Abbaye de Montmajour

Abbaye de Montmajour is a former Benedictine monastery perched on a rocky outcrop a few kilometres northeast of Arles in Provence. Founded in 901, it grew into a major medieval pilgrimage centre whose monks systematically drained the surrounding marshland through an elaborate network of canals. The Romanesque complex — built primarily in the 11th and 12th centuries — includes a finely carved cloister, a crypt cut directly into the limestone, and early medieval rock-cut tombs that mark the site's origins as a hermit community. During the French Revolution the abbey was secularised, stripped, and partially demolished with explosives; the 14th-century keep nonetheless survived. Now managed by the Centre des monuments nationaux, the ruins are open to visitors year-round, and the tower affords broad views across the Camargue flatlands.