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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame-de-Joye Abbey, founded on October 5, 1275 by Blanche de Champagne, wife of Jean I of Brittany, was a female Cistercian abbey located in Hennebont. Affiliated in 1279 to the abbey of Aumône (diocese of Chartres), it welcomed nuns from the abbey of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs in Paris. His history was marked by a devastating fire in 1512, which destroyed the church, the cloister and several convent buildings.

Reconstructed in 1693 under the impetus of the abbesse Suzanne de Plœuc, the abbey retained major elements such as the portery (1699), the abbey house and an operating building. These structures, supplemented by a southern wing in the 19th century, housed an iron factory after the Revolution and became private property. The porterie, classified as a historical monument in 1921, served as a residence for priests before becoming a symbolic entrance (where its name was).

In the 19th century, the site was chosen to host the national studs of Hennebont, after a debate initially between Langonnet Abbey and Pontivy Ursulines. The buildings, sold as national goods, were partially transformed: the abbey house housed boxes for horses on the ground floor, while the floors and porterie housed palefreniers and artists in residence. Today, the porterie, restored by the city, houses creators as part of cultural projects.

The abbey knew 32 abbesses, including Sibille de Beaugé (1252–1312), cousin of Blanche de Champagne, and Madeleine II de La Bourdonnaye (1776–992), last abbesse before the revolutionary expulsion in 1792. The abbey church, delivered to the Carriers after 1792, disappeared almost entirely, leaving only remains integrated into the studs. The garden of the abbess, to the west, and the chapel post-1840 complete the present set.

The site, which was partially listed as a historical monument in 1995 (abbatial and common logis), illustrates the transformation of a religious heritage into a utilitarian and cultural space. Its history reflects political upheavals (Rvolution, industrialization) and architectural adaptations, while preserving Breton Cistercian memory.

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