Sweetheart Abbey, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
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A very public display of affection. Sweetheart Abbey, Scotland
They say Paris is the City of Love but there's a lesser-known place where love is the whole reason it even exists. We're in a Scottish village now known as New Abbey, about 8 miles south of Dumfries. We've stepped inside the ruins of Sweetheart Abbey, a 13th-century testament to the love between a husband and wife. Founded in 1273 by 'lady of substance' Dervorguilla of Galloway, the abbey was constructed solely to commemorate her love for English nobleman John de Balliol upon his death in 1268.
Her devotion didn't end there, though. It's said she had his heart embalmed and placed in an ivory casket bound with silver. She then carried it with her everywhere she traveled for the rest of her life. Dervorguilla and the heart were eventually laid to rest alongside John at the abbey when she passed in 1290. As time progressed, sadly, the lovers' graves were lost to war.
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