Grande-Sauve Abbey

In 1998 the abbey ruins were included as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the pilgrimage route to St. James of Compostela.

Its name refers to the Silva Major, the great forest that then occupied the whole region known as the Vignoble de l'Entre-Deux-Mers ("vineyard between two seas"), which was a gift to Gerald from Duke William VIII of Aquitaine.

With the support of the duke, the Pope and a large number of generous benefactors and protectors, including the kings of England, its patrons, and France, the abbey prospered and grew rapidly.

Grande-Sauve Abbey had a monastic life governed by the Rule of St. Benedict and based on that of Cluny, although it did not belong to the Cluniac Order.

In 1665 a great storm caused severe damage to the roofs of the church, the dormitories and the refectory, as well as to the belltower, which collapsed at the end of the 17th century.