Cîteaux Abbey

Cîteaux Abbey, known in French as Abbaye de Cîteaux, is a historic Catholic monastery situated in Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, south of Dijon, France. Its primary significance lies in being the original house of the Order of Cistercians, established on March 21, 1098, by a group of monks from Molesme Abbey seeking to live a more austere life according to the Rule of St. Benedict. The abbey was supported by local nobility, including Renaud, Vicomte de Beaune, and Odo I, Duke of Burgundy, and was led by its first abbot, Saint Robert of Molesme.

History and Development

The early years of Cîteaux were shaped by its first abbots, including Saint Alberic and Saint Stephen Harding, who authored the foundational document for the order, the Carta Caritatis. The abbey flourished, becoming an important center of Christianity by the 13th century, with over 500 houses in its order. The Dukes of Burgundy later adopted Cîteaux Abbey as their dynastic burial place. Despite its spiritual and architectural importance, Cîteaux endured periods of extreme hardship, including extensive damage and looting during the Hundred Years' War and, most devastatingly, during the French Wars of Religion in 1589, which left it in ruins. It was later seized and its property sold during the French Revolution in 1790.

Modern Era and Legacy

After a period as an agricultural penitentiary colony, Cîteaux Abbey was re-established as a monastery in 1898 when Trappist monks, also known as Cistercians of the Strict Observance, settled there. Today, it remains an active monastic community of about 35 monks who continue the Cistercian tradition. The community engages in commercial activities, producing goods such as cheese, caramels, and honey-based candies, which are branded under the abbey's name. Three buildings from the ancient period, including the library, the Définitoire, and the Lenoir building, have been preserved and classified as historic monuments, attesting to the abbey's long and rich history.