Loc-Dieu Abbey

Loc-Dieu Abbey is a Cistercian abbey located near Martiel, 9 km west from Villefranche-de-Rouergue, in the department of Aveyron in France.

Founded in 1123[1] in a place formerly called Locus Diaboli (Latin for "devil's place") due to the large number of dolmens around it, it was renamed Locus Dei in Latin by the monks, which in French became Loc-Dieu, both meaning the "place of God".

[2] Burnt down by the English in 1409, it was rebuilt in 1470, and the abbey was fortified.

In the summer of 1940, paintings from the Louvre, including the Mona Lisa, were hidden in Loc-Dieu to keep them safe from German troops.

[5] The abbey and its large park are now open to visitors.