Medieval Abbays

THE ABBAYE AUX DAMES

This monastic house founded in 1047 by Geoffroy Martel and his wife Agnès de Bourgogne was the first female convent in Saintonge. It was highly prestigious up until the French Revolution when the Benedictines were harried out. The Church of Notre-Dame dates back to the origins in the 11th and 12th Centuries. The arch mouldings above the portal and the capitals on the belltower are magnificent examples Saintonge Romanesque art.There is a permanent exhibition in the 17th Century religious buildings recounting the history of the site. Nowadays the Abbey belongs to the prestigious grouping of Centres Culturels de Rencontre (Cultural Meeting Places) which produce a very well reputed festival every year in July, "le Festival de Saintes".www.abbayeauxdames.org

http://www.ot-saintes.fr/gbsaintesmedieval.htm