Commanderie de Savigny-le-Temple, Medieval commandry in Seine-et-Marne, France
The commanderie de Savigny-le-Temple stands in the Bourg district of Savigny-le-Temple, in western Seine-et-Marne, 51 km southeast of Paris and 8 km northwest of Melun. Its surviving complex pairs a tall square tower of pale rough-cut stone, with a slate spire, a round clock face and two louvered round-arched windows, with a lower gabled building under dark tiles, a cross at the ridge and a timber-framed porch with open arches. Patched masonry shows later repairs.
Louis VII gave the Templars his lands of Savigny-sur-Melun by an act signed at Orléans around 1149, after returning from the crusade with the order's master Évrard des Barres; he added an annual rent of 30 livres from the cens of Étampes. Donations followed: the pond and mill of Saint-Leu in 1164, the church of Saint-Germain in 1168, tithes from 1177. After the dissolution of the Templars, the Hospitallers took over the commandery.
The name survives in the Bourg district, where the commandery's lands once stretched over more than 1,500 arpents in the 13th century. The commander held high, middle and low justice and was collator of Savigny. After the Revolution only the great farm on the old Coulevrain fief remained; a beet distillery was added in the late 19th century, and from 1986 to 2016 the building housed an ecomuseum.
The site is accessible by public transport, particularly through the Savigny-le-Temple - Nandy train station, which offers regular connections to Paris. Check the local transit schedule before planning your visit to confirm timing and service availability.
After the Revolution only the great farm on the old Coulevrain fief survived. From the late 19th century a distillery there made alcohol from sugar beet; farming ended in 1986 and the building became an ecomuseum, open until 2016.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,890 contributors worldwide.