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Clavas

Old Cistercian Abbey for women located 10 km from Riotord (Haute-Loire). At the end of the 12th century, nuns settle down in this remote valley and recognize the authority of the Cistercian abbot of Mazan around 1259. During the Wars of Religion, the church is torched and is afterwards rebuilt on the foundations of the old one. Due to difficulties in recruiting new members and a poor management, the nuns decide to leave Clavas for Séauve in 1764. During the French Revolution, the monastery is destroyed leaving only the door of the abbey, the church and the presbytery. In 1826, the chapel becomes the church of an independent parish and it remains so until 1956 when it is attached to Riotord. The site has conserved its authentic Cistercian desert style, on the river-bends of La Clavarine. The church has a flat chevet in gothic style inside the church. Within the church, there is an altarpiece from the 17th and 18th century, several sculpted coat of arms and statues. The statue of the Virgin Mary is unique. Wall-paintings with an architectural trompe-l'oeil decor have been discovered. They are for the moment being restored. A little garden in Medieval style has been reconstructed and offers an idea of the plants used by the nuns. Some of them are quite rare and have spread in the village.