Soissons - Saint-Pierre

This is, what is left of one of the most important, medieval nunneries in Northern France. The abbey Notre Dame was founded by the Merovingians around 660. Charlemagne´s sister Gisela was abbess, his daughter Rotrude was nun here.
In 789 under Louis the Pious the abbey in Herford (about 600kms northeast), the oldest nunnery in the Duchy of Saxony, was founded as a "filia" of this convent.

The abbey once had three churches and was widely known for the holy relics, kept here. The collection got lost and all buildings were demolished after the French Revolution. Only this small Romaneque structure, once part of a transept, just opposite Soisson´s large cathedral can still be found.