At the end of the 16th century, the royalty and clergy of France, inspired by the Counter-Reformation, set out on the revival of Roman Catholicism by creating new monasteries and enlarging existing ones.

They were successful, and the king also pledged 30,000 livres for its construction (though he never paid them) and chose its name: Chartreuse du Lys St Esprit.

The Carthusians began by acquiring the Giroflée estate on the banks of the Saône, then extended their lands by purchasing those of their neighbours little by little, until they had a total property of 24 hectares.

Instead they related the expansion of their estate to their monastic rule: they were eliminating all their neighbours so as better to live their life of solitary contemplation.

Its construction was carried out in two phases: the first (1590-1690) included the choir, the small cloister, the sacristy and a few of the monks' cells; the second (in the 18th century) involved the completion of the nave, the transept and the side chapels.

The tabernacle (i.e., the small cabinet holding the consecrated wafers) was originally decorated with semi-precious stones, but these disappeared during the Revolution.

One of the most beautiful examples in France, it aims to magnify the presence of Christ in the Eucharist and in effect to form a hyper-tabernacle around the Host.

The original decoration is unclear: it was long thought that it had been covered in fleurs de lys, which were turned into trefoils, or clover leaves, during the 19th-century renovations.

The crossing dome is made up of 8 oval windows 5 metres high, separated by vaulting and crowned with polygonal decoration.

Below the entrance door is a Latin inscription from the Gospel of St Matthew, referring to the subscription among the canuts[3] to finance the works on the façade: "Come to me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest".

The second level is a curvilinear balcony with a small terrace, above which is the window (the only surviving element of the original west front) surrounded by four fluted columns and a triangular pediment with the symbol of the Holy Spirit.