The best road cycling routes around Fontenay-Sur-Eure

very nice pond to rest

The Romanesque church of Saint George was rebuilt in 1540 after a fire destroyed it during the conflicts between the French, English, and Burgundians. It is said that the villagers took refuge in the church, especially in the tower, and that the English did not hesitate to set it ablaze. The two bells, dating from 1816, and a beam bearing the carpenters' names are listed as historical monuments. Exploring the village, you will discover several ponds and old water pumps, a Caesar's Way (Chemin d'Arcé), and a wood.

superb car-free road

Unfortunately, the church was not accessible when I visited (mid-September 2024). You could only look in through a gate and the dance of death depictions on the left side were not really visible. In front of them were transparencies with skeleton drawings. Maybe those were the depictions...

Porte de Boisville Its ogival portal opens into a thick quadrangular massif where there was a room for operating the portcullis. We can still see the groove in the thickness of the walls. On the left and right two small funnel-shaped spaces allowed the defenders to observe and repel the enemies who appeared on the bridge. The gate was topped by a building serving as a guardhouse which was demolished in 1761. The guarding of these doors and their keys was in the troubled times of the Hundred Years' War the subject of concern for the inhabitants and also a source of quarrels and trials between the city and the abbey. This gate is preceded by a bridge of 5 stone arches, the one adjoining the gate was built in 1774 and replaced a drawbridge which defended the entrance.

Very beautiful church and the public toilets next to it are perfect, even for filling water bottles too large for the classic sinks.

Composed of a Romanesque nave with flat buttresses placed symmetrically on each side (typical of the end of the 11th century or the first half of the 12th century), it was completely remodeled in the 16th century and the end of the 20th century. The bays of the nave are from the 15th century, in flamboyant Gothic style, as is the rose window. The span of the bell tower and the choir, with ribbed vaults, date from the end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century. As early as the 16th century, the bell tower had a clock, quite rare and expensive for the time. The pillars of the central bay are richly molded and crowned with thin bands of foliage serving as capitals. The windows are decorated with flamboyant tracery of varied designs. The Romanesque portal was also remodeled in the 16th century. The powerful central bell tower with buttresses [formerly had three bells named PIC DAN JON. There will only be one left after the Revolution, the other two having been melted down to make cannons and ammunition.

The Church does not have a transept in its center. Made up of a nave, a bell tower, a heart and a sacristy, the church of Saint Germain le Gaillard was built more “modestly” than its neighbors. Having a stained glass rose window on the west portal, the warm colors of the sunsets pierce the glass to flood the heart of the Church with light. Seven large stained glass windows overlook the interior of the church. On one side we find: the Curé d’Ars; Saint Joseph ; the Child and Mary; Saint Pierre. On the other side Bernadette Soubirous; Jesus before the apostles Peter Jacques and John, Louis IX. But a bay remains, empty, filled by a sheet of Plexiglas. This is where the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist will take place. It is this last stained glass window that we will talk about next.