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Key figures

Origin and history

The Abbey of Foigny, founded on 11 July 1121 by Bernard de Clairvaux and Barthélemy de Jur, bishop of Laon, implanted in a valley of Thiérache, between Origny and Étréaupont. Built on the model of Clairvaux, it houses up to 100 monks and 200 conversing brothers, exploiting 12,000 hectares of land. Thanks to the gifts of the lords, the monks develop mills and clearings, favouring the settlement of villages.

Between 1181 and 1185, Pope Lucius III arbitrated a conflict between Foigny and the Abbey of Saint Michael in Thierache concerning forests, by a bubble preserved in Velletri. Raoul I of Coucy was buried there in 1192. The abbey, destroyed by a fire in 1542, was partially rebuilt in the 18th century before being looted during the Revolution. Transformed into a military hospital in 1794, it disappeared almost entirely.

Today, only a chapel erected in the 19th century on the site of the choir and a 12th century mill, still active until 2000. The Thon River has been producing hydropower since 1982. The site, peaceful, preserves the memory of the Cistercian monks and their role in spatial planning.

Daughter of Clairvaux and mother of the Abbey of Boheries, Foigny illustrates the Cistercian influence in Thierache. His cartular and historical works of the 19th century, such as those of Amédée Piette or Édouard Barthélémy, document his heritage. The 1959 excavations confirmed the original plan inspired by Clairvaux.

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