Built more than 1000 years ago on a 43-metre hill, Montmajour Abbey bears witness to eight centuries of monastic life. This exceptional site, which was first an island, brings together an ancient necropolis and a medieval cloister, today attracting thousands of visitors to the Camargue.
This text corresponds to part of the transcription of the report above. Click on the video to watch it in its entirety.
On its 43 meter high hill, it has stood for over 1000 years. Montmajour Abbey, today imposing, dizzying. But before becoming this postcard landscape, it was just an island surrounded by marshes. “It was called the island of Montmajour and the first hermits who came to occupy this site arrived by boat“, says Armelle Baduel, administrator at Montmajour Abbey. Around 949, they first dug a small shelter inside this cave and came in particular to pray. “Here, we have an architecture that thrives on meditation, on reflection. It is truly the soul of the Montmajour Abbey, the Hermitage Saint-Pierre”explains Armelle Baduel.
In eight centuries of monastic life, the abbey has grown considerably. Towers were built, as was a still intact medieval cloister. A place steeped in history which delights these visitors from Marseille. “I didn’t expect anything so beautiful from the inside. Externally, it’s very sober and very rich on the inside”indicates a visitor
The highlight of the visit are these funny tombs dug into the rock, one of the emblems of Montmajour. Because before welcoming an abbey, the island was a necropolis. A thousand-year-old monument and Camargue landscapes. Enough to give ideas to the greatest artists like the painter Vincent Van Gogh. He comes here to seek out the warm colors of Provence and its architecture. “In the letters he writes to his brother Théo, he speaks of romantic ruins. We know that he comes here several times and each time with the desire to draw more than to paint. Besides, this is the particularity of Montmajour, is that Van Gogh will sit down, draw with charcoal to really give free rein to his imagination”explains Antoinette Gorioux, cultural action manager at Montmajour Abbey.
Montmajour Abbey fascinates artists and visitors. An architectural jewel in Provençal soil.
