Timeline

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Origin and history

The abbey of Saint-Nicolas-des-Prés was founded in 1083 by Anselme II of Ribemont, a local lord from a line linked to the Counts of Vermandois and Charlemagne. Installed on land given by its founder – including fief, vineyards and a sheepfold in Flanders transformed into an alleu – the abbey enjoyed from the beginning royal privileges, confirmed in 1084 in the presence of Philip I of France. The Benedictine monks established their rule there, while the abbey acquired property such as the priory Saint-Germain de Ribemont in 1141, replacing the canons with his religious.

In the 12th century, the abbey developed with the construction of a mill on Oise and the extension of its seigneurial rights. In 1282, Philip III the Hardi gave him a major donation. Destroyed during the religious wars in 1570, it was rebuilt in 1663 under the impulse of Prior Dupart, who restored the strict Benedictine observance. A royal decision of 1678 recognized its status as a royal foundation, linked to the Carolingian heritage of its founders.

The French Revolution marked its end: declared national in 1791, its properties were sold. The abbey became a private castle in the 19th century, before being partially demolished (church and wing of the cloister in 1827) to give way to a spinning. Ranked as a historical monument in 1982, there are now convent buildings, a gallery of the cloister and remains of the abbey church, witness to its medieval and modern past.

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