L'Abbaye troglodytique de Saint-Roman

Abbaye de Saint-Roman

Useful Information

Location:	5 km north of the twin cities Beaucaire/Tarascon, on the eastern side of the Rhone. From the roundabout D999/D90 follow the small road Chemin de la Tapie, which then changes name to Chemin de Saint Roman. 15 minutes walk to the top opf the hill.
Open:	JAN Sat, Sun 14-17. MAR Tue-Sun, Hol 14-17. APR to JUN Tue-Fri 14-18:30, Sat, Sun, Hol 10-13, 14-18:30. JUL to AUG daily 10-13, 14-18:30. SEP to OCT Tue-Fri 14-18:30, Sat, Sun, Hol 10-13, 14-18:30. NOV Tue-Sun, Hol 14-17. DEC Sat, Sun 14-17. School Holidays Tue-Sun 14-17:30. Closed 24-DEC, 25-DEC, 31-DEC, 01-JAN. [2023]
Fee:	Adults EUR 5.75, Children (0-17) free, Students EUR 4.75, Unemployed EUR 4.75. Groups (10+): Adults EUR 5. [2023]
Classification:	Cave Church Cave House
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	T=14-16 °C.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Abbaye de Saint-Roman, c/o Mas des Tourelles, 4294, route de Bellegarde, 30300 Beaucaire, Tel: +33-466-591972, Fax: +33-466-595080. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

5th century	monastery founded.
1538	transformed into a fortress.
1850	fortress destroyed.

Description

19th century coloured engraving of the Abbaye de Saint Roman in its form as a fortress.

The Abbaye troglodytique de Saint-Roman (Cave Dwellers Abbey Saint Roman) is actually not the name of this abby. It was simply named Saint Roman, when it was founded in the 5th cwentury on top of a hill, close to the Rhone, just north of Beaucaire/Tarascon, the twin city with the bridge. A really impressive strategic location. It was easy to fortify the hill, and its location in the heart of the Provence was good too, if you think about the infrastructure of cities and roads left over by the Roman empire.

The monks not only fortified the hill, they dug into the rock to create rooms to store food, goods, to live in, and even to bury their dead on top of this rocky hill. Thats why they are called troglodytes today. Descriptions tell about hermits' caves, dug into the rock, with a wonderful view.

In 1538 the abby was closed and transformed into a fortress. This fortress was finally destroyed in 1850, and the ruin which can be visited today remained. Both the transformation into a fortress and its destruction did not influence the old caves very much and so thes are rather well preserved until today. Most impressive are probably the graves of the monks, which where dug directly into the massive rock surface on top of the hill.