Ancienne abbaye de Longpont

The Ancienne Abbaye de Longpont is the name given today to the former town property of the Cistercian abbey of Longpont, once standing on what is now rue des Francs-Boisiers in Soissons, in the Aisne department. It should not be confused with the abbey's famous ruined church, which stands some distance away in the village of Longpont itself — this Soissons site was the abbey's urban outpost, and only its underground cellars survive.

Why did the abbey need a house in Soissons?

The Cistercian abbey of Notre-Dame de Longpont was founded in 1132 by Bernard of Clairvaux at the request of Josselin de Vierzy, bishop of Soissons. Like other large Cistercian houses, Longpont ran an extensive agricultural and wine-producing estate, and needed a base inside the city to store and sell what its farms produced. Records show the monks already held one or more houses in Soissons by 1196, used as a trading relay between the abbey's production sites and the market in town.

What did the property look like, and what remains of it?

The largest of these houses, generally referred to as the "hôtel de Longpont," was equipped in the early 13th century with substantial cellars — the only physical trace of the monastic property that survives today. Two cellar complexes remain: one from the 13th century with ribbed groin vaults, and a second, parallel complex combining a 16th-century cellar (around 1530) with a 13th-century barrel-vaulted gallery. From the end of the 16th century the above-ground buildings stopped serving the monastery and were gradually converted into private town residences. Whatever stood above the cellars in later centuries has since disappeared: a gendarmerie building was erected on the site in 1859-1860 and still occupies it today.

Is the site officially protected?

Yes. The cellars beneath the current gendarmerie building were listed as a monument historique — an "inscription," a lighter form of protection than full classement — by decision of 27 May 1988, under reference PA00115937. The listing covers only the underground structure: it is this surviving cellar network that is recognized as authentic evidence of the abbey's medieval and early modern commercial premises in Soissons.

Can visitors go inside?

The building above the cellars now functions as a gendarmerie — a police facility — so access to the interior, let alone the cellars themselves, is not open to casual visitors. Anyone interested in the site should not expect a walk-in tourist experience; its interest is historical and architectural rather than as a visitable attraction, and any visit would depend on prior arrangement with the local authorities.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the same place as the Abbey of Longpont? No. The main Cistercian abbey, with its well-known ruined church, stands in the separate commune of Longpont, several kilometers from Soissons. The Soissons site is a former town property — essentially a trading house — that belonged to the same abbey.

Where exactly is it located? At 7 rue des Francs-Boisiers in Soissons (Aisne), on the site now occupied by a gendarmerie building erected in 1859-1860.

What has survived from the abbey's property? Only the underground cellars: a 13th-century vaulted complex and a second complex combining a 16th-century cellar with a 13th-century barrel-vaulted gallery.

When was it listed as a historic monument? The cellars were registered as a monument historique on 27 May 1988.