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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame d'Ardenne Abbey, founded in the 12th century in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe near Caen, is an ancient pre-demonstrated abbey. According to legend, its creation in 1121 would be linked to a vision of the Virgin Mary by a Kenyan bourgeois, Aiulf du Marché, and his wife Asselin. A chapel, then a Romanesque church consecrated in 1138, marked its beginnings. In 1144, the priory was attached to the order of Prémontré via the Abbey of La Lucerne, before becoming independent in 1160. Its rapid development in the Middle Ages included the acquisition of priories and parishes, despite the collapse of the choir in 1230, killing 26 religious.

During the Hundred Years' War, the abbey was looted and occupied, notably by Charles VII in 1450 during the siege of Caen. In the 16th century, the wars of Religion and the beginning accelerated its decline: the buildings were destroyed, the abbey turned into a stable. The recovery began at the end of the century under the impulse of Prior John of the Cross (1596-1654), who restored the abbey materially and spiritually. Under his auspices, Ardenne joined the reform of Pont-à-Mousson and became the most powerful pre-monstrated abbey of Normandy, with 30 religious in 1628.

The 17th and 18th centuries saw a methodical reconstruction: cloister, dormitory, library, and high altar (consecrated in 1639) were renovated. The Saint-Norbert Gate, completed in 1672, and an abbey house (after 1711) bear witness to this blissful period. However, the French Revolution led to the dispersion of the monks and the sale of the abbey as a national good in 1791. In the 19th century, some of the buildings were demolished to reuse the stones, while the land was fragmented between agricultural owners.

The 20th century marked a turning point with the classification of the abbey to historical monuments in 1918 and 1947. During the Second World War, it was occupied by the 12th SS Hitlerjugend Panzer Division: in June 1944, about 20 Canadian soldiers were executed there. Gravely damaged during the Battle of Caen, its restoration was spread over 35 years. In 1990, the Basse-Normandie region acquired the site to install the Institute Memoirs of Contemporary Publishing (IMEC), transforming the abbey into a library and the barn into a cultural space.

Today, the Abbey of Ardenne combines historical heritage and contemporary vocation. Its buildings, including the Bayeux Gate (XIII century) and the tithe barn (XIII century), illustrate its architectural evolution. The site also houses a Canadian Garden of Remembrance, in tribute to the soldiers massacred in 1944. Classified on 200 hectares, the abbey remains a place of memory, research and commemoration, open to the public for exhibitions and cultural events.

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