Abbaye

One more of Burgundy that almost got missed.. the Abbaye de Fontenay. 

It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

There's something about a place where you know that a lot of guys spent their days praying and working together, and generally being at peace.  I can understand the appeal.  Especially when we learned that they had a kennel where they kept and raised dogs.  If not playing with the dogs, then I want to be baking bread.

All of the buildings were beautiful.. minimalist.  It was hard to tell if that was the way it was or if it was bare because there was a period where the property was a papermill (everything was taken out when they put the factory in).  Either way, the architecture was fantastic, as were the gardens, and it was quiet. You could imagine how very cold it was in the winter, and how happy you would be to see spring arrive.

inside the church

 

the tomb of a knight and his lady

 



the cloisters

 

Interestingly, the abbaye went strong for hundreds of years, with 200 monks living there at its peak.  It was a democracy in that the head guy was elected by the other monks. Then, the king (forget which) decided to get into their business and started appointing the head guy.  And that's went hings started going downhill, and the abbaye eventually closed.   Another testimonial to the importance of participation in government!  Zeric was psyched...