CLAIRVAUX  , a

village of north-eastern France, in the department of Aube, 40 M . E.S.E. of Troyes on the Eastern railway to Belfort . Clairvaux (Clara Vallis) is situated in the valley of the Aube on the eastern border of the Forest of Clairvaux . Its, celebrity is due to the abbey founded in 1115 by St Bernard, which became the centre of the Cistercian order . The buildings (see ABBEY) belong for the most part to the 18th century, but there is a large storehouse which dates from the 12th century . The abbey, suppressed at the Revolution, now serves as a prison, containing on an average 800 inmates, who are employed in agricultural and industrial occupations . Clairvaux has iron-works of some importance .