La Pierre-qui-Vire Abbey

Founded in 1850, deep in the Morvan Forest, Sainte-Marie de la Pierre-qui-Vire Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in the municipality of Saint-Léger-Vauban, in the south of Yonne, in Burgundy.

Nestling in a wild and verdant environment, the place's name, meaning "the stone that turns" in French, is a reference to an enormous balanced stone, which now has a statue of the Virgin on top of it. In bygone days, before it was sealed, the rock could be moved by just pressing on it with your hand.

The monks who occupy the monastery welcome people on retreats, in search of spiritual rejuvenation and contemplation, to stay in their hostelry. People simply wishing to visit the site can only access the church, the exhibition about monastic life, and the shop that sells cheese, pottery and religious objects.

The community is also very involved in renewable energy: La Pierre-qui-Vire Abbey has had its own hydroelectric plant since the 1960s, and benefits from a central boiler room where wood bricks are burned to heat all the buildings, which cover 15,000 m². A filtering garden is used to treat the cheese dairy's water: La Pierre-qui-Vire farm, located 800 metres from the abbey, produces famous organic cow's and sheep's cheeses.

After a spot of shopping at the abbey shop, take the time to enjoy a forest walk: a path will lead you to the nearby stream, the Trinquelin.