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Origin and history

The royal abbey of Chaalis, founded in 1136 by King Louis VI the Gros, is a former Cistercian abbey located in Fontaine-Chaalis, Oise. Confed to the monks of Pontigny Abbey, it became a major economic and intellectual centre, regularly welcoming the kings of France. Its Gothic abbey, built in the early thirteenth century, is one of the largest in the kingdom, while its monastic barns provide considerable income. After a decline in the late Middle Ages, the abbey experienced an artistic renaissance under the impulse of Italian commedatary abbots like Hippolyte d-Este, which invited artists such as Le Primatice and Sebastiano Serlio.

In the 18th century, the buildings were built under the direction of architect Jean Aubert, but the works remained unfinished. Sold as a national property during the Revolution, the abbey was destroyed, and the estate was transformed into a hunting residence. In the 19th century, Nélie Jacquemart, a great collector, acquired the site and installed her works of art, eventually legiting the abbey and its collections at the Institut de France. Ranked a historic monument in 1965, the Abbey now houses the Jacquemart-André Museum, as well as the ruins of the Abbey, a Renaissance chapel with frescoes of the Primatic, a rose garden and a park of 29 hectares.

The foundation of Chaalis is linked to the memory of Charles the Good, Count of Flanders murdered in 1127. Louis VI chose the site, then called Caroli Locus (place of Charles), to establish a monastic community dependent on Pontigny. Twelve monks settled there under the leadership of André de Baudiment, first abbot. Royal and seigneurial donations, such as those of William of Mello or Bishop Stephen of Senlis, allow the abbey to spread rapidly. A network of agro-pastoral and cereal barns, as well as wine cellars, was established in the 12th century, ensuring its prosperity.

The Abbey, built between 1202 and 1219, is a 82-metre-long Gothic masterpiece with a prominent transept and side chapels. It houses the tombs of thirteen bishops of Senlis and becomes a royal place of prayer, frequented by Louis IX. The intellectual life there is intense, with a library of 216 manuscripts and author monks like Guillaume de Digulleville. However, the Hundred Years' War and the beginning weakened the abbey: in 1541 Hippolyte d'Este, the first trading abbot, carried out sumptuous works there, using Italian artists to decorate his private chapel.

In the 18th century, Count-abbé Louis de Bourbon-Condé launched an ambitious reconstruction project entrusted to Jean Aubert, but the accumulated debts led to the closure of the abbey in 1786. Sold in 1793, it was partially demolished, retaining only the abbey chapel and its frescoes. In the 19th century, Madame de Vatry restored the estate and held a great reception, before Nélie Jacquemart made a case for her collections. Today, the museum presents paintings, sculptures and art objects from the 15th to the 18th centuries, while the park and rose garden perpetuate the Cistercian and Renaissance heritage.

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