Gravure d'époque (Tavernier de Jonquières) / Wikimedia Commons (domaine public)
Religious heritage · Aisne
Abbaye de Prémontré
The Abbey of Prémontré, in the Aisne, founded in 1120 by Norbert of Xanten, was the mother house of the order of Premonstratensian canons regular, which spread across Europe in the Middle Ages. In the 18th century its medieval buildings gave way to a vast classical ensemble, set in a wooded valley away from Laon.
Sold as national property during the Revolution, the abbey has since had several uses, including as a psychiatric hospital. Its façades, outbuildings and park still bear witness to the architectural ambition of the 18th-century rebuilding.
