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Origin and history

The former Abbey of the Feuillants of Selles-sur-Cher finds its origins in the 6th century, with the construction of a first monastery destroyed by the Normans in the 9th century. A new building, built in the 12th century, reused elements of the first construction. The nave and bottoms were rebuilt between 1290 and 1304, while the bell tower accidentally collapsed in 1533. The religious wars marked the site: in 1563 the Protestant troops of Coligny ruined the choir and the apsidioles.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the abbey became an establishment of Feuillants. A chapel was built in the walkway for Philip of Bethune (1st quarter of the 17th century), then the convent buildings were rebuilt between 1612 and 1650, with a door dated 1650. The crypt was enlarged and the choir raised in 1614. Major restorations took place from 1849 to 1860 (pillars and west façade) and from 1882 to 1896 under the direction of A. De Baudot, who relocated bas-reliefs on the abside.

Today the abbey presents itself as a quadrilateral with a partially cloistered inner courtyard, arched in third-point. An underground connects the back of the buildings to the church of Saint-Eusice. The remains of the cloister, inscribed in the Historical Monuments in 1946, bear witness to its architectural evolution, from medieval uses to classical reconstructions. The property now belongs to the municipality of Selles-sur-Cher.

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