Notre Dame d'Aulps abbey

Founded in about 1095 by monks that came from the Molesne abbey in Burgundy, the abbey affiliated itself to the Cistercians in 1136 after which it became one of the most powerful in medieval Savoie due its income from property rights.

A crossroads for the great spiritual ideas of the late 11th century, a meeting place for saints and a crucible for monastic reform, it was from the abbey of Molesme in Burgundy that a group of monks set off around 1094. Their destination? A small possession of the Counts of Savoy: the Vallée d'Aulps (Vallée des Alpages in Latin), with the aim of founding a monastery in line with their spiritual ideal: "a laboratory of monasticism", as it were, more clearly oriented towards eremitism than cenobitism. Thanks to numerous land donations, the monastery became one of the most powerful in medieval Savoy. Since summer 2007, the restored and transformed former monastic farmhouse has been home to an interpretation center. A remarkable scenography, completely renovated in November 2020, allows visitors to discover in a simple and entertaining way the daily life of monks in the Middle Ages, their functions within the community, the relationship between Aulps Abbey and Savoie, the surprising story of its destruction and the secrets of medicinal plants.