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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Abbey of Reigny came into being in 1104, when two hermits, Girard and Guérin, settled near Joux on lands offered by the lords Anseric d'Avallon and Guy de Noyers. These donations, confirmed in 1105 by Duke Hugues II of Burgundy, allow the foundation of a small monastery. In 1127, the community joined the Cistercian order under the direction of Julien, their spiritual leader. After his death in 1128, Saint Bernard sent Étienne de Torcy to maintain the community, which settled permanently in Reigny in 1134 under the authority of Saint Bernard. The abbey, located on the lands of the Counts of Auxerre and Nevers, depends on the diocese of Auxerre and enjoys the protection of Pope Eugene III from 1147.

The abbey enjoyed remarkable growth in the Middle Ages, with up to three hundred monks and managing a vast agricultural estate extending from the Puisaye to the Tonnerois vineyards. The monks run ten barns, cellars and mills, transforming or marketing local productions (cereals, wines, wood) in the Champagne and Paris markets. The donations of the local nobility, including the lords of Arcy, Avallon and Chastellux, contribute to its prosperity. In 1295, the abbey won a lawsuit against Eudes Besors de Villarnoult, confirming its rights. It passed under the protection of King Charles V in 1370, then became a royal foundation under Charles VIII in 1493.

The architecture of the abbey evolves over the centuries. The first abbey church, built around 1162, was destroyed by the Huguenots in 1587. A second church, built between 1759 and 1765 by architects Claude-Louis d'Aviler and Claude Nicolas Ledoux, was destroyed after the Revolution. Among the remaining remains, the Cistercian 14th century refectory, with its double-span nave and period polychromy, is one of the three remaining copies in France. The dormitory of the monks, transformed in the eighteenth century, and the dovecote of the seventeenth century, with 3,500 bolts, also bear witness to its history. The Cistercian hydraulic network, intact, and the foundations of the abbey church, discovered during excavations, complete this remarkable ensemble.

Reigny Abbey has been listed as a Historic Monument since 18 March 1920. Now privately owned, it has been the subject of restorations since 2005, including the reactivation of the hydraulic mill. His history was marked by figures such as Étienne de Toucy, the first abbot sent by Bernard de Clairvaux, or Basile Fouquet, who died there in 1680. The Abbey, daughter of Clairvaux, illustrates the Cistercian influence in Burgundy and its economic and spiritual role for centuries.

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