Grande Chartreuse is the head monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 of the Carthusian

Carthusian

The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...

 order. It is located in the Chartreuse Mountains

Chartreuse Mountains

The Chartreuse Mountains is a mountain range in eastern France, stretching to the north from the city of Grenoble to the Lac du Bourget. It is the southernmost range in the Jura Mountains and belongs to the French Prealps....

, north of the city of Grenoble

Grenoble

Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...

, in the commune of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse

Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse

Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.It is located in the Chartreuse Mountains, to the north of the city of Grenoble....

 (Isère

Isère

Isère is a department in the Rhône-Alpes region in the east of France named after the river Isère.- History :Isère is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Dauphiné...

), France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Originally, the château

Château

A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...

 belonged to the See of Grenoble. In 1084, Saint Hugh gave it to hermit

Hermit

A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...

 Saint Bruno

Bruno of Cologne

Saint Bruno of Cologne , the founder of the Carthusian Order, personally founded the order's first two communities...

 and his followers who founded the Carthusian Order.

Today, visitors are not permitted at Grand Chartreuse, and motor vehicles are prohibited on the surrounding roads.