THE SPRINGS TRAIL

Fontfroide comes from the Latin Fons frigidus, the ‘cold fountain’ (Font freche in Occitan, spoken here until well into the 20th century). Its water was very cool and probably much more abundant than today. The presence of this water gushing up from the hills, is largely responsible for the settlement of the first monks, who founded the abbey at the end of the 11th century. The location was ideal, isolated and silent, conducive to the asceticism of the Cistercian order. It is also well protected by the relief and opens onto a rich plain, which would allow the development of the abbey. You have to imagine it by flocks and herds and meticulously by the monks… or rather the lay brothers. Today, the garrigue that dominates Fontfroide continues to tell us history, but also a part of our future, where water and the issues surrounding it are still a central role in the face of global warming. In 2025, Fonfroide Abbey set up a discovery itinerary, the ‘Sentier des Sources’. A walk that takes us from geological times tothe present day, with the water of Fontfroide thread.

FOR A BETTER UNDERSTAND

Fontfroide Abbey was foundedby a group of Benedictine monksin 1093, on land donated by the Viscount of Narbonne. It developed from 1145 and its attachment to the abbey of Cîteaux, founder of the Cistercian order. At its peak, Fontfroide had nearly a hundred monks and more than 30,000 hectares of land, as far away asSpain. It was one of the richest abbeysabbeys in Christendom.It was also one of the ‘citadelsof orthodoxy’ against the Cathar heresy. The decline of monastic lifebegan in the 14th century, but Fontfroide would continue to enjoy prosperous times until the French Revolution, with new buildings and a more flexible rule life of a castle. Fontfroide became the property of the Hospices of Narbonne in 1791, Fontfroide experienced spiritual renewal under the guidance of Father Jean, before being reinvested by a handful of monks from 1848 to 1901. In 1908, the abbey was acquired by Gustave Fayet. With his wife Madeleine d’Andoque de Sériège, they saved the abbey from oblivion, embellish it and give it back all its splendour.

ENJOY THE WALK !

I am Bernard, the youngest of the monks of Fontfroide. The Abbot has authorised me to come with you to explore the hills around the abbey. It’s going to be great fun! On each panel you’ll find games, questions and riddles to solve. Read the panels carefully before answering !

A WELL-THOUGHT-OUT SYSTEM

It was the presence of water, wood and stone for construction that determined the establishment of the abbey on this site. The Cistercian monks paid great attention to these resources, especially the water that was essential for all their activities. They observed the potential of the site to meet the needs of a community of up to 400 people. They also counted on market gardening to feed the abbey, the herds and probably a few industrial activities (forge, mill).

THREE RESOURCES JOINTLY

SURFACE WATER

At the confluence of two valleys, the abbey could count on what seem to have formed streams in the medieval period. The deforestation that followed the fires was probably the cause of the scarcity of this resource. Water runs off quickly and is no longer stored by vegetation and surface soils.

THE HILL SPRINGS

These supplied the cistern tank of 47,000 litres, where we are now, and the fountain in the cloister.

THE ABBEY’S WATER

The spring-fed fountain played an essential role in liturgical rituals. A water collection system provided the rest of the water supply. The 1,328 m2 of roofing surrounding the cloister filled an underground cistern measuring 18.50 m x 5.50 m, with a vaulted ceiling. A second tank is located in the lay brothers’ work yard. About ten metres deep, it was built on a fault in the rock. It fills up by infiltration during the rains. A sewer with terracotta nozzles discharged wastewater into the stream to the north of the abbey.

WATER FROM THE HILLS

In our region, water is a particularly difficult element to control because of the characteristics of the climate and the soil. It rains here just about as much as anywhere else in France (average for mainland France : 850 mm/year), but this rainfall is concentrated in spring and autumn, resulting in episodes of rain that are often violent. Today, drought is on the rise. By 2025, rainfall in the Massif will be 50% lower than in previous years in the massif compared with previous years.

The limestone and sandstone soils do not retain surface water. Permanent watercourses are rare. During rainfall, water seeps into the cracks in the outcropping rock. It sinks into the subsoil until it is trapped by an impermeable layer (clay, marl).

THE MONKS’ SPRINGS

Two springs have survived. Located to the south of the abbey, They were channelled by the monks to improve the water supply. We are here at the Source du Bas. Manholes, placed at regular intervals, ensure the maintenance of the pipes and prevent the formation of limestone that could block them. A stone structure protects the spring and its small reservoir, ensuring that the water is of good quality and safe to drink. The medieval network, with its ceramic pipes, was modified at the beginning of the 20th century. In the early 20th century, under the impetus of Gustave Fayet, water was supplied to the gardens, ponds and fountains. The lead pipes installed at that time were replaced in the 1990s.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Fontfroide springs supplied Narbonne with drinking water from the 16th century (from the Saint-Pierre de Clars spring, a little to the north-east of the site).The route of the old pipes is punctuated by montjoies, small stone buildings that protected which  the manholes used to filter the water. Some of these can still be seen near the road leading to Narbonne.

OUR CONSUMPTION : How many litres of water do you and your family use each year ? A. 250 litres ? B. 55,000 litres ? C. 2,500,000 litres ?

THE DRINK : In the Middle Ages people preferred to drink : A. Wine ? B. Water ? C. Lemonadewith wild herbs, la limocraste ?

HYGIENE : In Bernard’s time, the monks relieved themselves in : A. a toilet, like you ? B. chamber pots ? C. latrines?

THE VIVIER : The monks used to raise fish to ‘lean out’ on certain days. What kind of fish ? A. trout ? B. carp ? C. catfish ?

A BIT OF GEOLOGY?

When the Pyrenees were formed (245 to 65 million years ago), the ancient basement on which the sedimentary rocks formed by the sea had accumulated was raised and fractured. Recent’ erosion, water in particular, has finished shaping this landscape. The geological substratum is made up of sandstone and limestone, which are visibleon the topography and marlin the depressions. The Fontfroide massif forms the northern limit of the Corbières. It stretches between the coastal plain, to the east and the Aussou plain to the west. The hills, or puech in Occitan, are around 250 metres high. Despite this modest altitude, the landscape is spectacular, with a succession of rocky spurs, cliffs and rocky hills planted with scrubland.

SPATIAL LANDMARKTHE UPPER SPRING : Here we are at a sewer maintenance manhole. The spring is a little higher up. Sandstone masonry protects the catchment.

CALCIUM : It is a sedimentary rock of marine or lacustrine origin. Over millions of years, during the secondary era, elements transported or suspended in the water (sand, gravel, shells, plankton, micro-algae, etc.) accumulated at depth, forming very thick superimposed layers, sometimes several thousand metres thick. These layers have been consolidated by the pressure of this piling up and a phenomenon known as calcification. Limestone is found mainly in the eastern part of the massif.

SANDSTONE : It is also a sedimentary rock, but of detritic origin, i.e. formed of particles from the erosion of rocks. These elements have accumulated in thick layers in depressions and cemented together, forming a new rock. Sandstone is found mainly in the western part of the massif, where the abbey is located. They were also used in its construction. Their colour, ranging from light yellow to ochre red, varies according to the iron oxide content of the rock.

MARL : Another rock from the sedimentary family. Marls are formed by alternating of thin layers of limestone and claywhich gives it its good impermeability. The marls form a central furrowin the massif, separating the sandstone and limestone zones. They make up the bulkof the area in which we are located.

I’M MADE UP OF THIN COMPACT LAYERSAND HARD. I am : A. Sandstone ? B. limestone ? C. the intruder ?

I’M VERY COMPACT AND HARD. I am : A. sandstone ? B. limestone ? C. the intruder ?

I’M MADE UP OF LARGE, CLEARLY VISIBLE GRAINS. I am : A. sandstone ? B. limestone ? C. the intruder ?

AND WHO AM I ? A. an ancient bone ? B. a marine fossil ? C. a meteorite?

A LANDSCAPE SHAPED BY MAN

In front of us, a natural vegetation of small holm oaksholm oaks, arbutus and low shrubs has reclaimed the landscape after a succession of fires. If you look closely, you can still see a few charred trunks. Low dry-stone walls bear witness to a vanished agricultural activity that kept the landscape ‘open’ until the mid-twentieth century. Behind us, below the path, lies a plantation of Pinus pinaster trees, established after a fire. The hoped-for silvicultural opportunities were not realised. Today, these plantations, which can be found almost everywhere in the massif, are a nuisance because of the lack of outlets : increased risk of fire, impoverishment of the soil, loss of biodiversity, etc. There are also health risks linked to the increasing presence of the pine processionary caterpillar*, which colonises these plantations, weakening and defoliating them.

* WARNING, severe allergic reactions to the stinging caterpillar hairs for humans and animals.Do not touch the nests or caterpillars(present on the ground from March to June).

NATURA 2000

The Fontfroide massif is ofecological and heritage interest. Particularly sensitive to fire and human activity, it is classified as both a Natura 2000 zone and a ZNIEFF (Natural Zone of Ecological, Faunistic and Floristic Interest) under the European Union’s Birds Directive.

A DISAPPEARED LANDSCAPE

From the Middle Ages to the early 20th century, the garriguewas intensively exploited. Trees were rare, because woodwas used for heating and, above all, to produce the coal needed for the glass industry, blacksmiths, lime works, etc. Flocks of sheep and goats, led by their shepherd, are omnipresent. The stones of the garrigue were used to build dry-stone walls to park them…or to protect crops from their greed. They were also used to build the retaining walls of the restanques, a multitude of terraces that encircle the hill.

This ancestral form of agro-pastoralismhas now disappeared from our regions. The landscape has closed in. Large areas of woodland have been planted. These two factors, combined with the wind (the Cers / North-West) and increasingly dry summers, make the massif extremely susceptible to fire. 3 major fires, including the arson attack in 1986, which destroyed 2,000 hectares, have occurred in succession.

THE SYSTEM IS VIRTUOUS

• It helps to remove stones from plots to improve the soil.
• It retains the soil during heavy rainfall.
• It builds up water reserves in the soil, delaying the effects of drought.

SPATIAL MARKER : OPEN MEADOW ! This is one of thetotally open spaces. Established on a marly soil,it is relatively fertile, dampand has retained its vocation agricultural pasture. Opposite us, we can clearly see the reforestation that has taken place which occupies the entire slope.

THE EARLY : THE CONQUEST OF THE FOREST, THE MONKS’ TRIUMPH OVER NATURE.

HAPPY TIMES :  AGRICULTURE FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO YOUR GRANDPARENTS.

TIME TO FORGET : RECLAIMING THE FOREST, TODAY’S LANDSCAPE. AND THE LANDSCAPE OF TOMORROW ?

THE BLUE WATERFALLS

This is the name of this place since the time of the monks of Fontfroide. The bluish colour of the rocks is characteristic of the hardest limestone in this area. The eroded relief of the eastern part of the massif appears on small rocky spurs and in the temporary stream bed. Runoff, wind and frost have done their work, but let’s not forget that groundwater is the real ordonator of limestone reliefs.

WATER AND LIME SCALE, HOW DOES IT WORK?

Water has the unique ability to dissolve calcium carbonate, the main component of limestone. But be careful, this happens on a geological timescale, over millions of years ! Rainwater becomes charged with carbon dioxide (CO2) as it passes through the thin layer of topsoil. That’s what will change its composition.and allow it to dissolve the limestone. It seeps into the rock by following the cracks caused by the movements of the Earth’s crust, which have liftedand fractured the limestone sedimentary layers. The water will spend a long time underground. It widens the existing cracks to form an underground network of galleries, caves, and sinkholes (avens).

This action is also wellvisible on the surface. It will create collapses, as well as lapiaz,these regular crevices in the surface rock, which can be seen in many places throughout the massif. By cooling down at depth,the water will again alter its chemical composition by releasing the carbon dioxide it had absorbed. This is what will allow it to form the famous underground formations, stalactites, stalagmites, columns… The journey ends when an impermeable rock, marl, clay, traps the water. It accumulates and emerges into the open air, forming a spring or resurgence, sometimes very abundant.

TOWARDS A WELL-PROTECTED MASSIF

What if we took inspiration from the past ? The abandonment of pastoral practices, almost a century ago, had very negative consequences. Loss of biodiversity with the disappearance of open environments, trivialization risk of fires, proliferation of harmful species such as wild boars, processionary caterpillars… Proper management of the Fontdroide massif is extremely complicated. The land is unsuitable for modern agriculture. It must be preserved in any case to maintain its role as a biodiversity reservoir. The stakeholders are numerous and difficult to unite. The development of woodlands is almost nonexistent. The main solution lies in silvopastoralism : a livestock farming activity combined with the maintenance of woodlands. It provides the best protection against fire by opening up space and reducing low vegetation through grazing. Fontfroide Abbey has been working on this project for several years. It has involved a local farmer in the project to preserve and enhance the massif. Since 2021, donkeys have arrived and a hundred or so goats have been established on the site from time to time. Their production is valorized (milk and local cheeses… present on the table of the restaurant of the abbey), the opening of the undergrowth by the grazing makes it possible to limit the overgrowth, while respecting the most beautiful trees. A virtuous circle is being created at the scale of this territory ! This is just the first stage of the project.

HOW DOES IT WORK ? Silvopastoralism simultaneously pursues two objectives :

• improving pastoral resources by preserving the beneficialeffect of trees on the undergrowth and animals (shade, heat reduction, shelter from the wind, etc.),
• forest production and protection throughand pastoral maintenance of the undergrowth.

In their search for food, the herds clean up the vegetation on the ground and prevent the development of bushy formations, which in turn favours the development of beautiful trees. Trampling, especially by large livestock, also plays an important role in limiting the growthof vegetation. A grazed area remains “open”, free of undergrowth. In the event of a fire, flames will develop more slowly. Another advantage : these open spaces are essential for biodiversity. They providehunting grounds for large birds of prey, for example, and allow certain plant species to thrive…

Quizz

Finally, let’s talk about our water ? Let’s see how aware you are of the stakes involved.

What would you doto save water at home ?  A. Don’t you wash ? B. Are you taking a bath ? C. Taking a shower ?
How long in the shower ?  D. 2-3 minutes ? E. 5-6 minutes ? F. 10 minutes ?

DID YOU KNOW ? In France, we consumean average of 148 liters of drinking water per day and per inhabitant 39% is used for hygiene (57 liters). Only 0.5 liters is used for drinking (source ADEME).

End of visit ! Thank you for making this outing possible. I hope you enjoyed our beautiful mountain range and that you’ll help us to protect it. Now I have to get back to the abbey, the Abbot is calling me. See you soon, little monillons and monillonnes !