Aude A brief history... Nestled in the Orbieu valley, flanked by the Mediterranean hills, Lagrasse was founded in an area of particularly productive soil. The village grew around the abbey, itself built on the site of an ancient monastery. The foundation act, signed by Charlemagne himself, is dated 779. According to Philomène, a chronicler of the XIIIth century, Jesus Christ and his archangels presided the consecration ceremony of Sainte-Marie d'Orbieu in person! Such prestigious visitors ensured the rapid development of the abbey, which became one of the most important in the south of France. The gifts of rich French and Spanish lords conferred it with a territorial and political power which dominated up to 6 abbeys, 25 priories, 67 churches and 91 fortified places in the kingdom of France and the county of Roussillon. From its peak in the XIIIth century to its last era of prosperity in the XVIIIth century, the abbey saw the dreadful black death of 1348, the wars of religion, times of decadence and times of renewal. During the Revolution, the small community of about ten monks was scattered and the monument sold as two separate parts (a division that remains to this day).

Romanesque treasures All the architectural styles from the XIth to XVIIIth century can be seen at Sainte-Marie d'Orbieu. One of the oldest parts of the abbey is its pre-Romanesque tower, built of rubble stone in the Xth century. The small courtyard of the Palais Vieux, built in the XIIIth century, boasts two galleries whose wooden balconies are supported by older Romanesque capitals, remarkable in themselves.

The abbey church, with its Carolingian foundations, still has three apsidioles with a Romanesque 1/4 spherical dome. In the abbey's lapidary, you can still admire the remains of the work of the famous Maître de Cabestany or at least, of his craftsmen: eight white-marbled voussoirs decorated with thick foliage, stripped branches, fruit and human masks; two monstrous animal heads, and on a white-marbled capital, Adam and Eve being banished from paradise.   Abbaye de Sainte-Marie d'Orbieu 11220 Lagrasse Phone: 04 68 43 13 97

		Reception Syndicat d'initiative 6, boulevard de la Promenade 11220 Lagrasse Phone: 04 68 43 11 56 Fax: 04 68 43 16 34 E-mail: info@lagrasse.com Comité Départemental de l'Aude Rue Moulin de la Seigne 11000 Carcassonne Phone: 05 68 11 66 00 Website: www.audetourisme.com	Visiting times Open all year round. Summer: 10.30 am to 7 pm without a break. Guided tours from 3 pm.

Access: From the west: leave the A61 at the Carcassonne-Est exit then follow the D3 to Lagrasse. From the east: leave the A61 at the Lézignan-Corbières exit then follow the signs.