Ville-sous-la-Ferté is the final stop on the Côte des Bar tourist route; the Clairvaux Abbey is located there. More than 1,000 manuscripts are associated with Clairvaux, and they were included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme in 2009.
Anyone wishing to rent a holiday apartment in Ville-sous-la-Ferté will choose their accommodation with this location in mind.
Culture and history
Napoleon bought Clairvaux in 1808 to convert the complex into a large prison; the buildings housed prisoners until 1971. The Clairvaux abbey and prison site covers almost 30 hectares and has 30,000 m² of floor space. Thirty-six buildings dating from the 12th to the 18th century are protected as historic monuments; prison heritage from the 20th and 21st centuries has also been preserved. The listed painting “Vie de saint Bernard” is an 18th-century work.
Sightseeing in Clairvaux
Clairvaux’s cultural and heritage programme includes guided tours, conferences and concerts. The tour of the “Quartier disciplinaire” explores the development and organisation of prison discipline through the “Quartier d’Isolement Quartier Disciplinaire”. The extended “Abbaye et Quartier disciplinaire” tour combines the general abbey visit with a tour of the disciplinary wing. Since January 2024, the Grand Cloître has been inaccessible due to restoration work; a new tour route is therefore being offered.
Other cultural sites
The Écomusée du mètre en bois presents the local heritage of wooden measuring-stick production in Ville-sous-la-Ferté. Nearby are the historic Grange Saint Bernard de Clairvaux site and Clairvaux (Abbey), an abbey and historic site. The surrounding area is home to Château de Dinteville, a château, and the Grange de Beaumont historic site.
Paths and landscape
An easy 3.3-kilometre walking trail leads to the Fontaine Saint-Bernard in Ville-sous-la-Ferté. In the wider regional area are Mont Gimont, a mountain, Mont Remin, a hill, and Côte d'Alun, a hill.
