The abbey of Chalais
Today and tomorrow, I invite you to take a break from Romanesque churches of Burgundy to visit yet another truly remarkable Romanesque church: that of the abbey of Chalais, built way up in the massif of Chartreuse in the French Alps, above the city of Grenoble.
Founded in 1101 by monks who wanted to live as hermits, according to the rule of Saint Benedict but without connection to local parishes or the outside world in general. They set a precedent and had followers, thus creating the “Order of Chalais”, which was therefore another branch on the Benedictine tree.
Confronted to a lack of resources, the abbey went through many vicissitudes until it was absorbed in 1303 by the Carthusian monks who had established the Grande Chartreuse not far from Chalais and only a few years prior, in 1084.
Today, the abbey is inhabited and managed by Dominican nuns who came from Lyon in 1963. They make excellent biscuits, too!
These photographs were taken on commission by the Fondation pour la Sauvegarde de l’Art Français, with which I work as a pro bono photographer.
What remains of the nave, the choir, the transept and the apse, have been beautifully restored, with an utmost respect for the stonework and modern-day commodities such as floor heating, which keeps the church nice and cosy in the Winter (we are above 1,000 meters of altitude in the French Alps!).
The abbey of Chalais
Today and tomorrow, I invite you to take a break from Romanesque churches of Burgundy to visit yet another truly remarkable Romanesque church: that of the abbey of Chalais, built way up in the massif of Chartreuse in the French Alps, above the city of Grenoble.
Founded in 1101 by monks who wanted to live as hermits, according to the rule of Saint Benedict but without connection to local parishes or the outside world in general. They set a precedent and had followers, thus creating the “Order of Chalais”, which was therefore another branch on the Benedictine tree.
Confronted to a lack of resources, the abbey went through many vicissitudes until it was absorbed in 1303 by the Carthusian monks who had established the Grande Chartreuse not far from Chalais and only a few years prior, in 1084.
Today, the abbey is inhabited and managed by Dominican nuns who came from Lyon in 1963. They make excellent biscuits, too!
These photographs were taken on commission by the Fondation pour la Sauvegarde de l’Art Français, with which I work as a pro bono photographer.
What remains of the nave, the choir, the transept and the apse, have been beautifully restored, with an utmost respect for the stonework and modern-day commodities such as floor heating, which keeps the church nice and cosy in the Winter (we are above 1,000 meters of altitude in the French Alps!).