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Origin and history

The Abbey of Vaucelles, founded in 1131 by Saint Bernard de Clairvaux, is a Cistercian monastery located in the Scheldt Valley, 13 kilometres southwest of Cambrai (North). It was built on land ceded by Hugues d'Oisy, Chaplain of Cambrai, and became the thirteenth foundation of order. Its 137-metre-long Gothic abbey church surpassed the cathedrals of Île-de-France and Picardie in size, despite criticism for its lack of simplicity.

The abbey reached its peak in the 13th century with two cloisters, an infirmary and a library of 40,000 volumes. She received relics, including a thorn of the crown of Christ offered by Saint Louis in 1257. After centuries of decline and repair, it was abolished in 1790 and almost completely destroyed during the Revolution and the First World War. Current remains include ground-marked foundations and a medieval garden.

In 1971, the abbey was bought by the Lagoutte family, who undertook restoration work. Since 2017, it has been part of the Department of the North, which is conducting an ambitious project (2020-2032) to restore the wing of the monks, develop the abbey palace into cultural and tourist spaces, and preserve the schauguuette of the wall of enclosure. Archaeological excavations are also planned.

Ranked a three-stage historical monument (1920, 1986, 1987), the abbey is now a major archaeological site. Every year it hosts an international exhibition of orchids and remains an exceptional testimony of Cistercian architecture, despite the successive destructions.

The abbey of Vaucelles is accessible by the departmental roads D917 and D96, as well as by line 13 of the TUC network (Community of Cambrai agglomeration). Its history is documented by medieval charters, some of which date from the 12th and 13th centuries, and specialized works such as those of Benedict-Michel Tock or Laurence Terrier Aliferis.

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