People’s Choice ...

(first published in Oct. 2012) is set at Royaumont during the time when it was a military hospital and refers to historical figures like Ms Ivens. The abbey was used as a filming location for the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

boarding school in

Jean Delannoy Jean Delannoy (12 January 1908 – 18 June 2008) was a French actor, film editor, screenwriter and film director. Biography Although Delannoy was born in a Paris suburb, his family was from Haute-Normandie in the north of France. He was a P ...

's '' Les amitiés particulières''. On 15 June 1971,

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

performed live here in front of an audience at the invitation of the Daudy family, the abbey's current owners. The family are well known in France for their cultivation of artistic talent, their generous philanthropy and their visionary taste in music and dance.

Gallery

File:Plan de l'abbaye de Royaumont (Louis Boudan, vers 1700).jpg, Overview of the abbey around 1700 File:Plan de l'abbaye de Royaumont.jpg, Plan of Royaumont before 1791 with the church ("A") still intact File:Abbaye de Royaumont - Réfectoire des moines 01.jpg, Refectory File:Asnières-sur-Oise (95), abbaye de Royaumont, réfectoire des moines, orgue Cavaillé-Coll.JPG, Pipe organ in the refectory File:Asnières-sur-Oise (95), abbaye de Royaumont, cloître, côté nord 4.JPG, Cloister File:Asnières-sur-Oise (95), abbaye de Royaumont, bâtiment des moines, vue depuis l'est 1.JPG, Entrance File:Asnières-sur-Oise (95), abbaye de Royaumont, bâtiment des latrines, vue depuis le nord-est.JPG, Latrine building File:Asnières-sur-Oise (95), abbaye de Royaumont, bâtiment des latrines, vaisseau sud, vue vers l'ouest 1.JPG, Latrine building, inside File:View palaisroyaumont.jpg, ''Palais abbatial''

References

External links

*
Official site of the Royaumont FoundationPhotos of the abbeyRomanes.com: abbey picturesMore photos (flickr.com)Abbaye de RoyaumontIn Falling Snow
{{Authority control Religious buildings and structures completed in 1235 Gardens in Val-d'Oise Cistercian monasteries in France Buildings and structures in Val-d'Oise Christian monasteries established in the 13th century Tourist attractions in Île-de-France Tourist attractions in Val-d'Oise Louis IX of France