This church was founded as a Benedictine abbey in the year 1020 by the lord of a nearby town. It was builtin the 11th century and re-built in the 13th. It's located in a small village of about 1,500 souls.
The nearest town of any size is built on a hilltop that is capped by the ruins of a medieval château fortthat was also built in the 11th century. The château was torn down in 1610 by order of king Henri IV.
The church itself stands in a bucolic valley where two small rivers come together.
It is known for its narthex, a feature rare in churches of the region.
The church suffered damage not only during the 100 Years' War but also during the French wars of religion.It was again restored and re-built in the late 16th and into the 17th century.
Ownership of the church was granted to the village at the time of the French revolution and various mayorsof the village have organized restoration projects over the decades since.
We didn't see the inside of the church when we were there because we arrived too late. It had closed at 7 p.m.A pizza truck was parked on the village square but we were staying in a hotel so we went to a restaurant instead.
Hmmm, well it's Romanesque. I'll guess Cluny, which I'm pretty sure is wrong, as the tower on this one looks different. They have nice geraniums, though. Looks like the stained glass windows might be nice inside.
ReplyDeleteIt's not as well known as Cluny.
DeleteThis is Notre Dame Abbey in the small Norman village of Lonlay l'Abbaye! My husband and I have been renovating a village house there -stop and start - for several years. Anyone interested in seeing more of the village and the interior of this ancient abbey can look at my blog posts at atinyhouseinnormandy.com. Delighted to know you were there!
ReplyDeleteBingo! We had spent part of the day in Carrouges, and then an hour or two in Domfront, where we spent the night at the Hôtel de France.
DeleteHope you will have some photos of Domfront for us too. Talk about history!
DeleteSeptember 2017 and November 2019 in the blog archives at atinyhouseinnormandy.com have the most images of the inside of the Abbey, including some short videos. Hope you don't mind my sharing the link. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteOf course I don't mind. I've been reading some of your posts this morning.
DeleteThanks, Kiwi! Ken would have left us wondering all day LOL.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of this Notre-Dame Abbey but you gave enough tips to find it. The village seems to have suffered from WWII military operations.
ReplyDeleteSince you said you were at a hotel nearby, I thought you were still in the Orne department. So, I googled abbayes du department de l'Orne and it's how I found it.
I was writing this and googling while Kiwi commented and said what it was.
I thought it would be you, chm, who answered this question! Congratulations Kiwi!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! Ken, please continue with this game...I will probably never have the answers but it is a fun way to learn about these magnificent creations that are still available to enjoy!
I noticed that, in photo #4, the basket of pink geraniums found a way to levitate, probably, being so close to a church, par l'opération du Saint-Esprit.
ReplyDeleteHahaha,chm! Happens every day there. It's when the cows start floating overhead that you have to watch out.
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