A strange destiny.

A strange destiny, for the cloister of the abbey (12th century) which was sold, and can now be found, amongst other places, in a museum in New York!  Luckily, in the 1980s, it was bought up and sent back to its original site.
Above the church doorway, the lintel in white marble was the first Romanesque sculpture dated in stone (1019 – 1020).

A little bit of history …

The Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Genis-des-Fontaines was founded in 778-780:  It was dedicated to Saint-Genis, a martyr of Christ (+ 303).

Destroyed in the middle of the 9th century by Normand robbers, it was rebuilt in the following decades.

First of all attached to Cluny (1088), the abbey joined Montserrat (near Barcelona) at the beginning of the 16th century.

The French Revolution did not spare the abbey:  All the goods in the monestry were requisitioned and sold as national property in 1796.

1922-1924:  These years were marked by the sale of a large number of the columns of the cloister to a Parisian antique dealer.  It was dismantled.

From 1970 to 1985, important work was carried out at Saint-Genis-des-Fontaines to recompose its cultural heritage.  Thanks to the persevering work of many people, the stones were put back in their original place (in situ).

From 1987, heavy restoration work was carried out and has allowed the arched ceilings to be rebuilt, as well as the ceilings and corner stones of the interior ambulatory.

In 2002, restoration of the superior ambulatory was carried out, which has been transformed today into a « Cultural Gallery », and welcomes well-known artists.