Jumièges - Abbey

In 654 the abbey was founded by Saint Philibert on a royal domain, bestowed by Clovis II and Queen Balthild. Some decades later, the abbey had prospered and Jumièges prospered and numbered nearly a thousand monks. It was one of the largest and most important abbeys at that time.

Charlemagne´s cousin Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria, and one of his rebellious rivals, was deposed and sentenced to death by Charlemagne. He then was exiled and lived in the abbey. Of course Tassilo had to renounce his and his family's claims to Bavaria.

In the 9th century the abbey was pillaged and burnt down by the Vikings, but was rebuilt soon after. In 934 twelve monks from Saint-Cyprien in Poitiers settled here and "restarted" the monastery. A new, large church was consecrated in 1067 in the presence of William the Conqueror.

The abbey suffered through the English invasion of the 15th century, recovered until it was was devastated by the Huguenots during the Wars of Religion.

The French Revolution ended the abbey´s existence. The buildings were sold as quarries - so there is only a ruin today. The Tourist Office calls it the "most beautiful ruin of France".