Louis VI founded the Cistercian monastery of Chaalis on 10 ^th January 1137 in memory of Charles the Good, Count of Flanders who had been massacred at Bruges

This abbey's church was consecrated in 1219 by the illustrious brother Guerin, then Bishop of Beauvais. Almost immediately after its foundation, the abbey became incontestably renowned largely due to the quality of its priors or abbots. It was certainly during the 14^th century, however, that the monastery celebrated the period of its greatest splendour. The scrivener and secretary to the king, Jean de Montreuil wrote "The Abbey of Chaalis is a kind of earthly paradise inhabited by saints. It is surrounded by fountains, streams and small torrents, whose clear waters murmur softly as they flow. There are ten great ponds, very profitable, filled with an infinite number of fishes, which have such an exquisite flavour that I do not believe I have ever eaten better. I admire the beautiful forest that nourishes a quantity of wild boars, stags, hares and rabbits which emerge constantly from their lairs and burrows in great numbers.The abbey was surrounded by ditches and walls. The church was approached via a portico, and the author declares that the interior, with its 25 chapels, surpasses all those he had seen elsewhere, in beauty and brightness. The refectory, almost 55 meters long, occupies a whole wing of the cloister. The magnificent guest houses lodge visitors from the outside world. As for the abbot's house, he said that if he described it, he would seem to be evoking the palace of some prince of royal blood. The place is so conducive to study that it is easy to believe the muses have chosen to reside there and have often held their assemblies at Chaalis."

http://www.chaalis.fr