Visit to the Abbaye aux Dames
Caen, the Royal Abbey of the Ladies is a must-see
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Abbaye aux Dames
Caen cedex
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Caen, a must-see and majestic site. What to see and do at the Royal Abbey of Caen:
History: Founded around 1060 by Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Bastard, the Abbaye aux Dames was consecrated on June 18, 1066, under the patronage of the Holy Trinity. This Benedictine abbey housed young women from the Norman aristocracy until the French Revolution, in exchange for which the families pledged to provide a dowry to the abbey. Over time, the convent fell into disrepair, and it was at the beginning of the 18th century that the abbess, Madame Froulay de Tessé, undertook its reconstruction. The project was entrusted to a lay brother, Guillaume de la Tremblaye, architect of the Benedictine abbey of Bec-Hellouin (Eure). Due to financial difficulties, it took nearly a century to build these magnificent buildings, which remain unfinished: the fourth wing of the cloister was never constructed. The Revolution led to the closure of the convent and the sale of its real estate and furnishings, which explains the absence of decoration, woodwork, and furniture. The church was converted into a fodder store and the convent into a barracks (1793-1809). It served as a hospital and then a hospice from 1908. In November 1984, the last nuns of the Saint-Louis hospice and their patients left these buildings to make way for the Lower Normandy Regional Council. After two years of renovations led by the architect Georges Duval, the regional authority took possession of the premises. On May 26, 2016, the Abbaye aux Dames officially became the headquarters of the new Normandy Region. The site is open every day (except January 1st, May 1st, and December 25th) from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM and from 1:30 PM to 6:00 PM on weekdays, and from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM on weekends and public holidays. Temporary exhibitions are presented by the Normandy Region. Free admission every day from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Guided tours daily (duration: 1 hour). The guided tour includes the former convent buildings (18th century), now the headquarters of the Normandy Region, and the Abbey Church of the Trinity (11th and 12th centuries). Departure: Visitor reception hall at 2:30 pm and 4:00 pm* (*from February 10 to November 3, 2024). Price: Full price €5, reduced price €3, free for under 18s… Online booking available . For groups, direct booking is preferred. Activities offered year-round! 5-hectare park (children's play area, panoramic views, picnic tables). Activity kits (maps, compass, plan, mirror, etc.) for a fun family activity about abbey life. Available from the guides. Free. The Abbaye aux Dames is a member of the Normandy Abbey Network: www.abbayes-normandie.com
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Abbaye aux Dames
Caen cedex Following in the footsteps of the great ladies of Caen and their noble daughters.
On June 18, 1066, the day of the abbey's consecration, Mathilde and Guillaume offered to God the fruit of their union. Their little Cécile was 5 years old. She was raised in the monastery, became abbess, and bestowed upon herself the title of Madame de Caen—an honor since then bestowed upon all the Mothers who succeeded her in this abbey of noble ladies, whose nuns came from the upper aristocracy... until the Revolution, which decreed the abolition of noble privileges and the secularization of Church property.
Then the monastery, magnificently restored in the 18th century, became a barracks, a workhouse, and a hospice. And from decline to decay, it regained its splendor to house the Regional Council, the heir to ducal power. As for the church of these Ladies, although much altered, it retains that Romanesque harmony which speaks so well to the silence of the soul. Don't miss the underground crypt of Saint-Nicolas. The authenticity of the 11th century is there, in this forest of columns whose capitals blossom into volutes cradled by a breath of eternity.
