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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Abbey of Noirlac, located in Bruère-Allichamps in the Cher, is a Cistercian abbey founded in 1136 by monks of Clairvaux. Originally named Maison-Dieu, it took the name Noirlac in 1290. Its architecture, typical of the Cistercian order, is organized around a cloister, with an abbey church, a refectory, a dormitory and buildings dedicated to monks and conversants. The construction works range from the 12th to the 14th century, with major additions to the 18th century under the Abbé d'Aurillac.

The abbey experienced a bliss in the 13th century, followed by a decline marked by the Hundred Years' War and the beginning of the 16th century. Sold as a national good at the Revolution, it was transformed into a porcelain factory in the 19th century, which paradoxically contributed to its preservation. Acquired by the Cher department in 1909, it was restored between 1950 and 1980 and became a cultural meeting centre, a member of the European network of meeting centres.

The abbey church, built according to the Bernardine plan, has a flat bedside and a vaulted transept, with elements dated by dendrochronology (12th century carpent). The cloister, rebuilt between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, organizes monastic spaces respecting the separation between monks and conversants. The capitular hall, the refectory and the dormitory, remodeled in the eighteenth century, testify to the successive adaptations of the monastery.

The abbey was founded by the donation of Ebbes V de Charenton in 1150, confirmed by his descendants. It underwent fortifications during the Hundred Years' War and destruction during the Fronde. In the 18th century, the abbot of Aurillac undertook important restoration work, dividing the dormitory into cells and providing space for guests. After the Revolution, the abbey became a factory before being classified as a historical monument in 1862.

Today, the Abbey of Noirlac is a place of artistic creation and heritage transmission. It hosts exhibitions, artist residences and cultural events, while preserving its medieval architecture and contemporary stained glass windows, made after the cartons of Jean-Pierre Raynaud in 1977.

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