Travel Guide Gorze

Gorze is surrounded by beautiful forests and nestles in the Holzie valley. This small village boasts an amazing architectural and historical heritage, as well as magnificent walks in the heart of the Lorraine Regional Natural Park. A monastic place of life for almost eight centuries, Gorze owes its radiation to its old abbey now disappeared. Founded around 747 by Saint Chrodegang, Bishop of Metz, it is one of the most famous monasteries of Christianity. Saint Benoit participates in the foundation of the Benedictine rule, which will then be broadcast throughout the Holy Empire. This abbey, known for its worthy musical teaching, became the capital of the prayer chant. Then Chrodegang worked for the establishment of Gorze's Schola Cantorum, the ancestor of Gregorian chant!The year 1000 with its epidemics, its wars… contributed to a great spiritual renewal. Father Jean de Vandières was the first to renew the fervor of monastic life in the city. In his walls, from the Xe to the sixteenth century, almost 600 of his colleagues were succeeded. The light of Gorze abbey was considerable in the region and beyond… Many abbeys (Toul, Marmoutier) were placed under his direction. Except for his rival, Saint-Nicolas-De-Port. Under the influence of the abbot Henri Le Bon, Gorze abbey will know his apogee. The monks pimbled with the army making the place a royal fortress. There is no doubt that such a wealth could only stir up the covetousness of the surrounding princes and lords. Under the protection of the King of France in the thirteenth century, the abbey experienced a period of decline. After having weakened during a fire in 1475, it was destroyed in 1552. If we regret today the absence of remains, the abbey's influence has survived throughout the centuries… Today, this rich historical and religious past still contributes to the pride of the people of Gorze.