Montmajour Abbey, FRANCE

Montmajour Abbey, (French: Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Montmajour), was a fortified Benedictine monastery built between the 10th and 18th centuries on what was originally an island five kilometers north of Arles, in the Bouches-du-Rhône Department. Among the sections of the Abbey we find a cloister, built during the 12th and 13th centuries; the Tower of Abbot Pons de l'Orme, dating from the 14th century; and several chapels and monasteries. The abbey is noted for its 11th–14th-century graves, carved in the rock, its subterranean crypt, and its massive unfinished church. It was an important pilgrimage site during the Middle Ages. The abbey and the landscape around it were frequently painted and drawn by Vincent van Gogh.

Photos from Summer 2012