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Cercanceaux

The abbey, founded in 1181 in the Souppes marshes, is the daughter-house of Cour dieu, descendant of the Cistercian Order. The ?Monasterium vetus? was built by Marshal Henri Clément de Mez using stone from local working quarries. The stone, the ?pierre de souppes?, extracted from these same quarries was used to build some famous monuments in Paris including the Sacré-Coeur. Two kilometres upstream the artificial brook ?Ru des moines?, which feeds the abbey, is diverted from the river Betz and runs to the foot of the first oratory. All this can be visited within the eleven hectares of monastery grounds that have remained undivided to this day. Despite numerous ordeals due to the hundred years' war then the religious wars which devastated the Gatinais region and destroyed the buildings already completed, life at the monastery continued until the Revolution. It was later sold as a national asset and the church was demolished. The foundations have recently been updated. A paper mill was established followed by other economic ventures. The abbey was bought in 1995 by an entrepreneur from Souppes who restored the monastery grounds, the water supply system, the ?Grange aux Dîmes?, the paper mill, the ?Monasterium vetus? and its oratory and many other rooms. The abbey is today widely open to several cultural associations. The recreation of its painful history provides an in-depth visit.