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Aulps

Aulps - Abbaye Aulps - Abbaye Aulps abbey was founded in Savoy at the end of the 11th century by monks from Molesme Abbey in Burgundy. Their objective was to create a monastery that tallied with their very specific and strict spiritual model for a ?monastic laboratory?, initially organised around an eremitic (non-collegiate) lifestyle. Thanks to the work of the early abbots, Aulps abbey became hugely important, as is shown by its influence on the writing of the Charter of Charity. In 1136, Aulps abbey was accepted into the Cistercian order and was dependent on Clairvaux, at which point the monks left their solitary huts to build the estate we see today. Guérin, the second abbot of Aulps - and later bishop of Sion - in 1138, died in c.1150. He was buried in the abbey church and became the Alps' best known pastoral saint. With property amounting to 40 000 hectares of farm land, forest and mountain meadows, Aulps abbey was quite simply one of the most important monasteries anywhere in medieval Savoy. In 1792, the monks were driven out by French soldiers and the splendid abbey was partly dismantled in 1823 by villagers looking to rebuild their parish church after it burned down. Today, Aulps estate hosts modern and lively exhibitions that provide fascinating insight into the daily life of the monks who lived here. At Aulps abbey, visitors find an even balance between archaeology, architecture, history, local politics, tourism and museo-graphy. (From Dossiers d'archéologie, 2010).

Internet : www.abbayedaulps.fr

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