Saint-Evroul Abbey Ruins, Saint-Evroult-Notre-Dame-du-Bois, France

The Abbey of Saint-Evroul is a former Benedictine abbey, today in ruins. Its name refers to its founder, Ebrulf (Evroul), who founded a hermitage in the forest of Ouche around 560. The abbey was rebuilt around 1000. Robert de Grantmesnil served as abbot of Saint-Evroul, which he helped restore in 1050. He had become a monk at Saint-Evroul before becoming its abbot. Orderic Vitalis entered the abbey as a young boy and later wrote a history of the abbey. Saint-Evroul was famed for its musical programme and eleven monks brought its musical traditions to the abbey of Sant'Eufemia (now part ot town of Lamezia Terme) in Calabria. The abbey was rebuilt again between 1231 and 1284. In 1628 it was closed and demolished finally in the early 1800s.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

JOEL CARBONNIER (16 months ago)
Little known, it has an interesting history and deserves our attention. Then research on the net will complete our knowledge.

Benoît Nunez (2 years ago)
Very nice well maintained ruin with a small museum. There are also several explanatory panels surrounding the abbey. It's very photogenic, the tour is done in 5 minutes flat but you can easily get caught up in the atmosphere. Access is simple with a large car park, everything is done on foot. Very good for a family outing, picnic tables nearby.

Mirko Frind (2 years ago)
Even if there isn't really much to see, this place immediately captivates you. For me a magical place with a lot of charm. Parking lot is actually in front of it and already in the first few minutes on the premises it casts a spell over you.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Göran Höglund (Kartläsarn)

Historic Site of the week

Varberg Fortress

Varberg Fortress was built in 1287-1300 by count Jacob Nielsen as protection against his Danish king, who had declared him an outlaw after the murder of King Eric V of Denmark. Jacob had close connections with king Eric II of Norway and as a result got substantial Norwegian assistance with the construction. The fortress, as well as half the county, became Norwegian in 1305.

King Eric's grand daughter, Ingeborg Håkansdotter, inherited the area from her father, King Haakon V of Norway. She and her husband, Eric, Duke of Södermanland, established a semi-independent state out of their Norwegian, Swedish and Danish counties until the death of Erik. They spent considerable time at the fortress. Their son, King Magnus IV of Sweden (Magnus VII of Norway), spent much time at the fortress as well.

The fortress was augmented during the late 16th and early 17th century on order by King Christian IV of Denmark. However, after the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645 the fortress became Swedish. It was used as a military installation until 1830 and as a prison from the end of the 17th Century until 1931.

It is currently used as a museum and bed and breakfast as well as private accommodation. The moat of the fortress is said to be inhabited by a small lake monster. In August 2006, a couple of witnesses claimed to have seen the monster emerge from the dark water and devour a duck. The creature is described as brown, hairless and with a 40 cm long tail.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Saint-Evroul Abbey Ruins

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Landmarks of Sicily

Rhodes, The Island of Knights

Great Spa Towns of Europe

Historic Site of the week

Varberg Fortress

Looks like you are a history fan!