An abbey is a building or group of buildings where monks or nuns live, work, and pray together as a religious community. Think of it as both a church and a home combined: the monks or nuns attend religious services in the abbey's chapel, but they also eat, sleep, study, and work within the same complex.

Abbeys were especially important in medieval Europe, where monks copied books by hand, preserved ancient knowledge, grew food, brewed beer, and sometimes ran schools or hospitals. The leader of an abbey is called an abbot (for monks) or an abbess (for nuns). Some famous abbeys, like Westminster Abbey in London, are enormous and magnificent, with soaring ceilings and intricate stone carvings.

Many abbeys still function today as religious communities, while others have become historical landmarks or ruins. When you visit an old abbey, you're walking through centuries of history, seeing where dedicated people spent their entire lives in prayer, learning, and service.