Montigny-lès-Cherlieu

The Abbey Notre Dame Royale de Cherlieu, 'carus locus: chosen place', founded in 1131 by the companions of Bernard de Clairvaux, had an abbey church considered as one of the most beautiful Cistercian churches. It has a very glorious past with a Gothic abbey church of cathedral dimensions (105 m-long nave, choir with ambulatory and seven radiating chapels). Its fame was immense and it housed the tombs of illustrious figures such as the first counts of Burgundy, notably Othon IV, husband of Mahaut of Artois. According to some authors, it was the 'Saint-Denis' of the Counts of Burgundy. Cherlieu then spread and created four daughter abbeys, including Acey in Franche-Comté.
The size of the abbey at the end of the 15th century was due to the wealth of its possessions: 17 barns, cellars, mills, ovens, etc.
In 1789, a sumptuous abbey palace was about to be completed, surrounding an original circular cloister, of which nothing remains in elevation... After the Revolution, the abbey church had indeed become a stone quarry.
Today, only the remains remain, but what remains!
The section of the west wall of the north arm of the transept of the former abbey church, still standing in the hollow of the valley, restored in 1992, surprises by its solitude and majesty. It has become the symbol of the site, a nostalgic vestige of a lost splendour that moves all visitors.
The conventual buildings date from the 16th century and the classical period; they are quite well preserved.
The huge vaulted cellars from the 12th century still survive and only need to be cleared to regain their historical appearance. They consist of two vaulted naves, each 8 m-wide, separated by semicircular arches on pillars, and are about 50 m-long.
The main building, which has a beautiful appearance from the beginning of the 18th century, houses a room whose stucco work can be attributed to the Marcas’, stucco artists from Piedmont who were famous in Franche-Comté. It also has a monumental stone staircase, rooms that have kept refined elements such as armorial fireplaces, a delicate painted overmantel, Versailles floors and woodwork. Next to it, leaning against a ruinous building, the arches and arches of the vaults still in place allow us to imagine the cloister’s ambulatory and the well and the monks’ garden…
In the surrounding area, a few remains such as two calvaries in good condition - one of which, a two-sided calvary, is listed - and the remains of ponds and mills, are scattered around the Cherlieu valley. It is an attractive place of memory. It can mobilise people, as shown by the existence of the association 'Agir pour Cherlieu' whose active members seek to preserve and bring the site to life.
The monks who were sent by Bernard de Clairvaux chose this cool, deep valley, isolated in the heart of a national forest, which has retained all its beauty and authenticity. No parasitic installation has damaged it, its spirit has been totally preserved and visitors are impressed by the spirituality that emanates from the place.

Bassir Amiri
President of the Association Agir pour Cherlieu
www.cherlieu-abbaye-cistercienne.fr