Royaumont Abbey is a former

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

, located near

Asnières-sur-Oise Asnières-sur-Oise (; literally "Asnières on Oise") is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. The 13th–18th century Royaumont Abbey is located in the commune. Population Twin towns * Cutigliano, Ital ...

Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.< ...

, approximately 30 km north of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

It was built between 1228 and 1235 with the support of

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis ...

. A proclamation by Louis IX stated that royal children were to be interred at Royaumont. The thirteenth century encyclopedist Vincent of Beauvais was a brother at the Abbey as well. The abbey was dissolved in 1791 during the French Revolution and the stones were partly used to build a factory. However, the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

, and

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...

remained intact. In 1836 and 1838, respectively, two operas by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

composer Friedrich von Flotow opened at Royaumont—''Sérafine'' and ''Le Comte de Saint-Mégrin''. In the early 20th century, the abbey was bought by the Goüin family who in 1964 created the Royaumont Foundation, the first private French cultural foundation. Today, the abbey is a tourist attraction and also serves as a cultural centre.

World War I

From January 1915 to March 1919, the Abbey was turned into a voluntary hospital, Hôpital Auxiliaire 301, operated by Scottish Women's Hospitals(SWH), under the direction of the

French Red Cross The French Red Cross (), or the CRF, is the national Red Cross Society in France founded in 1864 and originally known as the ''Société française de secours aux blessés militaires'' (SSBM). Recognized as a public utility since 1945, the Frenc ...

. It was especially noted for its performance treating soldiers involved in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. After the war the Chief Medical Officer, Miss Frances Ivens CBE MS(Lond) ChM(Liverp) FRGOG (1870–1944), was awarded membership of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Royaumont Abbey in popular culture

The novel ''In Falling Snow'' by Australian writer Mary-Rose MacColl (first published in Oct. 2012) is set at Royaumont during the time when it was a military hospital and refers to historical figures like Ms Ivens. The novel '' A Good Woman'' by

Danielle Steel Danielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel (born August 14, 1947) is an American writer, best known for her romance novels. She is the bestselling living author and one of the best-selling fiction authors of all time, with over 800 milli ...

(first published in Oct. 2008) also includes multiple chapters set at the Abbey during the war. The abbey was used as a filming location for the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

boarding school in

Jean Delannoy Jean Delannoy (; 12 January 1908 – 18 June 2008) was a French actor, film editor, screenwriter and film director. Biography Although Delannoy was born in a Paris suburb, his family was from Haute-Normandie in the north of France. He was a Pro ...

's '' Les amitiés particulières''. On 15 June 1971,

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

performed live here in front of an audience at the invitation of the Daudy family, the abbey's current owners. The family are well known in France for their cultivation of artistic talent, their generous philanthropy and their visionary taste in music and dance.

Gallery

File:Plan de l'abbaye de Royaumont (Louis Boudan, vers 1700).jpg, Overview of the abbey around 1700 File:Plan de l'abbaye de Royaumont.jpg, Plan of Royaumont before 1791 with the church ("A") still intact File:Abbaye de Royaumont - Réfectoire des moines 01.jpg, Refectory File:Asnières-sur-Oise (95), abbaye de Royaumont, réfectoire des moines, orgue Cavaillé-Coll.JPG, Pipe organ in the refectory File:Asnières-sur-Oise (95), abbaye de Royaumont, cloître, côté nord 4.JPG, Cloister File:Asnières-sur-Oise (95), abbaye de Royaumont, bâtiment des moines, vue depuis l'est 1.JPG, Entrance File:Asnières-sur-Oise (95), abbaye de Royaumont, bâtiment des latrines, vue depuis le nord-est.JPG, Latrine building File:Asnières-sur-Oise (95), abbaye de Royaumont, bâtiment des latrines, vaisseau sud, vue vers l'ouest 1.JPG, Latrine building, inside File:View palaisroyaumont.jpg, ''Palais abbatial''

References

Sources

External links

*
Official site of the Royaumont FoundationPhotos of the abbeyRomanes.com: abbey picturesMore photos (flickr.com)Abbaye de Royaumont

In Falling Snow
{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1235 Gardens in Val-d'Oise Cistercian monasteries in France Buildings and structures in Val-d'Oise Christian monasteries established in the 1230s Tourist attractions in Île-de-France Tourist attractions in Val-d'Oise Louis IX of France