Abbaye de Sablonceaux

Founded in 1136 by Geoffroy de Lauroux thanks to a gift from Guillaume X, Duke of Aquitaine, the Abbey of Sablonceaux was a high place of prayer for the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine for six centuries.

Built in the heart of the Saintonge countryside, it proudly raises its magnificent bell tower at a bend in the road.
Damaged by the Hundred Years War and the Wars of Religion, it is reborn each time from its ruins. It offers an exceptional range of architecture from the XNUMXth to the XNUMXth centuries.
Since the 1930s, the abbey has been the subject of major restoration work with the help of the Historic Monuments: the abbey church at first then, since 1986, the conventual buildings and the outbuildings.
Saved today, property of the Bishopric of La Rochelle and Saintes, the abbey has regained its vocation by being entrusted to the Community of Chemin Neuf which animates this spiritual, artistic and cultural center.

The Abbaye de Sablonceaux consists of an abbey church famous for its bell tower and its Romanesque cupolas on the nave. A recently restored chapter house which was used by the Chapter. On the first floor is the former dormitory of the canons transformed into cells in the XNUMXth century.
The canons' refectory was converted into an abbey dwelling in the XNUMXth century to accommodate the guests of the commendatory abbot. It is made up of four large dining rooms with Baroque mouldings, four lodgings and a beautiful Venetian balcony. It is also possible to visit the grain granary and its magnificent framework which is supported by a succession of vaulted cellars, part of which hosts the exhibition and sale.
Finally, the monumental portal from 1788 offers a view of the large American walnut tree, planted at the abbey around the 1860s and classified as a remarkable tree by GEO magazine in 1994.

From June to September: reception at the store every day except Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 15 p.m. to 18 p.m. Guided tours on the site in the afternoons from 15 p.m. to 18 p.m.
The rest of the year: the store is open every afternoon except Tuesday. Guided tours are offered on the 1st Sunday of each month.

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