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Chéhéry

The Cistercian Abbey of the Notre-Dame de Chéhèry, granddaughter of Clairvaux, was founded in 1147 and has a endured throughout history.

After a period of prosperity during the Middle Ages it was damaged during the Hundred Years War, restored, and later burned down during the Fronde uprising. It was not until the 1850s that the abbey was completely rebuilt in the classical style as we see it today.

After the French Revolution of 1789, the abbey was bought by a Parisian notable who used it as a country residence. During the Great War of 1914-1918, the buildings successively served as a German hospital and in 1918 as the headquarters of the American Expeditionary Forces during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive before falling into oblivion in the 1960s.

Since 2019, the building has emerged from its slumber thanks to the ambitious restoration program of many of the scheduled buildings in the Meuse and Ardennes Departments. With the help of an enthusiastic Association of Friends, the new owners have started to put the abbey back at the heart of the revitalization of its ancient territory, thanks to a rich cultural program, the creation of a network of local craftsmen (brewers, bakers, cheese makers etc) and with the products produced in the Abbey grounds like honey (beehives), its orchard and its vineyards.