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Visit the Abbey
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The layout of Fontfroide is a perfect example of the monastic town prescribed by Saint Benedict and detailled by Saint Bernard.
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As an ideal town, the monastery first and foremost satisfies the needs of a community which has withdrawn from the secular world. It follows the rule "if possible, the monastery is to be constructed in such a way that everything that is indispensable - the water, the mill, the garden - is within the concourse and allows the various activities to be performed there" (rule C 66.6). However, the monastery is not merely an assembly of buildings connected to a church. It exemplifies the unchanging layout of the various buildings and their functions which together form the monastic precinct offering a home to the monks which is adapted to the strict requirements of the monastic community.
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 The arrangement of the buildings thus follows strictly functional requirements and social criteria. The supply of fresh water determines the arrangement of the buildings. Water is needed for the gardens, it crosses the cloister, drives the corn mill and feeds the fish ponds. Monastic life is concentrated in clearly assignated areas: there is room for prayer (the church and the cloister), for work (the writing room and the gardens) and for rest (the dormitories). |
 Old mill |
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The monastery is laid out in such a way that a specific area is assigned to each part of the community. The section reserved for the monks includes the church and the cloister and the other buildings in the East adjoining the transepts of the church, thus permitting direct access for the monks to the church for services and prayers. The lay brothers exclusively live and work in the part of the monastery which opens to the outside world. These two areas together form the whole monastic complex which is bounded by an enclosure denying access to any visitor from the outside world. |
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