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  2. Patrimoine
  3. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
  4. Ain
  5. 01500 Ambronay

  6. Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Ambronay

 Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Ambronay dans l'Ain

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine religieux
Abbaye
Eglise gothique
Ain

Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Ambronay

    Place Thollon
    01500 Ambronay
Museums of France
All abbeys, monasteries and priories of France
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Abbaye Notre-Dame dAmbronay
Crédit photo : Jean-Claude Pertuzé - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Haut Moyen Âge
Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
800
…
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
797
Foundation of the Abbey
1282
Savoyard protection
1305
Headquarters of the Abbey
1601
Link to France
1789
French Revolution
1889
Historical monument classification
1980
Creation of the Baroque Festival
2003
Labelling Cultural Centre
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Notre Dame Church (cad. AB 191): by order of 21 December 1889; Cloister and capitular room (cad. AB 192): classification by order of 27 December 1905; Tour des Archives (cad. AB 188): inscription by decree of 26 November 1928; Facades and roofs of the Dauphine Tower (Box B 69p): inscription by decree of 16 November 1964; Unclassified parts of so-called conventual buildings and buildings of the infirmary (Box AB 202, 418, 419, 421): inscription by order of 26 March 1991; Buildings comprising the abbey: so-called convenual buildings; buildings of the infirmary; Abbatial home; dovecoier (Case AB 190, 192-194, 196, 197, 201, 370, 372, 407, 420, 425) : classification by order of 14 December 1992 - The former abbey in its entirety, excluding items already classified and already listed as historical monuments, as proposed on the plan annexed to the decree, including the parcels and all the masonry elements therein: the Dauphine tower whose interior parts were not protected (see AB 184); the cadastral plot AB 424, corresponding to the old gateway gallery (upgraded in the 19th century; the cadastral parcels AB 366, 371, 373, 374, corresponding to the abbot's former estate (including the remains of the enclosure wall and the separation wall between the abbot's estate and that of the monks); the AB 393 cadastral plot adjacent to the archives tower and the "closure" of the infirmary; Parcel AB 422 and its building included in the fence; the building and its parcel AB 199 heavily modified but included in the fence; the cadastral plots AB 367, 368, 359 surrounding and forming part of the former Abbatial home; the cadastral plots AB 441, 443, 445 to 448, 181, 182, 185 and 186, corresponding to the former garden of the Mauritian infirmary and the location of the medieval infirmary; the cadastral plots AB 195, 198, 345, 346, 543, 546, corresponding to the former Maurist garden; are also included the public spaces, namely the square of the Abbey, the Thollon Square and the road elements located within the perimeter plotted on the joint to the decree): inscription by order of 10 December 2014

Key figures

Barnard de Romans - Founder and saint Officer of Charlemagne founded the abbey around 797.
Jean Ier de La Balme - Abbé (1282) Place the Abbey under Savoyard protection.
Philippe Ier de Savoie - Protective Count Sharing income with the abbot in 1282.
Jacques de Mauvoisin - Abbot (15th century) Add two chapels to the abbey.

Origin and history

The Abbey of Notre-Dame d'Ambronay is a Benedictine abbey founded around 797 by Barnard de Romans, officer of Charlemagne and future saint. Originally independent under pontifical authority, she was placed under the protection of the Counts of Savoy in 1282, marking the beginning of a period of income-sharing between the Abbé and Count Philip I. The abbey, with two fortified towers (turn of the Archives and Dauphine tower), became a strategic issue between Savoy and Dauphiné, even undergoing a siege in 1305 by Dauphinese and Lyon troops.

At the French Revolution (1789), the abbey was nationalized: the abbey became a temple of Reason, then a parish church, while the convent buildings were converted into prison, school or housing. Ranked a historic monument in 1889, its restoration accelerated after World War II. In 1980, the baroque festival of Ambronay was created, revealing the exceptional acoustics of the abbey. Since 2003, the Abbey has been a cultural meeting centre, combining heritage, concerts and exhibitions.

In Gothic architecture, the abbey preserves elements of the 10th, 13th, 15th and 17th centuries, including a high gallery cloister and a 17th century staircase. The protections for historical monuments cover the entire site, from the church (classified in 1889) to the convent buildings (classified in 1992), through the towers and the dovecote. Property shared between the municipality and private individuals, it remains an active place of worship while welcoming an international public for its annual festival.

The Abbey was also a cultural home under the Maurists (Congregation of Saint-Maur) before its decline in the 18th century. Recent excavations and restorations (phase 1 in 2008) have rehabilitated spaces for the cultural centre, with the support of the Crédit Agricole Foundation. Its history reflects the political upheavals (attached to France in 1601 by the Treaty of Lyon) and religious changes that marked the region.

Today, Ambronay Abbey combines medieval heritage, spiritual life and cultural outreach, thanks to its festival — one of the most important in the world for ancient music — and its educational activities. Its cloister, capitular hall and Maurist gardens bear witness to nearly 12 centuries of monastic history in Bugey.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Official website
Page Monumentum