Vienne - Abbaye de Saint-André-le-Bas

The oppidum of the Celtic Alobroges became a Roman colony about 47 BC under Julius Caesar, but the Allobroges managed to expel the Romans. The exiles moved north and founded the colony of Lugdunum (today's Lyon). During the early Empire, Vienna regained all its former privileges as a Roman colony. The city flourished and became the second capital of southern Gaul during the Roman Empire.
The first Christians lived in Vienne around 100 AD. In the 3rd century, the city became a bishopric. After the death of the childless last Burgundian king Rudolf III. Vienne fell in 1032 to the German king Conrad II and thus to the Holy Roman Empire. In the 12th century, Vienne became the capital of the Dauphiné. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Vienne experienced an economic boom, numerous houses were built in the half-timbered style of the time, and the cathedral was completed. During the Wars of Religion, the city was fought over and frequently looted.

The abbey was founded in the 8th century. The monastery church became the palace chapel of the kings of Burgundy at the end of the 9th century. The monastery adopted the Benedictine rule probably at the end of the 10th century. The convent failed to recover from the Wars of Religion and the monastic life ended on the eve of the Revolution. The abbey church becomes parochial and the convent buildings are sold and partially dismantled.

The cloister survived the times.