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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The abbey of Cherlieu, founded in 1127 as priory of Antonins before becoming a Cistercian abbey in 1131 under the impulse of Guy, first abbey from Clairvaux, experienced a rapid growth. Supported by Count Renaud III of Burgundy and local lords, it became an influential religious center, founding several monasteries in France and Europe, such as Acey or Hauterive. Its church, built between 1150 and 1220, was one of the largest in Franche-Comté, in a transitional style between Romanesque and Gothic, with a nave of 105 meters and adorned roses.

In the 13th century Cherlieu housed the burials of noble Burgundians, including Othon IV, buried in 1309 during a magnificent ceremony of 1,500 people. But the crises of the 14th and 15th centuries (pest, wars, pillaging by the Scotchers) weakened the abbey. In the 16th century, the wars of Religion worsened its decadence: the cloister was burned in 1569 by Protestants, and the monastery remained deserted for 30 years. A slow reconstruction took place in the 17th and 18th centuries, with a new cloister (1701) and an abbatial palace (1773), but the Revolution rang its bell.

Sold as a national property in 1791, the abbey was dismantled: the church served as a quarry, the graves were destroyed, and today only remains of the 15th century cloister, the 17th-15th century convent buildings transformed into a farm, and the doorman's dwelling (1751–166). The site, classified Historic Monument in 1984, still bears witness to its glorious past through ruins and a 17th century calvary. Its economy was based on agriculture (granges, mills), livestock, metallurgy (Noroy's iron), and a toll-free commercial network.

Daily life in Cherlieu was organized around barns, autonomous agricultural units operated by conversing brothers. These estates, located less than a day's walk, cultivated cereals, vines (at Purgerot), and raised beef, pigs and sheep. The monks also managed mills (farine, oil, flounder), fisheries (Saône, Conflans-sur-Lanterne), and lime kilns. Salt, essential for salison, came from Scey-sur-Saône or Lorraine. The abbey, free of certain seigneurial rights, dominated 32 villages at its peak.

Among the notable abbots, Guy (1131–1157) consolidated his influence despite conflicts with Father of Faverney, supported by Saint Bernard. Ferdinand de Rye (17th century) tried to restore his property after the looting. The current protections (classification in 1984 for the ruins of the church and the calvary, inscription for the convent buildings) preserve an emblematic site of the Cistercian order in Franche-Comté, where traces of the artisanal activities (tailery of Marlay, blast furnace of Tartecourt) also remain.

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