diff --git a/nova/virt/libvirt_conn.py b/nova/virt/libvirt_conn.py
index 524646ee5a..1ff8175d05 100644
--- a/nova/virt/libvirt_conn.py
+++ b/nova/virt/libvirt_conn.py
@@ -84,10 +84,22 @@ class LibvirtConnection(object):
 
     @property
     def _conn(self):
-        if not self._wrapped_conn:
+        if not self._wrapped_conn or not self._test_connection():
+            logging.debug('Connecting to libvirt: %s' % self.libvirt_uri)
             self._wrapped_conn = self._connect(self.libvirt_uri, self.read_only)
         return self._wrapped_conn
 
+    def _test_connection(self):
+        try:
+            self._wrapped_conn.getVersion()
+            return True
+        except libvirt.libvirtError as e:
+            if e.get_error_code() == libvirt.VIR_ERR_SYSTEM_ERROR and \
+               e.get_error_domain() == libvirt.VIR_FROM_REMOTE:
+                logging.debug('Connection to libvirt broke')
+                return False
+            raise
+
     def get_uri_and_template(self):
         if FLAGS.libvirt_type == 'uml':
             uri = FLAGS.libvirt_uri or 'uml:///system'