Cycle Route Véloroute Vallée du Loir

Bonneval Abbey, also known as St. Florentinus' Abbey (French: Abbaye de Bonneval, Abbaye St-Florentin de Bonneval or Abbaye St-Florentin et St-Hilaire de Bonneval), is a former Benedictine monastery in Bonneval , Eure-et-Loir, in France.

History

The Benedictine abbey at Bonneval was founded in 857 by a knight called Foulques under the auspices of Charles of Provence, great-grandson of Charlemagne. (The town of the same name subsequently grew up around the monastery).

Originally dedicated to the Roman martyrs Saints Marcellinus and Peter, the abbey took the name of Florentinus after the transfer here of relics of the more local Saints Florentinus and Hilarius, martyred in Burgundy, in thanks for services rendered by the monks of Bonneval to abbot Aurelian of Ainay Abbey. During the monks' return trip from Roanne to Orléans so many miracles occurred and the saints became so popular that the abbey was known from then on by their names, and later by that of Florentinus only.

In 911, Bonneval Abbey was attacked by invading Normans and burnt down. It was not until 50 years later that it was rebuilt, with the support of Eudes, son of Thibaut the Cheat (Thibaut le Tricheur).

In 1110, Louis VI, King of France, took the abbey under royal protection for political reasons. The 12th and 13th centuries were the high period of Bonneval Abbey.

The Hundred Years' War had a very damaging effect on the monastery. In 1420, Henry V, King of England, attacked it and once again it was pillaged and burnt down. It was not rebuilt until the end of the 15th century, under René d’Illiers, Bishop of Chartres, who among other things rebuilt the abbots' lodging over the sub-basements of the 13th century.

In 1568, the Grand Condé, at the head of the Protestants, attacked the abbey, which was largely burnt down again.

At the French Revolution the abbey's property and premises were declared a national asset and the remaining buildings sold to a businessman who installed a thread-making factory and later a carpet factory.

In 1845 it was turned into an agricultural settlement for abandoned children, and in 1861 the lunatic asylum of the department of Eure-et-Loir.

The abbots' lodging was restored at the end of the 19th century to its original Early Renaissance style under the leadership of the director, Dr Vincent Bigot.

The abbey buildings now accommodate a psychiatric hospital, the Centre Hospitalier Henry Ey, named for the distinguished psychiatrist Henry Ey (1900–1977), for many years its director.

Two large pictures formerly in the monastery refectory are now in the parish church of Notre-Dame in Bonneval, depicting the miracle of the loaves and the fishes and Jesus healing Simon the Leper, a copy of an original by Nicolas Poussin.

Châteaudun ist eine französische Gemeinde mit 13.195 Einwohnern (Stand 2017) im Département Eure-et-Loir in der Region Centre-Val de Loire; sie ist Verwaltungssitz des Arrondissements Châteaudun und Hauptort des Kantons Châteaudun. Die Einwohner werden „Dunois“ genannt.

Geschichte

Châteaudun war im Mittelalter als Hauptstadt der Grafschaft Châteaudun im Besitz der Grafen von Blois, die hier den Vizegrafen von Châteaudun eingesetzt hatten. Im 15. Jahrhundert war Châteaudun Hauptort der Grafschaft Dunois, die aus der Vizegrafschaft hervorgegangen war.

Nach einem Brand im Jahr 1723 wurde die Neustadt um den Rathausplatz von Jules Hardouin-Mansart neu angelegt.

Im Deutsch-Französischen Krieg wurde die Stadt in der Schlacht bei Châteaudun angegriffen. Am 18. Oktober 1870 eroberten preußische Truppen der 22. Division die Stadt. Beim anschließenden Häuserkampf mit den Franc-tireurs wurde sie erheblich beschädigt. Viele Häuser wurden auch nach Abschluss der Kämpfe absichtlich in Brand gesetzt.

Sehenswürdigkeiten

• ⊙Schloss Châteaudun (12.–16. Jahrhundert)
• ⊙Kirche Saint-Valérien
• ⊙Ehemalige Abteikirche Sainte-Madeleine, teilweise romanisch
• ⊙Altstadt (les vieux quartiers) mit Renaissance-Häusern
• ⊙ Ruinen der Kirche Saint-Lubin
• ⊙Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Histoire Naturelle (Museum der Schönen Künste und der Naturgeschichte) mit urgeschichtlichen, ägyptischen und mittelalterlichen Exponaten sowie einer großen Sammlung von Vögeln
• ⊙Grottes du Foulon, die Grotten von Foulon