Abbey of Notre-Dame d’Aiguevive

Not all the hermits of Fontaines-les-Blanches accepted this regularisation, and some members of the community did not adapt to the change. Among them was Géoffroy, one of the founders, who settled near Aiguevive. He died shortly afterwards and was buried there. Meanwhile, at nearby Notre-Dame-de-Belvaut (Bella Valle), a community of Augustinian canons had already become established and, in 1147, received the site of Aiguevive from Garlet, lord of Montrichard.

In the mid-fourteenth century, Aiguevive fell victim to the mercenary bands known as the routiers, who set the monastery on fire. Although documentary evidence is scarce, it is likely that the buildings were rebuilt once the canons were able to return. However, by the middle of the fifteenth century, the complex had once again fallen into ruin as a result of continuing conflicts. In 1552, during the time of the last regular abbot, the community numbered four canons. His successor, as commendatory abbot, administered the house, which gradually declined, a situation worsened by the Wars of Religion and the arrival of the Huguenots.

During the second half of the nineteenth century and the last quarter of the twentieth century, restoration work was carried out on the surviving remains. The abbey church is the principal surviving structure. It is a Romanesque building with three aisles, now deprived of their vaults, followed by a transept and an eastern end formed by three semicircular apses; the lateral apses open onto the transept arms. An octagonal bell tower rises above the crossing. The western portal preserves its Romanesque sculptural decoration. Several ancillary buildings dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries also survive.