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Abbaye Royale Fontevraud
Founded in 1101 by Robert d'Arbrissel near Saumur, the royal abbey of Fontevraud was one of the largest monastic complexes in Europe. It was a double monastery, where men and women lived in separate communities, under the authority of an abbess. For nearly two centuries, the post was held by women of the Bourbon royal family.
The abbey became the necropolis of the Plantagenets: Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard the Lionheart and Joan of England were buried there, and their effigies can be seen in the church. After the Revolution, Napoleon turned it into a prison in 1804, a use that lasted until 1963. Listed as a historic monument as early as 1840, it is part of the Loire Valley site inscribed by UNESCO in 2000. Since 1975, it has been a cultural meeting centre, devoted to creation, music and the promotion of heritage; a museum of modern art has been housed there since 2021.
