The Secret Retreat: A 12th-century Cistercian Convent Hidden Away in a French

Deep in a valley, hidden from prying eyes, the Monastère du Coyroux was founded as a double Cistercian monastery with its counterpart in Aubazine. This cloistered convent was Esteban's brainchild, built on a terrace with defenses against the flooding Coyroux stream. The women's monastery, however, had no land or dependencies and relied on the men's monastery for survival. We're talking about food, wood, vegetables, even medical herbs. But as the 14th century approached, the men's monastery faced recruitment struggles and the women's monastery was left wanting.

Enter, Clement VI, Eustorge's nephew, supporting the prioress and nuns in securing the revenues of the church of Cornac, Quercy, in 1355, thus liberating the women's monastery from dependence on the men. Only 8 nuns and one lay sister remained in the Monastère du Coyroux by 1741. A dark chapter followed with the monastic community closing during the French Revolution, leaving behind only the walls of the church today.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons