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Origin and history

The abbey of Aulps, or abbey of Sainte-Marie-d'Aulps, was founded around 1094 by Reformers Benedictine monks, including Guy and Guérin de Mousson, in an isolated valley of Chablais. Originally dependent on the abbey of Molesme, she obtained her autonomy thanks to two pontifical bubbles (1102 and 1119), allowing her to elect her abbots and to sively free from episcopal guardianship. The monks lived in scattered huts, a way of life that attracted many vocations and influenced neighbouring monasteries.

In the 12th century, the abbey became the heart of a powerful ecclesiastical seigneury, accumulating 15,000 hectares of land through donations and purchases. Abbés, councillors of the Counts of Savoie, exercised legal and tax rights over a population of 2,000 to 4,000. The economy was based on livestock, dairy products and barn operations on the plain. However, as early as the 13th century, the scarcity of conversants and indebtedness weakened the system of direct valor, pushing the monks to rent their land.

In the 15th century, the establishment of the beginning marked a spiritual and material decline. The abbots, often absent, neglected the monastery, whose buildings fell into ruins. Despite attempts to reform in the 17th century, such as the partial reconstruction of the cloister, the abbey was sold as a national property in 1792. Its stones were used to rebuild the village church after a fire in 1823. Today, the site houses a field of discovery dedicated to medieval monastic life.

Classified as a Historical Monument in 1902 for its abbey and in 1940 for its cloister, the abbey is now divided between the department of Haute-Savoie (owner of the abbey) and the Community of Communes of the valley of Aulps. Archaeological excavations and restorations opened an interpretive centre in the old monastic farm, offering an immersion in the Cistercian and medieval history of the region.

The architecture of the abbey, although partially destroyed, reveals its past importance. Remnants include the abbey, cellars, a doorway, and a reconstructed medieval garden. Every year, medieval festivals and outdoor shows, such as those of the Compagnie du Grail, animate the site, perpetuating its cultural and historical heritage.

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