List of Cistercian monasteries

The Cistercians are a Catholic religious order of enclosed monks and nuns formed in 1098, originating from Cîteaux Abbey. Their monasteries spread throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, but many were closed during the Protestant Reformation, the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII, the French Revolution, and the revolutions of the 18th century. Some survived and new monasteries have been founded since the 19th century.

There are a certain number of medieval monasteries and other Cistercian buildings (salt factories, watermills) that are abandoned or ruined, or converted into hotels such as Monasterio de Piedra or St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church.^[1]^[2]

Cistercian monasteries are divided into those that follow the Common Observance and the Strict Observance (Trappists). There are currently nearly 169 Trappist monasteries in the world, the home of approximately 2500 Trappist monks and 1800 Trappist nuns.^[3]

Europe

France

Abbey	Type	Founded	Location	Closed	Re-established	Details
Cîteaux Abbey	Trappist	1098	Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, Côte-d'Or	1791	1898	Latin Cistercium, from which the Order's name derives.
Pontigny Abbey		1114			1843	Second of the four great daughter houses of Cîteaux; refounded by the Fathers of St. Edmund
Clairvaux Abbey		1115				Third of the four great daughter houses of Cîteaux; founded by St Bernard
Morimond Abbey		1115		1791		Fourth of the four great daughter houses of Cîteaux
Mazan Abbey		1120
Abbey of Loc-Dieu		1123		1793
Le Thoronet Abbey		ca. 1150s	Brignoles	1785
Silvacane Abbey		1144	La Roque d'Antheron	1443
Abbey of Sénanque		1148	Gordes
Our Lady of the Snows	Trappist	1850	Saint-Laurent-les-Bains, Ardèche
Lérins Abbey		1869	Île Saint-Honorat			Founded on the site of a monastery established by Saint Honoratus ca. 410.
Bonneval Abbey	Trappist nuns	1147	Le Cayrol, Aveyron	1791	1875	Bonneval means Good Valley.

Great Britain and Ireland

Belgium

Abbey	Type	Founded	Location	Closed	Re-established	Details
Aulne Abbey		637 - 1147	Thuin	1794		Important ruins
La Cambre Abbey		1196	Ixelles
Hemiksem Abbey		1243	Hemiksem	ca. 1795	1836 in Bornem
Herkenrode Abbey	Nuns	1182	Kuringen	1797
Orval Abbey	Trappist	1132	Gaume	1793	1935	The Orval Brewery produces two well known Trappist beers
Ten Duinen Abbey		1107–1138	Koksijde and Bruges	1796		The Abbey was moved from Koksijde to Bruges in the 17th century
Villers Abbey		1146	Villers-la-Ville	1796		Impressive ruins
Westmalle Abbey	Trappist	1794–1836	Westmalle
Bornem Abbey			Bornem			successor of Hemiksem Abbey

Central and Eastern Europe

Abbey	Type	Founded	Location	Closed	Re-established	Details
Stična Abbey	Common Observance	1132	Stična, Slovenia	1784	1898	http://www.sticna.eu
Jędrzejów Abbey	Common Observance	1140	Jędrzejów, Poland	1819	1945
Wągrowiec (formerly Łekno) Abbey	Common Observance	1153	Wągrowiec, Poland	1835
Sulejów Abbey	Common Observance	1176	Sulejów, Poland	1819	1986	http://www.sulejow.cystersi.pl
Wąchock Abbey	Common Observance	1179	Wąchock, Poland	1818	1951	http://www.wachock.cystersi.pl
Mogiła Abbey	Common Observance	1222	Kraków, Poland			http://www.mogila.cystersi.pl
Szczyrzyc Abbey	Common Observance	1224	Szczyrzyc, Poland			http://www.szczyrzyc.cystersi.pl
Zirc Abbey		1182	Hungary	ca. 1540	1701	http://www.ocist.hu
Igriș Abbey	-	1179	Romania	1551	-
Cârța Monastery	-	1205-6	Romania	1474	-
Kołbacz	-	1210	Poland	1347	-
Kutjevo		1232	Croatia
Bélakút Abbey	-	1235	Vojvodina, Serbia	1688	-
Krzeszów Abbey		1242	Poland

Scandinavia

Abbey	Type	Founded	Location	Closed	Re-established	Details
Alvastra Abbey		1143	Östergötland, Sweden	1544		Ordered torn down by Gustavus I in 1544
Nydala Abbey		1143	Småland, Sweden	1529	2008	Three Vietnamese monks arrived on 6 June 2008
Lyse Abbey		1146	Norway	1537
Hovedøya Abbey		1147	Oslo, Norway	1532		Burned prior to the Reformation
Varnhem Abbey		1150	Västergötland, Sweden	1566
Julita Abbey		1160	Södermanland, Sweden	1527
Esrum Abbey		1151 by Archbishop Eskild & Bernard of Clairvaux	Zealand, Denmark (Sjælland)	After The Reformation 1536
Sorø Klosterkirke		1161 by Bishop Absalon	Zealand, Denmark (Sjælland)	ca. 1580		Founded by monks from Esrum Abbey
Vitskøl Abbey		1158 by Archbishop Eskild	Jutland, Denmark	After The Reformation 1536		Founded by monks from Esrum & Varnhem, Sweden
Løgum Abbey		1173 by Bishop Stefan (Finished in 1325)	Jutland, Denmark	1548^[4]		Burned in 1190 and therefore finished 1325
Roma Abbey		1164	Gotland, Sweden	Before 1531		Founded by monks from Nydala Abbey
Tautra Abbey	Trappist	1207	Norway	1537	1999
Stamsund	Common Observance		Lofoten Islands, Norway			Recently established

Germany

Abbey	Type	Founded	Location	Closed	Re-established	Details
Himmerod Abbey	Monks	1134 by Bernard of Clairvaux	Grosslittgen	2017		https://www.abteihimmerod.de/
Lehnin Abbey		1180	Lehnin	1542		http://www.klosterkirche-lehnin.de/
Bebenhausen Abbey	Monks	1187	Bebenhausen	1535		https://www.kloster-bebenhausen.de/en/home
Heiligkreuztal Monastery	Monks	1227	Heiligkreuztal	1803		https://www.klosterheiligkreuztal.de/start
Lichtenthal Abbey	Nuns	1248	Baden-Baden			http://www.abtei-lichtenthal.de/
Maulbronn Monastery	Monks	1147	Maulbronn, Baden-Württemberg	1648		https://www.kloster-maulbronn.de/start
Porta Coeli	Nuns	1630; 1647	Himmelpforten	1634
Salem Abbey	Monks	1136	Salem, Baden-Württemberg (near Lake Constance)	1802
Waldsassen Abbey	Nuns	1133	Waldsassen, Bavaria (near Czech border)		1863	http://www.abtei-waldsassen.de/
Zinna Abbey		1170	Jüterbog	1553		http://www.kloster-zinna.com/index.php

Austria

Abbey	Type	Founded	Location	Closed	Re-established	Details
Heiligenkreuz Abbey	Common Observance	1133	Heiligenkreuz, Lower Austria			http://www.stift-heiligenkreuz.org/
Lilienfeld Abbey	Common Observance	1202	Lilienfeld, Lower Austria			http://www.stift-lilienfeld.at/
Rein Abbey	Common Observance	1129	Near Gratwein, Austria			http://www.stift-rein.at/
Stift Stams	Common Observance	1273	Imst District, Austrian state of Tyrol, near Innsbruck	1807, 1939	1816, 1946	http://www.stiftstams.at/?lang=en
Zwettl Abbey	Common Observance	1138	Zwettl, Lower Austria			http://www.stift-zwettl.at/

Czechia

Abbey	Type	Founded	Location	Closed	Re-established	Details
Sedlec Abbey		1142	(Near) Kutná Hora, Bohemia	1783
Plasy abbey^[cs]		1144	Plasy, Bohemia	1785
Osek abbey^[de]		1199	Osek, Bohemia			http://www.klaster-osek.info/
Porta coeli Convent	Nuns	1233	Předklášteří near Tišnov, Moravia	1782, 1950	1901, 1990	http://www.portacoeli.cz/
Vyšší Brod Monastery		1259	Vyšší Brod, Bohemia	1941	1989	http://www.klastervyssibrod.cz/
Zbraslav Monastery		1292	Zbraslav, today in Prague, Bohemia	1785
Nový Dvůr Monastery	Trappist	2002	Near Toužim, Bohemia			http://www.novydvur.cz/
Klášter Naší Paní nad Vltavou	Trappist nuns	2007	Křečovice, Bohemia			http://www.trappistevitorchiano.it/storia-fondazioni-nasi-pani-cz.asp

Italy

Abbey	Type	Founded	Location	Closed	Re-established	Details
St.Peter and Paul Abbey^[de]		1131	Abbadia Cerreto, Lombardy
Certosa di Pavia		1396	Certosa di Pavia, Lombardy
Chiaravalle Abbey		1135	Milan, Lombardy
Morimondo Abbey		1134	Morimondo, Lombardy
Piona Abbey			Colico, Lombardy
Rovato Abbey			Rovato, Lombardy
Viboldone Abbey		1176	San Giuliano Milanese, Lombardy
Santa Maria Arabona		1209	Manoppello, Abruzzo	1587
Santa Maria Casanova		1191	Villa Celiera, Abruzzo	1807
Santa Maria della Vittoria		1277	Scurcola Marsicana, Abruzzo	1550
Santi Vito e Salvo		1247	Villa Celiera, Abruzzo	1453
Santo Spirito d'Ocre		1248	Ocre, Abruzzo	1692
S. Maria di Chiaravalle di Fiastra	Common Observance	1142	Urbisaglia	1581	1985	http://www.abbadiafiastra.net/
Monastery of Calabromaria			Altilia di Santa Severina	1784
Abbazia di San Giusto, Tuscania	Common Observance	1146	Tuscania	1460?	2012	https://web.archive.org/web/20130607043624/http://www.abbaziadisangiusto.it/

Spain and Portugal

Abbey	Founded	Location	Closed	Re-established	Details
Santa María la Real, Fitero	1141	Fitero, Spain	1835
Santa María de la Oliva	1134	Carcastillo, Spain	1835	1927
Poblet Monastery	1151	Catalonia, Spain	1835	1940s	Listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 1991
Monastery of Alcobaça	1153	Portugal			Listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 1989
Convento de Santa Maria do Bouro	1195	Portugal
Casbas Monastery	1196	Casbas de Huesca, Aragon, Spain	2004		Previously a Benedictine community; in 1196 it became Cistercian
Monasterio Santa María de Valdediós	1200	Asturias, Spain			[1]
Real Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Rueda	1202	Ebro, Spain	1835		Includes important hydrological works from the Middle Ages, including a dam on the Ebro and a massive waterwheel or "rueda", which diverted some of the river flow to a Gothic aqueduct for distribution to various parts of the monastery.
Monastery of Santa María la Real [es], Villamayor de los Montes		Burgos, Spain
Our Lady of Bujedo de Juarros Abbey		Burgos, Spain
Monastery of Santa María la Real de las Huelgas	1187	Burgos, Spain
Monasterio de Santa María de Solius	1967	Girona, Spain
Monastery of San Prudencio de Monte Laturce^[5]	12th century	Clavijo, Spain			The Monastery of San Prudencio de Monte Laturce, located in La Rioja, is a symbol of religious heritage and peace. Founded in the 12th century, it began as a small church built on the site where Saint Prudentius' remains were divinely guided to rest.^[5]

North America

Canada

Abbey	Type	Founded	Location	Website
Abbey of Notre-Dame du Lac	Trappist	1881	Oka, Quebec
Notre Dame du Calvaire Abbey	Trappist	1902	Nouvelle-Arcadie, New Brunswick
Notre-Dame de l'Assomption Abbey	Nuns (Trappist)	1904	Nouvelle-Arcadie, New Brunswick
Abbey of Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth	Monks	1932	Rougemont, Quebec	[2]
Abbey of Notre-Dame du Bon Conseil	Nuns (Trappist)		Saint-Benoît-Labre, Quebec
Monastery of Notre-Dame de Mistassini	Trappist		Dolbeau-Mistassini
Our Lady of the Prairies Abbey	Trappist		Holland, Manitoba
Abbey Val Notre-Dame	Trappist		Saint-Jean-de-Matha, Quebec

United States

Abbey	Type	Founded	Location	Details	Website
Abbey of Gethsemani	Trappist	1848	Trappist, Kentucky	Home of Thomas Merton	[3]
New Melleray Abbey	Trappist	1849	Peosta, Iowa	Make wooden coffins.	[4]
Our Lady of Spring Bank Abbey	Common Observance	1920s	Sparta, Wisconsin	Closed 2011. Supported itself with financial investing, real estate, forestry and rental of farmland. It also operated "Laser Monks", which provided recycled laser toner and ink jet cartridges.^[6]
Monastery of the Holy Spirit	Trappist	1944	Conyers, Georgia		[5]
Mount Saint Mary's Abbey	Nuns (Trappist)	1949	Wrentham, Massachusetts	Daughter house of St. Mary's Abbey (Glencairn, Waterford).	[6]
Mepkin Abbey	Trappist	1949	Moncks Corner, South Carolina	Lumber, egg production, and dairy in the past. Now they produce shiitake and oyster mushrooms.	[7]
Assumption Abbey	Trappist	1950	Ava, Missouri		[8]
Holy Cross Abbey	Trappist	1950	Berryville, Virginia		[9]
St. Joseph Abbey	Trappist	1950	Spencer, Massachusetts	Founded as Our Lady of the Valley Abbey in Central Falls, Rhode Island in 1900. Moved 1950 after a fire destroyed most of their buildings.^[7] They brew and produce incense.	[10]
Abbey of the Genesee	Trappist	1951	Piffard, New York		[11]
Our Lady of Guadalupe Trappist Abbey	Trappist	1955	Lafayette, Oregon	The community moved from the abbey at Pecos, New Mexico (founded 1948) to Oregon, where farming gave higher yields.	[12]
Abbey of New Clairvaux	Trappist	1955	Vina, California		[13]
St Benedict Monastery	Trappist	1956	Snowmass, Colorado		[14]
Valley of Our Lady Monastery	Nuns (Common Observance)	1957	Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin	The first Cistercian nunnery in the United States, founded by nuns from the Swiss Abbey of Frauenthal.	[15]
Our Lady of Dallas Abbey	Common Observance	1958	Irving, Texas	Founded from the Cistercian monastery of Zirc in Hungary. Runs the Cistercian Preparatory School in Irving, TX	[16]
Our Lady of the Redwoods Abbey	Nuns (Trappist)	1962	Whitethorn, California	Founded from the Cistercian monastery of Nazareth in Belgium.	[17]
Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey	Nuns (Trappist)	1964	Dubuque, Iowa	Daughter-house of Mt. St. Mary Abbey in Wrentham, Massachusetts.	[18]
Santa Rita Abbey	Nuns (Trappist)	1972	Sonoita, Arizona		[19]
Our Lady of the Angels Monastery	Nuns (Trappist)	1987	Crozet, Virginia		[20]

Australia and New Zealand

Abbey	Type	Founded	Location	Details	Website
Tarrawarra Abbey	Trappist	1954	Victoria, Australia	Founded from Ireland. Since 1998 Tarrawarra has had a daughter house in Kerala, India: Kurisumala Ashram.	[21]
Southern Star Abbey	Trappist	1954	Kopua, New Zealand	The Abbey is situated on a dairy farm between Dannevirke and Takapau, Central Hawke's Bay.	[22]

South America

Brasil

Abbey	Type	Founded	Location	Details	Website
Abadia de Nossa Senhora de São Bernardo	Monges (OCist.)	1943	São José do Rio Pardo	Com o rescrito da Sagrada Congregação para os Religiosos de 22 de fevereiro de 1943 e o decreto do Abade Geral de 25 de fevereiro do mesmo ano, erigiu-se canonicamente o Mosteiro de Nossa Senhora de São Bernardo, com direito de ter noviciado próprio. Por ocasião do Definitorium da Ordem em 1947, Dom Afonso Heun entregou a fundação de São José do Rio Pardo à Congregação de São Bernardo da Itália. Em 10/09/96 o Capítulo da Congregação elevou por unanimidade São José do Rio Pardo à categoria de Abadia.	[23]

Asia

Hong Kong

Abbey	Type	Founded	Location	Details	Website
Our Lady of Joy Abbey			Tai Shui Hang, Lantau, New Territories		http://www.ourladyofjoyhk.org

Vietnam

Abbey	Type	Location
Abbatia B.M.V. de SS. Corde Iesu	Common Observance	MY–CA
Abbatia B.M.V. de Phước Sơn	Common Observance	PHƯỚC SƠN
Monastère de Châu Sơn	Common Observance	CHÂU SƠN NHO QUAN
Abbatia B.M.V. de Châu Sơn ĐD	Common Observance	CHÂU SƠN ĐƠN DƯƠNG- LÂM ĐỒNG
Abbatia Purissimi Cordis B.M.V. de Phước Ly	Common Observance	PHƯỚC LÝ
Abbatia B.M.V. de Châu Thủy	Common Observance	CHÂU THỦY
Abbatia B.M.V. de Thiên Phước	Common Observance	THIÊN PHƯỚC
Monastère de Phước Vĩnh	Common Observance	PHƯỚC VĨNH
Monastère de An Phước	Common Observance	AN PHƯỚC
Monastère N.-D. de Vĩnh-Phước	Common Observance	VĨNH PHƯỚC
Monastère N.-D. de Phước Hải	Common Observance	PHƯỚC HẢI
Abbatia B.M.V. de Phước Thiên	Common Observance	PHƯỚC THIÊN

Notes

^ de Ange, Angie (2007). "Oldest Building in the West". Orange & Blue. University of Florida: College of Journalism & Communications. Archived from the original on 2010-06-24. Retrieved 2009-01-03. The St. Bernard de Clairvaux Episcopal Church, known as North Miami Beach's Ancient Spanish Monastery, it is one of the oldest buildings in the Western Hemisphere.
^ Carlson, Charle (April 2005). Weird Florida. Barnes & Noble. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-7607-5945-5.
^ FAQ-eng Archived 2008-04-28 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Kirche zu Løgumkloster" [Church of Løgum Abbey]. Die Nordschleswigsche Gemeinde (in German). Retrieved November 18, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Clavijo Castle and S Prudencio Monastery | Royal Winery". Vinícola Real. 2024-08-14. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
^ Rob Baedeker (March 24, 2008). "Good Works: Monks build multimillion-dollar business and give the money away". San Francisco Chronicle.
^ "Saint Joseph's Abbey". Archived from the original on 2011-08-22.

External links

[1] Ange, Angie (2007). "Oldest Building in the West". Orange & Blue. University of Florida: College of Journalism & Communications. Archived from the original on 2010-06-24. Retrieved 2009-01-03. The St. Bernard de Clairvaux Episcopal Church, known as North Miami Beach's Ancient Spanish Monastery, it is one of the oldest buildings in the Western Hemisphere.

[2] Carlson, Charle (April 2005). Weird Florida. Barnes & Noble. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-7607-5945-5.

[3] FAQ-eng Archived 2008-04-28 at the Wayback Machine

[4] "Kirche zu Løgumkloster" [Church of Løgum Abbey]. Die Nordschleswigsche Gemeinde (in German). Retrieved November 18, 2022.

[:0-5] "Clavijo Castle and S Prudencio Monastery | Royal Winery". Vinícola Real. 2024-08-14. Retrieved 2024-12-05.

[SpringBankBaedekerSFChron-6] Rob Baedeker (March 24, 2008). "Good Works: Monks build multimillion-dollar business and give the money away". San Francisco Chronicle.

[7] "Saint Joseph's Abbey". Archived from the original on 2011-08-22.

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