Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert - Abbey

The cloister of the abbey - or maybe better, what is left of it.

At the end of the medieval times, the community was not in a really good shape. In 1569, during the wars of religion, protestant troops pillaged the abbey, that later was the property of the "Congregation of St. Maur". 1789, during the French Revolution, only six monks lived here. They had to leave, as the buildings were sold as national property. The church became parish church at that time. Small enterprises moved in, most of the buildings were used as a quarry. Half of the cloister "vanished", only two sides are still there. A citizen of Aniane bought the carved capitals of the cloister for his garden. When he died, his son sold them to an art-dealer in Paris. In the end, most of these carvings were sold to New York, where John D. Rockefeller II., bought them in 1905 for some 60.000$, forming with them (and others) "The Cloisters", now a branch the Metropolitan Museum of Art. So if you want to see the original medieval capitals from this cloister - fly to New York.

Here are the details:

www.metmuseum.org/Works_Of_Art/department.asp?dep=7

Meanwhile a small collection of artwork found later in and around the abbey, including the tomb of St. Guilhelm, are in a little "lapidarium" next to this cloister.