Fontfroide abbey's origin

Did you know this Cistercian abbey owns its name from fons frigida, which means "cold water"? Monks who came here in order to found the monastery in 1093, probably found a fresh stream...

Well, monks raised new buildings, they transformed rooms into a dormitory, according to the Cistercian rules. Donations came from everywhere, even from Spain!

Well, king of Aragon visited Fontfroide himself: he gave plots of lands near Tarragona, so monks could come and found a monastery.

During the French Revolution, the estate was parcelled out and the buildings were transformed into a barn.

In 1858, Cistercian monks settled in and Prosper Mérimée helped by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc started to restore the abbey.

Thanks to those two men and to the new owner in 1908, Gustave Fayet, we can visit Fontfroide: the chapter room, the cloister and the church, the cellar and several buildings...