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Origin and history

The Abbey of Hautefontaine, founded in 1136 by Isambard de Vitry, is a former Cistercian abbey located in Ambrières (Marne). The land was given to the monks of the abbey of Trois-Fontaines, with the condition to build a monastery there. Raoul, first abbot chosen by Bernard de Clairvaux, oversees its construction. The name Hautefontaine comes from a source near the top of the hill where it was built. A Latin charter of 1141, signed by Count Thibaud de Blois, formalizes the gifts of land and rights (grazing, wood) made by Isambard and other local lords such as Pagan de Verzy or Lefard de Barro.

In the 16th century, the abbey was looted and destroyed: ravaged during the Hundred Years' War, then razed in 1544 by Charles Quint's troops. François I then appointed abbots for the trade, including Jean de Monluc (1547–1559), who undertook partial reconstruction in 1552. Unlike other abbeys, Hautefontaine is relatively preserved by these lay abbots. In the 17th century, under the impulse of Guillaume Le Roy (1663–84), it became a Jansenist home and housed a clandestine workshop to print out prohibited works, allegedly published in Amsterdam.

The French Revolution rang its bells: closed in 1790, the abbey was sold as a national property to Henri Lepage, then dismantled gradually. In 1840, the mayor of Ambrières, Williame, destroyed the 12th century abbey, saving only the high altar and a bell, now preserved in the church of Sainte-Livière. The remains, classified as Historic Monument in 1979, deteriorated sharply from the 1970s. Its typical Cistercian plan (central cloister, abbey in the north, conventual buildings) made it a remarkable example of monastic architecture.

Daughter of the abbey of Trois-Fontaines, Hautefontaine illustrates the evolution of the Cistercian monasteries, from medieval radiance to their decline under the Old Regime, through their role in the 17th century religious controversies. The excavations and archives (like the 1141 charter) bear witness to its historic importance, despite the almost total disappearance of its buildings.

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