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Loc-Dieu Abbey is a cistercian abbey located near Martiel, 9 km west from Villefranche-de-Rouergue, in the department of Aveyron in France. Funded in 1123 in a place formely called Locus Diaboli (Devil's place) due to the large amount of dolmens around it, it was renamed by the monks into Locus Dei, Loc-Dieu: the place of God. Burnt by the English in 1409, the buildings were rebuild in 1470 and the abbey fortified. The abbey was sold by the French government during the French revolution in 1793 and the Cibiel family bought it in 1812, whose descendants still live in it. The buildings were restaured in 1840 (East wing) and in 1880 (South and West wings). In 1940, the paintings of the Louvre, including the Mona Lisa, were hidden in Loc-Dieu during the summer to escape the German troops. The abbey and its large park are now open to visit.
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