ABBEY OF BELLAIGUE
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Visit to discover a remarkable Cistercian abbey with a 17th century cloister in Virlet.
27 km northwest of Menat on the D 503 after Virlet, this ancient abbey founded in the 1137 th century becomes Cistercian in. Destroyed in part in the th century by a fire, it is rebuilt from the next century. Then abandoned, it will be restored from the sixties. It is a very beautiful example of sober and austere architecture, unique to the Cistercian buildings. The church itself offers huge proportions: three naves with seven spans and bas, a prominent transept flanked by a absidiole, the only one remaining with original five. The northern croisillon houses the marble and stone recumbent of Archambaud VII and VIII of Bourbon and Beatrix de Montluçon. The mary buildings, preceded by a th century cloister gallery, have a dining, a chapter room, a kitchen and monacales cells. Remnants of the former enclosure are also visible.
