The Abbey du Thoronet
The Abbey du Thoronet (pronounced “tour-oh-nay”) is one of those places that many first-time tourists don’t know about – it’s a place that you’d usually be shown by a friend or family member who lives on the French Riviera, which is just one of the reasons I love it! And it’s always one of the first places I want to show friends who come to visit!
How to Get To The Abbey du Thoronet
Entrance gate at the Abbey du Thoronet
The Abbey is a beautiful old Cistercian abbey and it’s easy to find – it’s about 13 km northeast of the A8 autoroute and the N7 highway. (And because it’s centrally located, it makes a wonderful place to go to picnic, take a hike or just get out of the heat in the summer months.)
It’s tucked away in the hills halfway between Draguignan and Brignoles below the the Argens river, and it’s one of my favorite places to visit all year round. (Although I don’t recommend it during bad weather, or if you don’t like the cold in the winter months!)
Exploring the Abbey du Thoronet
You have your choice of wandering around on your own or using the audioguides – they’re include with the price of admission. The abbey du Thoronet is one of only 3 Cistercian abbeys in Provence. The other two are the Sénanque Abbey and Silvacane Abbey – and the three of them are known as the “Three Sisters of Provence” – which is rather quaint, n’est pas?
The Abbey du Thoronet was built completely out of beautiful tan and greyish colored hand-cut stones – and something to notice is that the church was built using no mortar or cement!
Besides the church you can tour the chapter house, monks’ dormitory, former storeroom and the cloisters.
The abbey was started and built by Cistercian monks around 1140. They moved to this area from the Florège River valley near Tourtour, although they were originally from the Mazan Abbey. It took the monks about 30 years to build the church, the cloisters and the abbey buildings (remember the stones were cut by hand and hauled by horse or donkey).
In the 14th century the abbey was abandoned because of both the politics of the time and the religious was, and it wasn’t until the 18th century that the abbey was re-inhabited and used again. (Although during the French Revolution it was abandoned again and then sold!) In the 1850s le abbey du thoronet was bought by the state, and they began the long process of rebuilding it – work, I’m happy to say that continues today.
The Bell Tower of the Abbey du Thoronet
If you want to learn more, I’m in the process of creating a page on this site that will fill you in on what you absolutely must see…which I promise is a lot!
For example, there’s a room full of statues – many of which are lifesize – and some are originals, others are reproductions which were created in the 18th century by local and famous artisans.
Then there’s the acoustics in the church itself. Because of the length of the church, sound has to travel a long ways – which forced the monks to learn how to sing slowly and with excellent diction – and to harmonize together perfectly. (Oh and speaking of chanting – you can listen to the Gregorian chants here in July and August – and it’s absolutely amazing!)
Following the rules of St. Benedict, the Abbey was designed to take care of its own needs (and not have to depend on the Catholic church) – so the monks had sheep and cattle, grew their own vegetables, made olive oil from their own olive groves and had their own wine press and a cellar where they made wines from their own grapes.
The monks of the time lived in isolation, away from the community, and except for one or two who were allowed communication with the outside world when necessary, laymen were not allowed inside the stone walls.
But they created a beautiful, serene place using stone, light and water, and the grounds are filled with trees and flowering shrubs and there are many little places that are tucked away, that make you yearn to grab a cold drink and a good book, and while the hours away.
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