Exploring the monastery

In around 1280, after crossing swords with the Benedictines of Charlieu on numerous occasions, some Franciscans founded a monastery in the parish of Saint-Nizier-sous-Charlieu, on the edge of the town.

It was destroyed in around 1360 and then re-erected between the late 14^th and early 15^th centuries, when the cloister was rebuilt due to the generosity of the lord of Châteaumorand. It was occupied by Friars Minor Conventual and then closed down in 1792 when the last three monks were turned out. The buildings were finally sold as national property and then either destroyed or converted into barns and homes. The cloister, the enormous church and the monks’ “library” are still standing today. The Couvent des Cordeliers is one of the few medieval Franciscan sites which are still to be seen in France today.

The rebuilding work on the cloister, which took place between 1370 and 1410, was largely financed by the Châteaumorand family. After the French Revolution, it owed its preservation to the fact that it was converted into homes and gardens. In 1910, it was sold to a Parisian antiques dealer, whose idea was to sell it to a rich American who wanted to decorate his tennis court with it, but then it was listed as a Historic Monument at the very last moment.

The monastery’s construction and decoration make it a remarkable architectural specimen. The capitals in its northern gallery comprise a series of medieval or ancient mythological figures and animals.

You can browse through seven hundred years of the troubled history of the Couvent des Cordeliers, on display in its former library. You can follow the twists and turns in the story of an extraordinary monument - which was popular among the earliest photographers in the 19^th century - from its troubled foundation in Saint-Nizier-sous-Charlieu through to its rescue in the 20^th century.

• Its Gothic cloister and its capitals
• Its church and its 17^th century roof
• The recumbent effigies of the Seigneur de Châteaumorand and his wife