Lincoln Heritage Scenic Highway
Abbey of Gethsemani and Visitor Center, KY

The Abbey of Gethsemani is America’s oldest Trappist Monastery, founded by the Order of Trappist Cistercians in 1848 when Trappist monks from western France relocated in Central Kentucky. Thomas Merton, an influential 20th-century Catholic writer, lived at the Abbey where he is now buried. The new welcome center opened in 2004 and includes a gift shop and a theater with films detailing a monk's life.