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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Abbey of Elan was founded between 1148 and 1154 by Ithier, Count of Rethel, nicknamed "the Devot". This Cistercian monastery, originally called Esland (eastern earth), implanted in a wooded valley of the Ardennes, fed by springs. Ithier set up a first abbot, Roger, from Loroy Abbey in England, accompanied by twelve monks. According to tradition, Saint Bernard would have visited the site. The abbey quickly developed a sophisticated hydraulic system (channels, dikes) to operate mills and forges, a symbol of its medieval prosperity.

In the 16th century, the abbey fell as a beginning: its abbots, often from local aristocracy like Claude de Joyeuse (abbé from 1655 to 1710), no longer resided there. Religious life is declining. After the French Revolution, the estate was dispersed in 1790 and partially destroyed in the early 19th century. Among its particularities, the abbey houses the burial of Philippe de Bourgogne, who died in Azincourt in 1415, in his church today disappeared.

The current remains include the 17th century abbey house, a rectangular building with turrets with peppers, covered with slates. There are also elements of the monks' refectory, a 12th century cloister section, and the 16th century converse wing. Apart, in the forest, the chapel Saint-Roger (18th century) marks the place where Saint Roger, first abbot, died in 1160 near a well known miraculous. The facades and structure of the house have been classified as historical monuments since 1946.

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