Fragments of History, Visions of the Future: The Écolothèque Unveils Itself

📅 19 Sept 2026
🏟️ Écolothèque, Montpellier, Occitania, France

A full day of free activities at the Écolothèque — a 9th-century former monastery — featuring guided building tours, a photographic exhibition, a donkey-assisted squash harvest, a living-soil gardening workshop, and a visit to an apiary, all celebrating agricultural and architectural heritage in transition.

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Fragments of History, Visions of the Future: The Écolothèque Unveils Itself

The Écolothèque, housed in a 9th-century former monastery, opens its doors for a rich day of discovery combining architectural heritage, living history, and ecological practice. Nestled within a preserved natural environment, the site is both a historic monument and a working estate navigating the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Activities run in two main sessions — 10:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 17:00 — with slots starting on the hour (10:00, 11:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00). Visitors can join guided tours of the historic building, tracing its evolution from a medieval monastery to the living heritage space it is today.

A donkey-assisted squash harvest offers a hands-on glimpse into pre-mechanised farming, while a gardening and living-soil workshop teaches practices that protect the microbial ecosystems underpinning food production and biodiversity. A photographic exhibition pays tribute to the last inhabitants of the estate's vineyard, preserving the memory of a landscape in transition.

For children aged six and over (limited places), a special session includes a visit to the apiary and a honey tasting featuring the estate's own 'Écolothéquien' honey. An encounter with 'le papé' — an elder figure — allows visitors to explore the agricultural history of the estate through conversation.

Admission is free. The day is part of the European Heritage Days 2026 programme.