Barbeau Abbey

Barbeau Abbey was founded in 1147 by King Louis VII of France on the banks of the Seine, whence the original name Seine-Port, or Sequanae Portus, in Latin.

The present name is supposedly derived from the French word for barbel, which is also depicted in the abbey's arms.

According to the foundation legend a barbel was fished out of the Seine and found to contain a ring mounted with a precious stone that was lost by Saint Loup as he crossed the river, the sale of which raised the funds to build the monastery.

Under the commendatory abbot Cardinal Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg the church was again restored.

The state bought the remaining buildings back in 1810 for use as an orphanage, but sold them in 1837 to a private owner who demolished them and built a country house on the site.