Abbaye de Clairmarais, Cistercian abbey ruins in Clairmarais, France.
Abbaye de Clairmarais is a Cistercian monastery founded in the 1100s, now reduced to remnants standing in marshy landscape. The surviving structures come mostly from the 1600s and sit near where the original religious community once lived.
The monastery was established in 1140 and expanded significantly over time to become a major religious center. Economic hardship and religious changes eventually caused the complex to decline and be abandoned.
The craft brewery operating since 2019 keeps alive the monastic connection to manual work and production on the site. You can taste beers made in the surviving buildings and feel how the place still honors its religious roots through daily activity.
Visit by guided tour, arranged through the people managing the site, to explore the remnants properly. Wear sturdy footwear since the ground can be muddy due to the wet surroundings.
The monastery raised fish in its marshy waters as an important economic activity, using the wetland environment to its advantage. Traces of the old ponds and channels that served this purpose remain visible in the landscape today.
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