The abbey of Morimond sprang from a marsh, frequented by a succession of hermits, in 1115. The land was given to the Cistercians by Oldoric, Lord of Aigremont, and his wife Adeline de Choiseul, in order to gain indulgences from God. The monks used their ingenious hydrological methods to irrigate the land. The abbey grew considerably and its influence spread from Prussia to Spain (more than 700 branches in Europe). The abbey became a veritable hostelry for pilgrims. As the fourth daughter of Cîteaux, it had the rank of head of the order. Imagine the abbey church being bigger than Langres cathedral! Unfortunately, the Revolution reduced this monastery, which had become one of the most important in Christendom, to a quarry. In 1857, the Goncourts wrote: "Morimond! All that remains of the magnificent abbey is enough to make the most beautiful and melancholy property in France, seventy acres of water, where hundred-year-old trees stand, crumbling at their feet, with stones that could build a little Versailles".
Today, the foundations of the buildings are the subject of annual excavations... An archaeological garden is already taking shape. The Sainte-Ursule chapel (15th century), the remains of the gatehouse and library (18th century), the church (12th century capital) and the ponds bear witness to the heyday of this site, which was destroyed during the French Revolution. A section of the wall of the abbey church (12th century) and the façade of the library remain. A U-shaped canal and the ponds built by the monks along the Flambart can still be seen.
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Abbaye de Morimond
