A bustling city
It’s an unexpectedly large monument for a small town such as Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives. The tall towers of the abbey church loom high over the town, for which the monks built a large covered marketplace in the 13th century for a flourishing local market. Remarkably, the town and the abbey were spared by the bombings at the end of World War II.
In its early days, the abbey was directly associated with the duchy, since it was founded in the 11th century by Countess Lesceline, great-aunt of William the Conqueror, for a community of nuns. The nuns were replaced by Benedictine monks from the Abbey of the Holy Trinity in Rouen. The abbey church still contains Lesceline’s tomb. The monument retains very few elements from its earliest days, since it was entirely rebuilt during the Gothic period, between the 13th and 15th centuries.
The choir contains a beautiful set of decorated mediaeval paving stones.
The large conventual buildings, built in the 17th and 18th centuries by Maurist monks, form a lovely architectural group south of the abbey church; the town has committed itself to renovating them in recent years. They now house the public service center, the tourist information office, and eventually the community cinema. A painting by the painter Van Heemskerck (16th century) will soon be installed in the chapter house (inquire).
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Abbey church open every day, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Office every Sunday morning at 11 a.m. Chapter house open during the hours of the Tourist Information Office. Guided tours on request for groups. Contact the tourist information office. Guided tours for individuals, program available from the tourist information office. |