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Origin and history

The abbey of Oigny, originally named "Royal Abbey of Notre-Dame d'Oigny", was founded in 1106 by Augustine canons on a site already occupied by an older monastic community. In the 11th century, Alberic de Cîteaux and Étienne Harding, future founders of the Cistercian order, found refuge there before leaving Molesme. The monastery experienced a spiritual effervescence in the 12th century, linked to the creation of the Cistercian and pre-monstrated orders, thanks to the exchange of texts between their initiators. Its material development was notable, despite the sale of land in the 17th and 18th centuries to settle disputes.

In the 13th century, the abbey, rich and influential, benefited from the visit of Saint Louis in 1269 before his departure for the Holy Land. It housed relics of Saint Baudry and had a private hotel in Dijon. The wars of Religion and commende (abbots appointed by the king) marked its decline, with internal conflicts and sometimes negligent management. In the 17th century, the Bouthillier de Chavigny family, close to Louis XIII and XIV, modernized the premises by building an abbey house and building terraced gardens inspired by Italy.

The French Revolution led to the seizure of the abbey's property in 1789 and its sale in 1796 to local families, the Dumaine and the Terrillon. The latter transformed part of the buildings into a farm and a bourgeois residence, called "Château d'Oigny". A fire in 1840 destroyed the abbey, whose remains were demolished. The Terrillon family, owner for two centuries, includes the surgeon Octave Terrillon, pioneer of theasepsy. In 1990, the abbey was listed as a Historic Monument, and in 2017, part was sold to new owners, opening some spaces to the public.

The architecture of the abbey, heterogeneous, reflects its successive transformations. The 13th-century Conventual Building, 60 metres long, houses a remarkable structure in "ship hull overturned". The 17th century abbatial house, built on the site of the old kitchens, illustrates the humorousness of monks. The terraced gardens, rediscovered in 2018, and the Hermitage Notre-Dame du Val de Seine, a place of pilgrimage until the eighteenth century, bear witness to its landscaped and spiritual heritage.

The Abbey of Oigny played a key role in Burgundy's monastic history, especially as an intermediary between the Cistercian and pre-monstrated orders. His custom served as a model for organizing the order of the Premonstrated, though she had never swarmed in a congregation. The archives, preserved at the Departmental Archives of Cote d'Or, offer a precise overview of its management and possessions, extending over communes such as Alise-Sainte-Reine or Venarey-les-Laumes. Today, some of the buildings remain private, while other spaces, including gardens, are accessible to the public.

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