Would you like to tour France and step off the usual tourist routes near Paris? Then you absolutely must visit Soissons!
The town of Soissons deserves to be discovered at leisure, but there’s one building that leaves you perplexed, not to say astonished: the ancient abbey of Saint-Jean-des-Vignes, of which only the façade and part of the cloisters still stand.
The great empty façade of Soissons Abbey looks like the skeleton of a giant: the cloister walls seem to have stepped out of a Gothic novel, and only the medieval refectory hints at how magnificent and imposing the complex must have been.
There are no ornaments or stained glass, only bare stone. The impression is of an indescribable sadness, mixed with compassion: you almost want to go up to its old towers and console them. If you’ve already seen it, it will remind you of San Galgano or one of the many ruined churches that seem to want to resist time.
In this short article I’ll explain why this beautiful abbey was first abandoned and then destroyed.
Off we go!
Soissons Abbey and its centuries-old history
Soissons Abbey was once very important: it was founded in 1076 by Hugues le Blanc, with the support of Bishop Thibaut de Pierrefonds and the King of France Philip I. The structure we see today, though, is largely from the 13th century, and the two façade towers were raised only between the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Among the activities of its canons were medicine, herbalism and farming.
At the height of its greatness, the abbey dominated much of the surrounding land and numbered about 150 religious.
History, however, as often happens, has left us only the memory of its greatness: the church and the monastery were sacked by the Huguenots in 1567 and, centuries later, its demolition was even decreed.
The rise of Saint-Jean-des-Vignes
Like many of the most important churches, the abbey of Saint-Jean-des-Vignes in Soissons stands near an ancient cemetery of Roman origin. It all began with a small chapel, followed by the building site of a larger Romanesque church.
But then why is it Gothic?
Very simple: over the following centuries the abbey grew richer, thanks to donations from kings and lords of the region. The abbot of the time, Raoul de Chézy, thus decided to rebuild it in a more “fashionable” style, the Gothic.
The project was ambitious: besides the communal buildings, the church was to exceed 80 metres, with three naves and ribbed vaults. Work began in the early 13th century and the naves were completed more than a century later.
Construction continued even during the Hundred Years’ War, especially the ring of walls: this allowed Charles VI of France to set up his headquarters there, which nonetheless did not spare the town from sacking.
By the end of the Middle Ages, Saint-Jean-des-Vignes was one of the most important abbeys in the region, with some thirty farms and as many parishes under its control.
But then how could it fall into ruin?
Let me tell you now.
The decline of Saint-Jean-des-Vignes
Despite the reinforcement of the town walls, the hill on which the abbey stands was considered a dangerous strategic point for the defence of Soissons as early as the 16th century. That’s why, in 1567, the Huguenots managed to take the town and sack the abbey’s treasures and archives; it suddenly lost its economic importance, so much so that the building was almost abandoned and turned into a stable.
But that’s not all!
As I said at the start, the real death blow was dealt by the French Revolution. In 1789 the abbey was first occupied militarily and then stripped of its furnishings and all its silver, which was melted down and sent to the state mint. Having been a stable, the immense building became a military bakery, continuing its slow but inexorable decline through lack of maintenance.
The destruction of the abbey
The final blow came with Napoleon: on 25 April 1805 an imperial decree turned the abbey into a “quarry” of materials to repair the nearby cathedral of Soissons. The building was dismantled between 1805 and 1825, and with it even the stones, the stained glass and the ironwork were sold or reused to build many of the town’s houses.
Fortunately, though, many voices rose against the demolition, including that of Victor Hugo: it was partly thanks to them that the demolition works stopped, saving the admirable Gothic façade and part of the cloisters.
The towers and cloisters have been listed as a historic monument since 1875, and today the site is back in the spotlight, between research, cultural events and restoration projects.
Reflections at the foot of the abbey
At the foot of this “violated” structure, you can’t help wondering about the fleetingness of time: not even art and beauty escape the corrosion of the centuries, the wars and the ruthlessness of man, capable of building grand things only to destroy or abandon them.
Entry to the abbey remains is free, and Soissons makes an excellent day trip from Paris (about an hour and a half by train or car). Another French place with an equally moving history is the cathedral of Reims, which I absolutely recommend visiting.
And you - would you stop at the foot of this roofless cathedral to reflect on how fragile even the most imposing beauty can be?
