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Reigny

The Cistercian Abbey of Reigny was founded in 1128 by Abbot Etienne de Toucy, in 1147 the Abbey was put under the protection of Pope Eugenius III. During the Middle Ages it was a powerful and prosperous Abbey with up to 300 monks and lay brothers. In 1493 Charles VIII made it a Royal Foundation. The Abbey suffered the ravages of The Hundred Years' War, the Wars of Religion and the French Revolution but enough has survived of its glorious past including the exceptional 14th century Cistercian Refectory (only three are left in France) with its elegant double aisled nave and its original polychromatic decoration, as well as the monks dormitory and a succession of rooms which were refurbished by the monks in the 18th century. Traces of the demolished Abbey Church can still be made out. Of particular interest is the ingenious cistercian hydraulic network.