THE ABBEY OF MONT SAINT ELOI

Located in the municipality of Mont-Saint-Eloi, 7 kilometres west of Arras, the abbey was built in the Middle Ages, instead of a former hermitage founded according to legend by Saint Eloi who would come to pray on the Mount in the th century. In the th century, the old Gothic buildings were destroyed and replaced by a monumental abbey of classical style, whose community of canons would spread across the region. But in the French Revolution, the abbey is closed, seized property and monuments demolished, apart from facade and two large towers. During the First World War, the geographical location of this site, overlooking the entire artesian campaign and visible kilometres to the round, makes it a strategic point of observation for the defense of Arras… but also a privileged target of the fire of the German artillery. A property of the Department of Pas de Calais since 2008, the remains of the abbey are the subject of a vast archaeological excavations campaign and a restoration programme.