A Gigantic Cistercian Church: The Large Abbaye de Vaucelles

Located on the commune de Les Rues-des-Vignes in the département du Nord, Abbaye de Vaucelles was founded in 1131 by Saint Bernard himself. The abbey was built on land ceded by Hugues d'Oisy, seigneur de Oisy and Crèvecœur, châtelain de Cambrai. The first stone was laid on August 1, 1132, by Bernard de Clairvaux, making it the thirteenth foundation of the Cistercian order.

At its peak, the abbey possessed the largest Cistercian church in Europe, surpassing the great Gothic cathedrals of Île-de-France, Picardie, and Champagne. The construction was so vast that the abbot of Clairvaux was even punished for authorizing a project that did not conform to the order's principles of simplicity and poverty. The structure reached a length of 137 meters.

Although the abbey was suppressed in 1790 and almost totally destroyed during the Revolution and the first World War, parts of the site remain. Today, the outlines of the old buildings are marked on the ground, and the site houses a medieval garden that can be visited.

In 1971, the abbey was purchased by the Lagoutte family, who began efforts to restore it and develop its tourist appeal. The department of Nord purchased the abbey in 2017. Historically, in 1152, Simon, abbé d’Eaucourt, gave the abbey the tithe of Pésières.

Each year in March, the abbey welcomes an international orchid exhibition. The building housing the 12th-century rooms has been listed as a historic monument since August 20, 1920.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons