Origin and history
The Notre-Dame du Val Abbey, founded in 1125 by Cistercian monks from the Court-Dieu Abbey near Orléans, first settles in an isolated site at the edge of the forest of L-Isle-Adam. This foundation, second in Île-de-France after Preuilly, precedes the royal abbeys of Royaumont and Maubuisson by a century. The first monks, housed in summary huts, cleared the land and sanitized the surrounding marshes. The major donation of Ansel I of L-Isle in 1136, confirmed by Louis VII in 1137, allowed the permanent building of the abbey in Val Sainte-Marie, marking the beginning of its expansion.
In the 12th and 13th centuries, the abbey enjoyed its apogee under the protection of the kings of France and local lords such as those of L-Isle-Adam and Montmorency. It became a privileged burial place for the noble families of the region, sheltering tombs competing with those of Saint-Denis. The transfer of a career in 1156 by Dreux Buffé, seigneur of Méry, launched an extensive reconstruction programme. The abbey even hosts royal stays, such as those of Philip VI of Valois (1333, 1338, 1344) and Charles V (1366), before suffering from the ravages of the Hundred Years War.
The decadence began in the 16th century with the introduction of the beginning in 1507, replacing the election of the abbots. Charles de Villiers de L In 1580, the abbot of Arles de Lisy, who became Calvinist, abandoned the monastery, causing him to be sequestered by Henry III. The latter entrusted him to the Feuillants in 1580, but the actual transfer took place only in 1611 after the Wars of Religion.
In the 17th century, the abbey was more than just a priory served by some religious. In 1639, a boundary and survey of the 2,000 hectares of land was carried out on royal order, revealing the extent of its heritage, distributed between the plain of France, Parisis and Vexin. Cistercian monks had developed agricultural barns there, such as Valdampierre in Noisy-sur-Oise, still in operation today. Despite this heritage, the abbey had only eight religious in 1768, then six priests and one brother in 1790, the year of its definitive closure.
The French Revolution marked the end of the abbey: declared national in 1790, it was sold in 1791 to a master drapier in Paris, Louis-Nicolas Varlet, for 58,800 pounds. The last monk, dom Nicolas de Sainte-Marie, left in March 1791 for Orléans, where he died in 1807. The buildings, transformed into a stone quarry in 1845 to build the Batignolles district in Paris, were partially destroyed, but the dormitory of the monks and a gallery of the cloister remained. Classified as a historic monument in 1947 and 1965, the Abbey is now a registered site, open to visitors during Heritage Days or by appointment.
The 120-hectare estate, situated on horseback on Mériel and Villiers-Adam, retains remarkable remains: the building of the monks (XIIth–XIIIth centuries), with its capitular hall, its dormitory considered one of the most beautiful in France, and a north gallery of the cloister rebuilt in 1725. Medieval quarries, rearranged into cellars and coolers in the 13th century, as well as the ruins of the 13th century mill and Stors mill (XVI century), testify to past economic activity. Since 1988, the Association of Friends of the Abbey has worked on its restoration and cultural animation, organizing concerts, exhibitions and conferences.
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