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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Abbey of Notre-Dame de Longpont, founded in 1131 by Bernard de Clairvaux at the request of the bishop of Soissons Josselin de Vierzy, is a former fortified Cistercian abbey. Classified as a historical monument in 1889, it illustrates medieval religious architecture and its subsequent transformations. Its ruins, located in the valley of Savière, include a Gothic pediment, a partially preserved cloister, and a 14th century fortified gate, a rare example of monastic castle.

The abbey church, built between 1192 and 1227, was consecrated in the presence of Saint Louis. Destroyed after the Revolution (1793), his stones served as a quarry before his acquisition in 1804 by Count Henri de Montesquiou, whose descendants still maintain the site. Conventual buildings, remodelled in the 18th century after a fire (1724), combine Gothic elements (celler, 13th century heater) and classical additions (Louis XIV balcony, stone staircase).

The abbey benefited from prestigious donations from its foundation, such as those of Raoul de Vermandois. It housed a Parisian hospice (rue de Longpont) and welcomed such personalities as Jean de Montmirail (died 1217) and Louis d'Evreux (died 1319), half-brother of Philip IV. His entrance work, with an assumer and turrets, bears witness to the defensive needs of medieval abbeys. Today, private but visitable, it remains a major testimony of the Cistercian heritage in Picardia.

A daughter of Clairvaux Abbey, Longpont suffered damage during the Hundred Years and Religion Wars, repaired in the 16th and 17th centuries. Sold as a national property, part of its cellar was transformed into a parish church (Saint Sebastian). The restorations of the 19th and 20th centuries, after the two world wars, preserved its emblematic remains, such as the empty rosace of the church or the Renaissance gallery of the fortified gate.

The coat of arms of the abbey, diazur at the bridge of three silver arches on a river of the same, surmounted by two flowers of lily d The site, accessible from the Longpont station (Paris-Laon line), offers a unique panorama of the architectural evolution of the abbeys, from the Middle Ages to the modern era.

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