Abbaye de Saint-Sever, Benedictine abbey in Noues de Sienne, France.
Abbaye de Saint-Sever is a Benedictine monastery in Noues de Sienne with a Gothic church built from local granite. The complex features five lancet windows illuminating the choir area, with additional buildings organized around a cloister courtyard.
A hermitage founded by Saint Sever in the 6th century preceded the Benedictine abbey, established around 1060–1070 by Richard Goz, Viscount of Avranches, and his son Hugh. After the Norman Conquest, Hugh linked it to English priories such as Haugham. It declined from the 12th century, was fortified by the English during the Hundred Years' War, and was restored after a 1680 fire.
The abbey church's five-sided apse is lit by five tall lancet windows; two hold 13th-century stained glass showing the Life of Christ, the Tree of Jesse and the Life of Saint Sever. A south choir window gathers fragments of 15th-century glass. The saint is Sever, a 6th-century hermit who first founded a monastery here.
The abbey church, bought by the commune in 1819, serves as the parish church and is classified as a historical monument. The monastic buildings, purchased in 1834, held the town hall, the justice of the peace, the presbytery, the gendarmerie and the boys' and girls' schools; the east wing closing the cloister was demolished in 1838. The 17th-century bell tower of the former parish church stands apart in front of the abbey church.
During the French Revolution in 1791, the abbey grounds were transformed into a saltpeter and cloth manufacturing facility. This industrial use left marks that remain visible in the complex's structure today.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,720 contributors worldwide.