We decided to visit the monastery at Aubazine, and ended up staying to hear an hour-long guided tour. The building was absolutely gorgeous – the monastery dates back to the 11th century and connects to a large church right next to it. There was a really cool stairway that leads from the second floor of the monastery into the church, which is how the monks would travel into the church when they woke up in the middle of each night for the midnight services. All the stone staircases were worn down to a steep slant from the almost thousand years of usage! The really interesting thing about Aubazine, however, is that it has been more or less continually inhabited by religious orders – up until the Revolution, by various orders of Catholics; and after the Revolution a group of Greek Orthodox nuns (!) took it over and lived there for a long time (they still have a small Orthodox church and convent at another location in Aubazine); and even now it is still inhabited by religious people. What happens is that families or individuals can choose to come and live for one year in the monastery, to take kind of a religious retreat from the world. They live a life of prayer and contemplation, and also welcome all sorts of religious retreats (youth groups, Catholic family groups, etc.) that come to Aubazine for weekend retreats. The monastery also welcomes couples with marital problems for counseling ; teenagers who aren’t sure what they want to do with their lives are invited to come live there for 9 months, etc. The complex has a population of inhabitants as well as lots of people who come to stay for weekend retreats, so there is always quite a bit of activity.

Photo from http://www.jedecouvrelafrance.com/f-874.correze-abbaye-cistercienne-aubazine.html