Notre-Dame de Bellaigue, Romanesque abbey in Virlet, France

Notre-Dame de Bellaigue is a former Cistercian abbey whose 12th-century church, about 45 metres long and 15 metres high, has a three-aisled nave with a Burgundian vault and seven bays of round arches on rectangular piers flanked by half-columns. The west facade, built around 1140, has a large round-arched portal with layered voussoirs, a tall central window divided by a mullion, and two smaller arched windows. The church is flanked by a wide transept and a round choir between four ruined half-round apses.

The site began as a Benedictine priory in 950 and became a Cistercian abbey in 1137 when monks from Montpeyroux established their community here. This connection to the Cistercian order shaped the abbey's development and religious direction.

The abbey's name comes from "Bellaigue", meaning "beautiful water", after the Vialle stream that runs along its southern side. The monks still celebrate the liturgy in Latin using the 1962 Roman Missal, and since 2019 the community has been close to Richard Williamson's traditionalist movement rather than the Society of Saint Pius X.

The abbey is located just north of Virlet and can be reached by contacting the community directly at +33 4 73 52 33 26. Visitors should check availability ahead of time since opening conditions vary with the season and the community's activities.

The west facade's round-arched portal is flanked by paired columns, and above it a tall window is divided by a vertical mullion. Inside, the tomb of Archambaud VIII de Bourbon, who died in 1242 at the Battle of Taillebourg, and of his wife Béatrix de Montluçon was restored; his shield shows the old Bourbon arms, a red lion with eight blue scallop shells.