Clairvaux

France

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Clairvaux, village, northeastern France, in Aube département, Champagne-Ardenne région, east-southeast of Troyes. Its abbey, founded in 1115 by the French churchman and mystic St. Bernard of Clairvaux, became a centre of the Cistercian order. All that remains of the original abbey is a large 12th–century storehouse and other vestiges, which have been incorporated in an 18th-century monastery. The central building was transformed into a prison during the 19th century.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.