Igny Abbey or Val d'Igny Abbey is a Cistercian abbey located in Arcis-le-Ponsart. It was founded by the Archbishop of Reims, Rainaud II de Martigny, who provided land at Igny in 1128. The abbey flourished and in its heyday housed over 500 monks and owned more than 5,000 hectares of land. As with other Cistercian monasteries, growth at Igny slowed from the later 13th century. In the 14th century the abbey suffered badly from the effects of the Hundred Years' War.

In 1545 the abbey was placed under commendatory abbots, at which time the community consisted of 72 monks. Further damage occurred during the French Wars of Religion in the later 16th century, during which the monastery was pillaged by Huguenots. After still more pillaging suffered during the Thirty Years' War and the Franco-Spanish War, the number of monks had fallen to seven.

In 1733 the church was destroyed and a new one built, which was completed along with other new buildings in 1789, the beginning of the French Revolution. In 1790 all religious houses in France were suppressed; in April 1791 the six monks then living there were turned out and the abbey's assets were declared national property and sold off.

The monastic premises passed into private hands but in 1876 were reacquired by the Archdiocese of Reims for the establishment of a Trappist monastery by a community of monks from the Abbey of Sainte-Marie-du-Désert. The new monastery was at first a priory but was raised to an abbey in 1886. The new community funded themselves mostly by the manufacture of chocolate.

In 1914 the German army appropriated the premises, wrecking the chocolate factory, and turned them into a hospital for infectious diseases. Just before the Second Battle of the Marne in May 1918 the buildings were evacuated; when retreating on 6 August 1918, the Germans blew them up, destroying the entire abbey with the exception of the small library.

The abbey was rebuilt in 1927-1929 and occupied in November 1929 by a community of 32 Trappist nuns from Laval Abbey.

In 2007 the structure of Cistercian communities throughout northern France was re-thought, and the order decided that three communities of nuns should be brought together at Igny: Igny's existing community and those of la Grâce-Dieu and Belval (subsequently the small community of Ubexy was also included). A major re-building consequently took place. In 2011 the four existing communities were installed, which almost doubled the size of the previous population of Igny, as the new community of the Abbaye Notre-Dame du Val d'Igny.

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Details

Founded: 1128
Category: Religious sites in France
Historical period: Birth of Capetian dynasty (France)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

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4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Anais Failler (2 years ago)
Very nice place, where you can make a short visit to the entrance and a pretty store of local products (like the famous Igny corks) and made for the most part by the sisters. A bit of a shame that we have to wait for Heritage Day to discover a little more of the abbey, but that's excused by the nature of the place ☺️
mouesca cyprien (2 years ago)
One of my best experiences as a singer, during a tour of the Abbeys of France with the men's choir in which I sang. I keep an indelible memory of it and, despite the distance, do not despair of making a retreat there.
LizElia12 (2 years ago)
Nice place in the countryside far enough from everything. It also takes a good half hour in the countryside by car just to get there from Reims. The building is beautiful but inside not much to see. Even the church has no interesting ornaments. As for the exhibition, I don't even want to stop there. In the age of the Internet, reading explanatory panels without showing anything is pointless. No need to move for that... On the other hand, toilets are welcome on the outside of the buildings. Opposite a small park with picnic tables marked private, which makes you hesitate to land there. Finally a shop with products that would be made by the sisters. Partly certainly but far not all I think. More or less artisanal products that seem of good quality but the price too. We tasted some flavored caramels. Good but I regretted that they were made only with cream. A mixture of cream, milk and butter that convinced me only in the added aromas which were very interesting and natural.
G.J. Koppenaal (4 years ago)
Igny Abbey, actually Communauté Cistercienne Abbaye Notre-Dame du Val d'Igny is a modern monastery, which with 60 female monks stands in the middle of the world. Everyone is welcome, and because we have rented an apartment in this Champagne village, we drive past it. This has been a place of prayer since 1128, but after the First World War - which wreaked havoc here in two long battles - everything had to be rebuilt and started up again. The buildings are therefore from 1920, and the monastery church is of great simplicity, built in a kind of neo-Gothic. We were able to experience a very intimate vespers celebration, which was pleasant: 16 nuns singing and reading a short Gregorian mass. We saw the history of the monastery in an exhibition space of the church. Before we left, we paid a visit to the chic tourist shop, which sells special chocolate made by the monks, among other things. Just stop by if you're close by!
Nad Garr (5 years ago)
What a beautiful place and what a home by the sisters ❤️ The meals all together, the meeting room, the chapel ... everything was perfect. The shop where one finds products coming from various abbeys and the chocolates made on the spot by the sisters ... Perfect for a retreat. No internet network.
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