Chartreuse de Prémol, Carthusian monastery ruins in Vaulnaveys-le-Haut, France.

Chartreuse de Premol is a Carthusian monastery built at 1095 meters altitude, with two structures still standing today: a forest house and the ruins of the entrance building. The site reveals the layout of structures that once organized the nuns' lives and daily routines.

Béatrice de Montferrat, second wife of Dauphin Guigues VI de Viennois, obtained the Prémol lands in 1234 and gave them to the nuns in early 1235, on a site already holding a monastery documented in papal bulls of 1179 and 1182. Her son Guigues VII was buried here in 1270. Damaged by fires in 1467 and 1707 and devastated during the Wars of Religion in 1562–1563, the convent was abolished in 1790 and sold in 1791, its 397 hectares stripped by local people.

The name comes from the Latin 'Pratis Mollis', meaning soft meadow, which refers to the landscape around this mountain site. The nuns who lived here followed strict rules and shaped the land through their work and self-sufficient way of life.

The site remains open to visitors year-round with free entry, making it easy to explore at your own pace. Winter weather and mountain conditions may limit access to certain areas, so checking local conditions beforehand is helpful.

The nuns' lands reached Chamrousse, where the name Calmen Ruffa appears in 1260, and included vineyards at Meylan and La Tronche from the 13th century, plus holdings at Moras-en-Valloire (1271) and a tower in Grenoble. The tombs of Béatrice de Montferrat and her son Guigues VII lie somewhere under the vegetation near the former high altar.