SAINT-ANDRÉ-EN-GOUFFERN ABBEY
At last, the exact date of the construction of this monument is known as well as the name of its founder. It was founded by Guillaume Talvas, Earl of Perche from the Montgomery family in 1131. Burned in 1356, the abbey served as a refuge to Charles VII after the takeover of Caen in 1450 and was occupied by the troops of Henry IV during the siege of Falaise. Abandoned in the 16th century and sold under the Revolution as a national asset, the Abbey of Saint-André-en-Gouffern has hardly risen from its ruins. Listed as a historic monument in 1932, the restoration of the abbey began in 1968 thanks to the generosity and tenacity of the Morel family. Today, others carry on the restoration. The site of the abbey, a picturesque green environment lost in the wilderness, is a spectacle in itself.
