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Cadouin

Cadouin abbey in Dordogne was founded in 1115 by Géraud de Salles and was affiliated to the Cistercian order in 1119. With land and mills as well as private income from powerful lords, the abbey grew rapidly rich and the construction work on the buildings began. In 1154 the Norman church was built with three naves each with four pointed barrel vaults and austere, Saintongeais fronts. Between 1201 and 1214 the abbey came into the possession of the ?Suaire du Christ?. Thanks to this remarkable relic, the abbey became a major place of pilgrimage and thus a lavishly decorated cloister was built in the XVth and XVIth centuries: sculpted columns, complex vaults, flamboyant gothic and renaissance style doors. This exceptional destiny came to an end in 1934 when a historian proved the inauthenticity of the shroud due to the presence of decorative trimmings with an Islamic profession of faith in Kufic, a style of Arabic writing... and so the pilgrimages came to an end. Now more tourists than pilgrims visit the village and the abbey. Part of the abbey is now a youth hostel and the ?shroud? made from exceptional Fatimid fabric that can usually be seen in the cloister is currently being restored in Périgueux. As part of the Way of St James pilgrimage route Cadouin Cistercian abbey is a UNESCO world heritage site, a masterpiece of Périgord religious architecture.