Laon - Abbey of St. Martin

Laon, placed on a ridge and overlooking the flat Picardy plain, was a strategic, fortified site, already in Roman times. St. Remi founded a bishopric here in 487. Laon was a very important place in the kingdom of the Franks. After the fall of the Carolingians, Hugh Capet became the master of the town with the support of the bishop.

The Abbey of St. Martin was founded in 1124 in Laon by the Bishop of Laon and Saint Norbert of Xanten. The Premonstratensian community started with twelve canons from the nearby Prémontré Abbey. The abbey was so successful that it soon numbered more than 500 members. Around 1300 this abbey was the second largest of the 150 Premonstratensian convents all over Europe. It existed upto the French Revolution, when it was dissolved. The former abbey church (seen here), erected within the 12th century, now serves the parish. The former monastic buildings have gaaen used as a hospital for many decades. Since 1980 they house the collection of the municipal library.

This is the building, now housing the library, the modern hospital is seen in the background. The area of the former abbey was bombed in 1944 and had to be rebuilt after WWII. The site was occupied by the German army during WWI, what can still be seen.