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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Blue439" data-source="post: 829742" data-attributes="member: 53455">The Cistercian abbey of Léoncel (2023)The church of Sainte-Marie de Léoncel is all that is left of the Cistercian abbey that was founded in this valley of northern Drôme (southeastern France) in 1137. The church was quickly built, as it was consecrated in 1188. However, some remodeling and alterations took place until around 1230.The abbey was ravaged during the Hundred Years War; only the church was left standing. The cloister and other abbey buildings were never rebuilt. Monastic life endured (albeit down to a substantially degraded degree) until the French Revolution, when the church became parochial —hence the opening of a very basic door in the western façade, and the walling up of some lateral doors. Since 1974, a community of Dominican sisters has taken over what is left of the abbey and thus monastic life has begun anew.The abbey church is seen here from the northwest. The strong buttresses along the northern wall were added in the 1700s: this church leaves me an impression of excellent and pure Cistercian design, yet a rather inferior implementation in terms of stone cutting and assembly. The fact that it became necessary to reinforce a side wall a mere 600 years (!) after the church was erected is somewhat unusual for a Cistercian construction.The cemetery lies, as per good Christian tradition, to the North of the church.Nikon Z7 II, Micro-Nikkor 45mm, ƒ/2.8 D ED tilt-shift macro lens, manual focus, FTZ II adapter. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head.[ATTACH=full]415956[/ATTACH]</blockquote>

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