Foigny Abbey, Cistercian monastery in La Bouteille, France

Foigny Abbey is a Cistercian monastery in a valley of the Thiérache region, consisting of stone buildings with simple geometric lines. The complex sits among meadows and fields, crossed by a stream that once powered the mill wheels.

The abbey was established in 1121 and built according to the architectural plan of Clairvaux, the most influential Cistercian monastery of that era. It rapidly became a thriving community that colonized entire regions and transformed local economies.

The abbey's name in Latin, Fusniacum, survives in records, and the site was a daughter house of Clairvaux and mother of Bohéries. Its monks and lay brothers cleared forest and built grain mills, and a mill on the River Thon, oldest part from the 12th century, kept working until 2000 and has produced hydroelectric power since 1982.

Nothing of the medieval abbey survives above ground; the site is marked by the 19th-century chapel built on the choir of the former abbey church, so look for that to locate the spot. The mill, whose oldest part dates to the 12th century, stands nearby and has used the River Thon for hydroelectric power since 1982.

Nothing of the abbey's medieval buildings survives above ground. A chapel was built at the end of the 19th century on the choir of the former abbey church, and a mill whose oldest part dates to the 12th century kept working until 2000; since 1982 the River Thon has driven its hydroelectric turbine.