Abbaye Notre-Dame de Lanvaux

Abbaye Notre-Dame de Lanvaux is a Cistercian monastery located in Brandivy with stone buildings distributed across a large estate beside a river. The complex includes a renovated main house offering guest rooms and two separate cottages, along with preserved medieval structures arranged across the property.

The monastery was founded in 1138 as a daughter house of a larger abbey and grew into a significant religious community in the region. It survived through the medieval and early modern periods until it was dissolved and converted to private use.

The abbey served as a spiritual center that shaped the local landscape and community life for centuries. The layout of the buildings reflects how monks organized their daily work and prayer routines in this rural setting.

The estate is open to visitors and offers accommodation options in guest rooms and separate cottages for groups of various sizes. It helps to check in advance about visiting conditions and any seasonal closures, as parts of the property remain in private use.

The monastic buildings stand on two separate stone terraces that were built to adapt to the river and local topography. This clever arrangement shows how medieval monks engineered their surroundings to manage water flow and optimize the use of the land.