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Founded: 1130Category: Religious sites in France
Historical period: Birth of Capetian dynasty (France)
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Abbey of Île-Chauvet is a former Benedictine monastery of the first half of the twelfth century that once took place in the Marches of Brittany and Poitou. It suffered from the Hundred Years War at the end of the fourteenth century, then a major fire in the late sixteenth before being rebuilt in the first half of the seventeenth century. It is sold as national property in 1791 before falling into disuse.
All that remains today is the remains of the original church, including a beautiful porch with four arches resting on small columns with carved capitals. It is also possible to admire the font, two buildings of the twelfth century, and a Gothic well installed in the center of the old cloister. Open to the public during the summer season, it reveals a very beautiful green setting where it is good to stroll on sunny days.
In August, the abbey hosts a very pleasant musical festival.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.