Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The abbey of Notre-Dame de Longuay, located in the Aube valley between Aubepierre-sur-Aube and Dancevoir (Haute-Marne), was first a hospital home from 1102 to 1126. Founded by Chrétien de Leuglay and his nephews Guy and Hugues on a marsh called Long-Vé, it welcomed pious brothers under the protection of Robert de Bourgogne, bishop of Langres. The settlement became a community of regular canons (1126-1149) under Bishop Willenc, adopting the rule of Saint Augustine.

In 1149, under the impulse of Pope Eugene III (former monk of Clairvaux) and Saint Bernard, the abbey was integrated into the Cistercian order, becoming a daughter of Clairvaux. She knew 24 regular abbots until 1532, the date of the beginning of the abbots. The French Revolution marked its end: the religious left in 1790, and the goods were sold as national goods between 1791 and 1793. The work of 689 years disappeared in two years.

Today, remains such as the building of the conversing brothers (XII century), arcades of the upper room, and the barn with tithes (classified Historic Monument in 1925, then 2019). The 19th century castle, built by the Bouchu family, incorporates part of the old cloister. A plan of 1753, made by the surveyor Joachim Meusy for the merchant Abbé Geoffroy de Braagelongne, documents his lost architecture.

The Abbey illustrates the religious and political transformations from the Middle Ages to the Revolution, while at the same time testifying to the Cistercian influence in Champagne. Its history, in conjunction with that of Clairvaux and the popes (like Eugene III), makes it a key site for the monastic heritage of France.

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