Grande Chartreuse

From 1080 onwards, the episcopal see of Grenoble was held by Bishop Hugh (c. 1053-1132), whom Bruno of Cologne (c. 1030-1101) approached to ask for a remote place where he could withdraw and live as a hermit. In 1084, the bishop granted Bruno and his six companions a secluded and uninhabited site, slightly higher than the location of the present-day Grande Chartreuse. The new foundation retained a strong eremitic character. Little by little, the Carthusian Order would emerge from this initiative.

In 1090, Pope Urban II summoned Bruno to Rome, and he left the Chartreuse. His departure endangered the survival of the foundation, and the site was even handed over to the Benedictines of La Chaise-Dieu (Auvergne). However, the decision was reversed that same year, and the house continued under the leadership of its prior, Landuin. Bruno did not remain in Rome and founded a new charterhouse at Santo Stefano del Bosco (Calabria), following the model of the Alpine house. Although he maintained contact with the community, he never returned to the valley of the Chartreuse.

Guigo also had to rebuild the Chartreuse. In the winter of 1132, an avalanche swept away the first house and seven Carthusians lost their lives, probably half of the community, whose numbers were limited to thirteen members by the rule. Since rebuilding on the same spot was considered too dangerous, the monastery was reconstructed on a more suitable site, slightly lower down and more spacious, where it still stands today. In 1133, the new church was consecrated. The monastery followed the earlier model, with wooden hermitages and a stone-built church.

In 1300, the Chartreuse suffered the first recorded fire, an event repeated in 1320 and 1371. These disasters were compounded by occasional warfare and outbreaks of plague. In the 16th century, the house was affected by the Wars of Religion, which also struck, to varying degrees, many other houses of the Order. In 1592, another fire devastated the monastery buildings and forced the community to take refuge at Notre-Dame de Casalibus and at the Correrie. Despite financial hardship, reconstruction was undertaken.

Monastic life was interrupted by the Revolution, and the suppression of the Order was decreed in 1792. The house was occupied and the community forced to disperse; the complex was later plundered. Outside the enclosure, the Carthusians managed to maintain a minimum organisation, which made it possible, from 1814 onwards, to work towards their restoration. In 1816, some monks returned and resumed monastic life in the valley.

About two kilometres above the monastery walls lies the place where Saint Bruno established the first Carthusian settlement, now occupied by the chapel of Notre-Dame de Casalibus, built in the 15th century and restored in 1656. Higher up stands the chapel of Saint-Bruno, on the spot where the first cells are thought to have stood, before they were destroyed by the avalanche of 1132. This building, probably erected in the 14th century, was built in memory of the original church and has been altered over time.