Abbaye Notre-Dame de Hambye
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A Majestic Entry into the Monastic Middle Ages.
Like the pilgrims of yesteryear, you can catch your breath in front of the door where Guillaume Paynel, Lord of Hambye and founder of this abbey, laid down his arms in 1145.
Once you cross this threshold, time stops.
First, you will enter the outstanding Gothic church. Its ruins rise over the horizon, with fine columns and proud buttresses from which spring the arches that rest against the corners of windows raised high to the wind... For a final prayer. Listen to the marvellous echo.
You will then come to the cloistered buildings. Their fine state of conservation is in marvellous contrast with the first image of the site, giving you a chance to see what a mediaeval Norman monastery was really like...
You will go into the chapter house whose walls retain their stone coping and traces of frescoes. It seems as if the monks had never left this room.
They gathered here daily to hear the reading of a chapter of the Rule, which they followed scrupulously and lived by daily.
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