The birth of Cîteaux in a marshy forest

The Cistercian order partly draws its origins from the foundation of Cîteaux, a marsh covered in reeds chosen for its isolation. Robert de Molesme settled there on 21 March 1098 with twenty-one fervent monks in order to apply the rule of Saint Benedict in strict austerity. This inhospitable site, located twenty-two kilometers south of Dijon, was granted by the viscount of Beaune to escape the divisions of the abbey of Molesme.