Abbaye de Nesle-la-Reposte

The abbey at Nesle-la-Reposte stands in the Marne valley, a Benedictine house founded under Clovis for both monks and nuns. Its earliest church, now a great ruin, dates from the 11th century and once sheltered scholars such as Saint Serein. The monastery passed through the hands of Saint-Benoît and Saint-Vannes before Simon, lord of Rethel, made generous gifts in 1150. The wars of religion left deep scars: in 1658 Protestant forces burned the abbey, and by 1674 the monks had moved to Villenauxe-la-Grande. They took with them the Romanesque portal, stables, bakery, cellars, vat-house and press, which still stand in Villenauxe today. In 1790 the mayor recorded the monks’ wishes and inventoried their goods before they were sold the following year. Visitors today find the roofless nave and transept of the 11th-century church, its walls rising above the valley floor. The Romanesque portal now frames the entrance to the former monastic buildings in Villenauxe-la-Grande. Nearby, the old bakehouse and cellars recall the daily life of the community that once flourished here.