Bernay Abbey

Nave of the abbey church

Bernay Abbey (abbaye Notre-Dame de Bernay) was a Benedictine abbey in Bernay, Eure, France. The designers of its abbey church were ahead of their time, making it one of the first examples of Romanesque architecture in Normandy.[1] It shows the early evolution of that style, its decorative elements and its building techniques.[2]

Founded in the 11th century by Judith of Brittany, daughter of Conan I of Rennes and wife of Richard II, Duke of Normandy, the abbey church was listed as a historic monument in 1862, the other abbey buildings in 1965 and the archaeological remains on the site in 1999.[3]

  1. ^ (in French) "Bernay" in Lucien Musset, Normandie romane, volume 2, La Haute-Normandie, Éditions Zodiaque, La Pierre qui Vire, 1974, pages 45-57
  2. ^ (in French) Marcel Durliat, L'art roman, Paris, Lucien Mazenod, 1982 (ISBN 2-85088-012-4), p. 495
  3. ^ (in French) Base Mérimée: PA00099330, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)