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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The abbey of Boulbonne, founded in 1129 near Mazères (Ariège) by Cistercian monks, first settled on the banks of the Raunier. Affiliated to the order of Cîteaux in 1150, it is protected by the Counts of Foix, who are buried there. In 1272, it hosted a diplomatic meeting between Philip III the Hardi and James I of Aragon to settle the conflict with the Count of Foix. Destroyed in 1567 by the Huguenots, the monks took refuge in Toulouse.

In 1632 (or 1652), the abbey was rebuilt in Cintegabelle, on the site of a priory of the tenth century. The works, completed around 1738, make it one of the most beautiful Cistercian abbeys of the time. In 1753 the remains of the Counts of Foix were transferred solemnly. At the Revolution, the abbey, sold as a national property in 1791, lost some of its furniture and its church, destroyed. Since 1842, the remaining buildings belong to the Moulas family.

Today, facades remain, the brick gate, the capitular hall, the refectory, the vestiges of the cloister, as well as pigeons and stables. The abbey, classified as a historical monument in 1981, illustrates the Cistercian architecture of the eighteenth century. It is open to the public during Heritage Days, preserving the memory of the Counts of Foix and its historical role in Lauragais.

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