France - Fatouville-Grestain, abbey

de Conteville. The abbey was officially closed in 1757. The church buildings were demolished around 1766 and the rest of the abbey was destroyed in 1790.

At the end of the 12th century, the abbey owned seven country houses, twelve churches, a priory, three estates and several parishes, which together formed a domain of 5,830 hectares.

The abbey complex is located in a wooded park - surrounded by a boundary wall, parts of which date back to the Middle Ages - through which the Saint-Benoît spring with healing water flows. Today, only a few of the original buildings remain: a perfectly intact 12th-century vaulted refectory and a pillar from the abbey church with a commemorative plaque (added in 1928). From the 18th century the complex still has a beautiful stone barn, a little chapel and a manor.

Since 1960, the current owners have been committed to restoring this place. Nowadays the abbey is open for visitors and is offering a rich cultural programme of guided tours, conferences, concerts, theatre and exhibitions.