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Founded: 1142Category: Religious sites in France
Historical period: Birth of Capetian dynasty (France)
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The Notre-Dame de Boscodon Abbey, founded in 1142 in the Hautes-Alpes, is a gem of Romanesque architecture. Built by monks of the Chalais order, it became Benedictine in the 15th century and experienced periods of prosperity and decline. Transformed into a stable after the French Revolution, it was gradually restored from 1972 onwards thanks to the initiative of the Dominican community and volunteers.
Its architecture, inspired by the Cistercians, is based on symbolic geometric shapes and harmonious proportions. Today, the abbey, classified as a historical monument, hosts visitors and cultural events, attracting nearly 90,000 people per year.
Doune Castle was originally built in the thirteenth century, then probably damaged in the Scottish Wars of Independence, before being rebuilt in its present form in the late 14th century by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (c. 1340–1420), the son of King Robert II of Scots, and Regent of Scotland from 1388 until his death. Duke Robert"s stronghold has survived relatively unchanged and complete, and the whole castle was traditionally thought of as the result of a single period of construction at this time. The castle passed to the crown in 1425, when Albany"s son was executed, and was used as a royal hunting lodge and dower house.
In the later 16th century, Doune became the property of the Earls of Moray. The castle saw military action during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and Glencairn"s rising in the mid-17th century, and during the Jacobite risings of the late 17th century and 18th century.