Beaulieu-en-Rouergue Abbey, Ginals, France

Beaulieu-en-Rouergue Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in south-west France, founded in 1144, which today houses a museum of contemporary art. It is located in the commune of Ginals in the north-east of the Tarn-et-Garonne department.

Located in the valley of the River Seye, in the old province of Rouergue, the abbey was founded by the bishop of Rodez, Adhemar III. The buildings were heightened in the 17th centuries, but then fell into decline by the 18th century, when the cloister was demolished. At the time of the French Revolution, the monastery was closed and the buildings sold, to be converted into a farm. Part of the buildings were dismantled. The site was purchased in 1960 by M. Brache and Mme. Bonnefoi, who carried out important restoration work.

In 1973, they gave the abbey, together with an important collection of modern art, to the French state. The abbey was then transformed into a centre for contemporary art, and today is a museum of contemporary art in the Midi-Pyrénées area, with minor works by artists including Henri Michaux, Jean Dubuffet, and Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, as well as regional artists.

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User Reviews

Sarah Cunningham (8 months ago)
Fascinating old building. Very simply renovated, with the twist of modern art. Read the info on what to look at inside on the website, significance of the images on the ceiling. Very beautiful. Worth driving too.

Sasha Sementsev (10 months ago)
Beautiful place and good art collection

lesley dixon (11 months ago)
Lovely place to visit. We toured the monastery reading about the lengths the owners had gone to to rebuild it into an art gallery. Exquisite.

Michael Roggenkamp (17 months ago)
A beautifully restored 12th century Abbey which now houses a contemporary art collection of various modern and abstract artists from the 1940's to 1970's. There is also a rose garden consisting of a thousand roses planted along with a variety of perennials.

pascal stenuit (2 years ago)
Magical place, beautiful church and garden. It's also a modern art museum. There are free guided tours three times a day with an emphasis on the paintings. The entrance costs 6 euros.

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