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Origin and history

Saint-Jean-de-Réome Abbey, founded around 450 by Jean, son of noble Dijonnais, is considered the oldest in Burgundy. Originally installed near the source of the Reome as a hermitage, it was transferred to Moutiers-Saint-Jean between the 6th and 7th centuries. Under the impulse of powerful abbots, she experienced a golden age in the 12th century, with a Romanesque abbey consecrated in 1177, competing with Vézelay or Cluny. The remains of this period, like carved capitals, bear witness to an exceptional craft.

In the 17th century, the Maurist monks undertook a major reconstruction after centuries of decline marked by the wars of Religion and the beginning. The current buildings, designed in a rigorous classical style, date back to this time, with elements attributed to the architect Claude Louis d'Aviler. In spite of its good condition, the abbey was demolished after the Revolution, its stones being reused locally. Only 17th century facades, a wrought iron staircase, and scattered lapidary remains remain.

The abbey was acquired in 2012 by private individuals, who restored it and opened it to the public in 2013. Today, we discover 18th-century gypsum sets, the music salon, the cloister, and furnished rooms. A restoration campaign in 2020 visa including roofing. The Abbey remains a major testimony of the Burgundy monastic heritage, from its Merovingian origins to its classical renaissance.

Among the lost treasures, the Merovingian sarcophagus of Saint John, dated the fourth century, was carved of Christian scenes inspired by antiquity. Damaged during the Wars of Religion, its fragments are now preserved in French and American museums. The 13th century Gothic portal, sold in 1920, now adorns the Cloisters Museum in New York. These dispersions illustrate the upheavals suffered by the monument.

The abbey exercised spiritual and economic influence over more than twenty parishes, mainly in Yonne. His abbots, respected figures, participated in the regional councils. The Maurist reform in the 17th century gave the monastery an intellectual breath, with a library and a musical salon reflecting the erudition of the monks. The Revolution ended this millennium history, but recent restorations make it possible to appreciate its heritage.

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