The European continent houses considerable historic heritage, both physical and cultural, arising from the 750 abbeys and 1500 nunneries established by the Cistercian Order since 1098, when it was founded in Cîteaux in Burgundy, France.
On 16 January 1988, representatives of five associations signed the “Charter of Associations of Cistercian Abbeys” to “pool their experience, to keep each other informed of their initiatives and activities, to improve their respective knowledge…” Five years later, in April 1993, these owners and managers of abbeys, keen to structure the links between them and organise a network, officially constituted an association. The Charter of the Cistercian Abbeys and Sites became the European Charter […] in 2009.

Committed on a daily basis to preserving and promoting Cistercian heritage, the founders asserted their full legitimacy and considered the Cistercian site itself (abbeys, barns, townhouses, mills and dependencies) as the member entity. Today, the European Charter of the Cistercian Abbeys and Sites brings together abbeys and sites guided by three Charters: the Charter of Foundation, the Charter of Values and the Charter of Organisation or statutes.