Our Dordogne Valley Tourist Office regularly invites us to visit tourist, historical and heritage sites. This was the case in early April, when we took part in a tour of this magnificent abbey, which is home to much of our region's historical heritage. Perched on a rocky promontory overlooking the Coiroux valley, south of Corrèze and 45 minutes from the Moulin du Boisset, Aubazine Abbey is a masterpiece of Cistercian architecture founded in the 12th century. This place of rare serenity tells a story of faith, rigour and inspiration through its golden stones and clean lines. Let's take a look at its history:
In 1134, Etienne d'Obazine, a priest driven by a deep desire to return to an austere evangelical life, withdrew to the solitude of the Corrèze forests. He was quickly joined by disciples and founded a monastic community in Aubazine based on prayer, silence, manual labour and simplicity. Recognising the authenticity of this approach, the Order of Cîteaux officially welcomed the foundation in 1142. The abbey thus became the only Cistercian house in the Limousin region and developed in strict accordance with the Rule of Saint Benedict. A notable feature was that Aubazine was from the outset a double monastery, home to both a community of monks in Aubazine and a community of nuns in Coyroux, a few kilometres away. The two groups lived in the utmost austerity, according to the same spiritual principles.
The monks of Aubazine built an abbey that was exemplary of Cistercian architecture: pure, functional, bathed in light, but without exuberance, ornamentation or colourful stained glass windows. The abbey church, cloister, dormitory and chapter house still bear witness today to this art of simplicity in the service of spiritual elevation.
