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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame de la Trappe Abbey, originally called Grande-Trappe, was founded in the 12th century in Soligny-la-Trappe (Orne) by Rotrou III the Grand, Count of Perche, in memory of his wife Mathilde, who died in the sinking of the Blanche-Nef (1120). The first monks, from Breuil-Benoît Abbey (Congregation of Savigny), settled there in 1140. The abbey adopted the Cistercian rule in 1147 and experienced a spiritual and material expansion under the abbey of Adam Gautier, with the consecration of his abbey church in 1214. She also founded a female abbey-daughter, Les Clairets, in 1215.

The Hundred Years' War (XIVth-15th centuries) marked a decline: looting, fire and forced exile (as at Bonsmoulins Castle around 1360). In the sixteenth century, the regime of the beginning was imposed by Francis I (1527), deviating the abbey from its religious vocation. Jean du Bellay, the first merchant abbey, combined six abbeys, illustrating the monastic decadence of the time.

The re-foundation of the Trappe in the 17th century was the work of Armand Jean Le Bouthillier de Rancé, abbot who became regular in 1664. He established the Strict Observance (or Trappist Reform), attracting vocations and reviving monastic life. Despite the opposition of Cîteaux and Louis XIV, the Trappe became the cradle of a new Cistercian order, exported to Europe after the Revolution. Closed in 1790, looted and partially destroyed, the abbey was restored by the exiled monks in 1814, after pereginations in Switzerland, Russia and Germany.

The current buildings, rebuilt around 1890, retain few medieval traces, with the exception of the guest room (XIII century), classified as Historic Monument in 1975. This Gothic hall, in flint and grey, with its two vaulted naves, bears witness to primitive Cistercian architecture. Today, the abbey remains an active monastery, symbol of Trappist spirituality, and even offers a craft beer (Hercelin) since 2025, inspired by an ancient monastic recipe.

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