Saint-Leger Abbey

The day we visited Soissons was a holiday, and as such the museums were closed. But it was not an obstacle for us to see the outside of the Abbey of Saint-Léger which houses the municipal museum of the city. Built in the gothic style in 1139 it installed secular canons in the community and reached its height when the Count of Soisson appointed the Bishop Josswelin Vierzy. The entrance of the Protestants into the city lead to the semi-destruction of the church and convent. In 1791 it was sold to a wine merchant who used it for various purposes. Then the Bishop of Carsignies handled restoration and installed a seminary which closed in 1886.