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Origin and history

The Priory of Froville, located in the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle in the Grand Est region, was founded in 1080 as one of the first Clunisian settlements in Lorraine. On 14 June 1091, Pibon, bishop of Toul, confirmed the donation of Lord Odowinus to the Abbey of Cluny to establish a priory, despite the protests of the Abbey of Moyenne, rejected in 1111. This modest prioress, usually occupied by a prior and two monks, declined in the 14th century due to insufficient income and wars, reducing his community to one monk in 1345. The villa was burned down in 1365, and the priory, described as ruined in 1408, was then placed under the priory of Relanges.

The economic recovery in Lorraine at the end of the 15th century allowed the restoration of the priory. In 1500, a bubble of indulgence by Pope Alexander VI encouraged donations to decorate the church. The cloister was rebuilt under Philibert de Foucheières, prior of Relanges and Froville in 1519, whose arms adorn the door. The Romanesque nave is preserved, but the bedside is rebuilt, just like the southern gate. The Gothic elements of the cloister, sold in 1922 to American banker George Blumenthal, are now exhibited at the Museum of the Cloisters of New York.

The church, sober and typically clunisian, features a seven-span Romanesque nave and a square Gothic choir, replacing the original novel. Its flat ceiling, of Carolingian origin, offers remarkable acoustics, exploited since 1997 by an annual festival of sacred and baroque music. The priory, partially protected as early as 1926 (attached facade and cloister), was classified as a Historic Monument in 1985 for the church and the cloister's gate. The local association works for its preservation, including guided tours and restoration of scattered elements.

Architecturally, the priory shares similarities with other 11th-century Lorraine Clunisian buildings, such as Saint-Maur de Bleurville Abbey and Notre-Dame de Faverney Basilica, notably by alternating round and square pillars in the nave. The departmental archives keep documents relating to its foundation and history (H series, 1091-1788).

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