A prominent monument of Romanesque art in the Pyrenees-Orientales.
 

Situated in the heart of Romanesque Conflent and at the foot of the Canigou, the Abbey of Saint Michel de Cuxa is an exceptional architectural building with a large pre-Romanesque church dating from the 10th century, the Romanesque-Lombard bell tower and the remains of the Romanesque cloister date from the 12th century.  A religious community lives there all year round.

Part of the capitals can be found in the Cloisters Museum in New York …
 

In 1008, it was the grandson of Count Seniofred, Oliba, who was elected abbot of Ripoll and Cuxa.  He was to profoundly transform the abbey by building in front of the church, the two superimposed chapels of the Nativity (Pessebre) and the Trinity, which communicate with Saint-Michel via galleries.  Later, the abbey lived through prospserous and not so prosperous periods over the centuries …  In the 19th century, the buildings situated around the church fell into ruin little by little; the cloister was sold off, capital after capital, to enthusiasts or collectioners.  Part of it can be found re-built in the Cloisters Museum in New York …

Since the 1920s, the abbey has undergone restoration programmes carried out by the Historical Monuments department.

This spectacular monument holds cultural events, like, for example, the Romanesque Days, and conferences on Romanesque art, etc...