Preuilly celebrates 900 years of history

Charles-François de La Rochefoucauld-Bayers was the 45th and last abbot of Preuilly. The religious community was dissolved on November 28, 1790, bringing the life of the Cistercian Abbey of Preuilly to a sudden halt.

The convent buildings and the church were declared “national property” and auctioned off on April 28, 1791, in several lots.

For 40 years, the site of the former Abbey of Preuilly remained divided among various landowners, before eventually regaining its unity.

In 1829, Henri Marie Husson, a physician at the Hôtel-Dieu and a pioneer in introducing vaccination for Variola throughout France, undertook the reconstitution of the Cistercian estate.

His son Georges, along with his descendants, dedicated themselves, generation after generation, to preserving this estate, both in prosperous times and through challenging periods.

In September 2018, a three-day celebration was organized to commemorate this long history, highlighting both the Cistercians’ contributions to the life and development of the region known as Le Montois and nine centuries of French history.