Abbaye d'Ardenne

The Abbaye d'Ardenne is a former Premonstratensian monastery on the outskirts of Caen, its fabric spanning construction phases from the 12th through the 21st century. During the Normandy campaign in June 1944 the complex served as headquarters for the 12th SS Panzer Division, and at least 18 Allied prisoners of war were executed within its walls — a war crimes trial against divisional commander Kurt Meyer followed in 1945. Restored after wartime damage, the abbey has housed the Institut mémoires de l'édition contemporaine (IMEC) since 2004, France's foremost archive of contemporary publishing history, holding papers from Samuel Beckett, Louis Althusser, and hundreds of other authors. The Gothic cloister and abbey church are classified as a Monument historique and open to visitors.