The Abbaye de la Fille-Dieu is a Cistercian monastery located near the town of Romont in the SwissCanton of Fribourg. Founded as a Benedictine priory in 1268,[6][7] and continuously occupied by a community of nuns since its establishment, the alpine abbey is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.[8] Heavily altered through its history, Fille-Dieu was restructured by economic turmoil, fire, additions and unsympathetic alterations.[9] In 1906 the abbey became affiliated with the Trappists, and between 1990 and 1996 an internationally notable restoration was undertaken, modernising the monastic buildings, restoring the abbey church to its original volume, and preserving its rediscovered medieval murals, with the only contemporary element a suite of stained glass windows commissioned from the British artist Brian Clarke.[10][11][12] Further restoration of the abbey continues today.
Early history
In 1268, the Bishop of Lausanne, Jean de Cossonay, visited a small community of women who, in 1265, had founded a house of prayer near Romont.[13] He authorised Juliette, Pernette and Cécile de Villa to erect a monastery on the site and gave it the name 'Fille-Dieu'.
Modern history
In 1906, the abbey joined the Cistercian Order of Strict Observance,[14] colloquially known as Trappists.
[15]
Restoration
Stained glass
In 2009, the stained glass of the oculus window of the abbey was destroyed in a hailstorm.[16] The artist, Brian Clarke, had been dissatisfied with the 1996 resolution of the window in his original programme of works, and this "sign of God" presented an opportunity to design and fabricate a replacement, for which he was commissioned.[17] The new window was inaugurated and blessed in 2010,[18] and the design for the window was presented to the Swiss National Museum of Stained Glass in Romont.[16]
Further reading
La Fille-Dieu, Un Monastère Cistercien En Pays Romand (1978). Benedikt Rast. Fribourg: St-Paul. ISBN978-3722801193.
Les Vitraux de la Fille-Dieu de Brian Clarke/Die Glasgemälde der Fille-Dieu von Brian Clarke (1997). Stefan Trümpler. Wabern-Berne: Benteli Editions. L'abbaye cistercienne de la Fille-Dieu a Romont/Musée suisse du vitrail a Romont. ISBN978-3716510865.
Liturgie Et Musique a l'Abbaye Cistercienne Notre-Dame de la Fille-Dieu: Histoire Et Catalogue Des Sources de Sept Siecles de Vie Chorale (2015). Aschendorff Verlag. ISBN978-3402136300.
Wilde, D. "Brian Clarke's Windows at Abbaye De La Fille-Dieu." Stained Glass: Quarterly of the Stained Glass Association of America. 94.1 (1999): 47-51. Print.
^Scarcez, Alicia (2015). Liturgie Et Musique a l'Abbaye Cistercienne Notre-Dame de la Fille-Dieu: Histoire Et Catalogue Des Sources de Sept Siecles de Vie Chorale. Aschendorff Verlag. ISBN978-3402136300.
^Schmid, Alfred (2002). "Restauration, rénovation, reconstruction? La résurrection du monastère cistercien de la Fille-Dieu à Romont". Preparatory Architectural Investigation in the Restoration of Historical Buildings. Leuven University Press. p. 197.
^"Abbey church La Fille-Dieu". Fribourg Region. Union fribourgeoise du Tourisme Etat de Fribourg. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
^Trümpler, Stefan (1997). Les Vitraux de la Fille-Dieu de Brian Clarke/Die Glasgemälde der Fille-Dieu Von Brian Clarke. Webern-Berne: Benteli/Musee Suisse de Vitrail a Romont.
^"Fille-Dieu". Records of the Order of Cistercians of Strict Observance. Ordre Cistercien de la Stricte Observance. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
^Utz Tremp, Kathrin (29 November 2005). "La Fille-Dieu". Historisches Lexicon der Schweiz (in German). Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
