I have found an older picture of something briefly mentioned in my blog that is full of history I like, No, this is something no longer in existance but an important architectural and historical monument of the kingdom of France, I like to tell you anyway about the former Royal Abbey of Longchamp once belonging to Paris 75 in the Île de France region of my belle France. Even if no longer there it has its place in history and my blog, Hope you enjoy it as I.
The Royal Abbey of Longchamp, also called Convent or Abbaye de l’Humilité Notre-Dame, is a former monastery founded in 1255 by Isabelle of France, sister of Saint Louis, in the parish of Auteuil on the northern limits of Longchamp, the communal field of the hamlet of Menus lès Saint-Cloud which then stretches between the right bank of the Seine and the forest of Rouvray, present day Paris, Symbol of the disruption of convents that have become worldly and of the confinement of rebel daughters to their fathers, it was destroyed during the French revolution. Its site is occupied today by the Hippodrome de Longchamp and the Château de Longchamp.
The monastery of Longchamp was completed in 1259. It welcomed the first Poor Clares of the obedience of Saint-Damien, who came from the Abbey of the Daughters-of-Saint-Damien-d’Assise in Reims, on June 23, 1260. Inspired by the rule written by Saint Clare, Isabelle herself composed a rule, a little less severe, approved by Pope Alexander IV on February 2, 1259. Saint Bonaventure, Minister General of the Franciscans and other friars preached several times at Longchamp and wrote a treatise on spiritual life dedicated to Isabelle , From 1260, Isabelle came to settle in a small house, built for her in the enclosure of the monastery, to share the life and prayer of the sisters , Isabelle died on February 23, 1270. She was buried in the monastery church. After the death of Saint Louis in Tunis the same year, Charles of Anjou, brother of the king and Isabelle, asked a lady-in-waiting of Isabelle to write her life, in view of her canonization. Agnès d’Harcourt published this hagiographic account around 1280, but Isabelle was not beatified until 1521 by Pope Leo X, In February 1319, King Philippe V le Long, whose sister received the first name of Isabelle, built the foundation stone of the nearby church of Notre Dame de Boulogne. He died at Longchamp on January 3, 1322, In November 1461, by his letters patent, Louis XI renewed the royal protection granted by his predecessors to the monastery,
In the 18C, the abbey of Longchamp was a very popular place to stroll , On February 26, 1790, the nuns received an expulsion order; on September 17, 1792 the precious objects and sacred ornaments of the chapel were removed, and on October 10-12, 1792 the nuns left the monastery. The abbey was put up for sale in 1794 and then, having found no buyer, was demolished , Part of the ruins were used to build the staircase known as the hundred steps, to access the calvary of Mont Valérien (see post) , In the 1850s the current Bois de Boulogne was created, which in 1856 annexed the Longchamp estate. The following year, the farm buildings of the old abbey and the remains of the surrounding wall were demolished. All that remains of the abbey is ultimately a mill, located north of the Longchamp racecourse, the former dovecote, integrated into the domain of the Château de Longchamp, and a small tower in ruins, hidden in the undergrowth, near Route des Moulins , Near the historical site of the abbey, the name of Chemin de l’Abbaye brings to mind its memory. This path led from the abbey to the Seine, from where the ferry from Suresnes led to the rue du Bac in Suresnes. Fallen into disuse, it disappeared in 1837 in favor of the pont de Suresnes bridge,(see post) built further south in the following century.
The mill or moulin (see pic) was built around 1312 in wood and later in stone in the 19C, It is used today to pump water to the Cascade de Boulogne (see post) inside the land of the racecourse almost exactly where originally build, And more, there are many others buried in the abbey such as Marie de Beaujeu, Blanche de France, daughter of king Philippe V, and first French princess to join an monarchail order, Madeleine de Bretagne ,sister of Francis II duke of Bretagne/Brittany, Agnés de Harcourt II daugher of Jean I companion of Saint Louis, Jean II de Dreux aka the Good,son of Robert IV de Dreux , and Jeanne de Navarre, daughter of Count of Evreux Philippe III after his death assumes the throne of Navarre,amongst others.
The Paris tourist office on the mill of Longchamp :https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71114/Le-Moulin-de-Longchamp
The Paris tourist office on the racecourse of Longchamp : https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/72770/Hippodrome-ParisLongchamp
The Paris tourist office on the Bois de Boulogne : https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71494/Bois-de-Boulogne
There you go folks, a wonderful memory of my belle France, I used to drive by every day when working in Suresnes, The Royal Abbey of Longchamp is part of the history of France and I like it, Again ,hope you enjoy the post as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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