Maquette de l'Abbaye de Floigny par Jean-Claude Wiame

Foigny Abbey (french: Abbaye de Foigny) was a

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 ...

monastery located in

La Bouteille La Bouteille () is a commune in the department of Aisne in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 799 communes in the French department of Aisne. Th ...

, in a valley in the

Thiérache The Thiérache () is a region of France and Belgium united by similar geography and architecture, including the presence of hedgerows, grassland, hilly terrain, scattered settlements, and traditionally-built stone or brick houses with stone dividi ...

, in the north-eastern region of the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through ...

and

Barthélemy of Jur Barthélemy, or Barthélémy is a French name, a cognate of Bartholomew. Notable people with this name include: Given name * Barthélemy (explorer), French youth who accompanied the explorer de La Salle in 1687 * Barthélémy Bisengimana, Con ...

bishop of Laon The diocese of Laon in the present-day département of Aisne, was a Catholic diocese for around 1300 years, up to the French Revolution. Its seat was in Laon, France, with the Laon Cathedral. From early in the 13th century, the bishop of Laon ...

. The church floor plan is based on that of the church of

Clairvaux Abbey Clairvaux Abbey (, ; la, Clara Vallis) was a Cistercian monastery in Ville-sous-la-Ferté, from Bar-sur-Aube. The original building, founded in 1115 by St. Bernard, is now in ruins; the present structure dates from 1708. Clairvaux Abbey was a ...

, as was confirmed by excavations in 1959. The abbey prospered and at its height had no less than 100 monks and 200

lay brother Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choir, ...

s farming 12,000 hectares owned by the abbey, reaching as far as the gates of

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. In ...

. The abbey significantly contributed to the economic growth of the

region. The

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

carried out together with other abbeys enabled the conversion of forest land to agriculture and the establishment of new settlements around the farms owned by the abbeys. Later, a large number of

mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Uni ...

were established thanks to generous donations from the local nobility and the clergy. The abbey was destroyed by fire in 1542. Major works on the site began in 1722 and in 1736 work began on the reconstruction of the conventual buildings, but had to stop because of lack of funds. In 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 ...

the abbey was suppressed and pillaged: there were only 11 monks by this time. In 1794 the abbey buildings were used as a military hospital. At the end of the 19th century, a chapel was built in the choir of the former abbey church. The site also includes a mill whose oldest part dates to the 12th century, which was still in operation until 2000 and which since 1982 has used the

River Thon The Thon or Ton is a small river in northern France. It is a tributary of the river Oise, which flows into the Seine. It crosses the Ardennes and Aisne departments and is the central river of the Thiérache The Thiérache () is a region of Fr ...

to produce hydroelectric power.

References

{{Coord, 49, 53, 31, N, 3, 58, 26, E, region:FR_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Thiérache Cistercian monasteries in France Monasteries in Aisne Churches in Aisne Christian monasteries established in the 12th century 1121 establishments in Europe 1120s establishments in France Religious organizations established in the 1120s