F.  The Dauphine Tower

Built in the thirteenth century, it was destroyed in 1595 by Maréchal Biron on the orders of the king, Henry IV. It was rebuilt a hundred years later on a smaller scale.

E. The Archive Tower

Defensive tower built during the first half of the thirteenth century.

D.  South wing
 
Renovated and enlarged by the Benedictines of Saint-Maur in the seventeenth century, this wing included the monks’ refectory, dormitory and kitchens. In the basement, immense rooms were used to stock materials.

B. The Abbey

The asymmetrical façade was built in the thirteenth century. “Beheaded” during the Revolution, the bell tower has  been restored on several occasions. At the corner of the southern gable is a “échauguette” (small tower) made of wood which probably served as a clock tower.

C. The cloister
 
A place of prayer but also a passageway between the church and the community rooms (refectory, dormitory…) the lower cloister was restored by Etienne de Moral, abbot of Ambronay in the fifteenth century.

During the French Revolution the cloister was used as a promenade for political prisoners.  After a devastating fire in 1632, the upper gallery was restored in the seventeenth century.

To reach the upper gallery, a monumental staircase was built in the same period. Its ceiling is painted in trompe-l’oeil.

A. The Abbot’s quarters

Built in the fifteenth century, the abbot’s quarters also include an inner courtyard paved with pebbles. The stables and a dovecote were situated to the East of this building.