The best road cycling routes around Briconville

There were once two parishes in Maintenon: "St. Nicholas," a parish serving the castle and its dependent houses. The church of St. Nicholas, adjoining the castle, now deconsecrated, still stands on Maintenon's main square. "St. Peter," a parish covered by the surveys in this table, is a current parish in the commune. In addition, there was a priory, founded in 1220 under the name of the Priory of Our Lady of Maintenon. The church of Saint-Pierre in Maintenon is mentioned at the beginning of the 12th century, but nothing appears to have survived from this period. Indeed, the Count of Montgomery, a Huguenot, passed through Maintenon in 1567 and ruined the church. In 1692, Madame de Maintenon rebuilt the church of Saint-Pierre, which had fallen into ruin and had become too small for a population that had grown from 700 to 1,100 with the arrival of labor for the construction of the aqueduct. However, there is no evidence that the new church was built on the site of the old one. The foundation stone of the new church of Saint-Pierre was laid on June 4, 1692, by the Vicar General. The blessing took place on July 17, 1694. Bishop Godet des Marais subsequently consecrated the building. In 1736, the large "Henriette" bell was blessed by Mr. Jean François DEREYROLES, parish priest, in the presence of "the Most High and Most Powerful Lord, Monsignor Jean Paul François de NOAILLES, Count of AYEN" and by "the Most High and Most Powerful Lady, Madame Henriette Louise DAGUESSEAU de FRESNE, Countess of AYEN." From 1805 to 1813, Duke Jean-Paul de NOAILLES and his wife refurnished and decorated the Saint-Pierre church (the woodwork, credenzas, and pews were redone). The church's embellishment continued until 1899. The church's architecture is unremarkable. However, it is listed as one of the few Baroque churches in the department. The choir is flanked on one side by a sacristy and on the other by a room called "the vault." This is because, until the 1990s, it contained the bodies of some members of the Noailles family, who were buried there in stacked boxes that are still visible, but disused. The organ, installed in the gallery, is no longer in use. It had been partially dismantled for a renovation that proved too expensive, and some of the pipes were stolen. During the 1939-1945 war, almost all of the old stained-glass windows were destroyed and replaced with modern ones, the work of a master glassmaker from the region: Victor Cot-Dezan.

According to tradition, the church choir covers the remains of an older building, possibly dating back to the 6th century, which was built to house the saint's body. According to current knowledge, the commune of Saint-Piat (Sanctus Piatus in Latin) officially appeared in 1087, mentioned in a charter of the Nottonville Priory (Eure-et-Loir), on which it depended. The current building was rebuilt during the time of Francis I, as suggested by the date 1535 engraved on two buttresses of the apse and the date 1542 engraved on a piece of wood from the vault. This is according to a study by the SAEL (Eure-et-Loir Archaeological Society). The three-sided apses, the dripstone towers (horizontal members projecting from a wall), and the sculpted roof structures are a testament to the importance of the reconstructions carried out in the department during the 16th century. The church of Saint-Piat is one of them. While the church has not been officially recognized, it nevertheless contains objects that have attracted attention both for their antiquity and quality, but not always for good reason. Their artistic value, far from attracting only religious or aesthetic interest, has also aroused a covetousness that, unfortunately, remains for some of them. Fortunately, those still in place are carefully cared for and offer the curious a story to discover, a beauty to slowly ponder as they progress toward the choir.

Before 528, the village of Saint-Prest was called Saint-Jean-sur-Eure. At that time, the Bishop of Chartres, Ethère, had a building built adjoining the southern flank of the parish church, including a "martyrium" to house the remains of holy martyrs (the legend of Saint-Prest), which were placed in ten sarcophagi. The most honored relics were those of a certain Priscus; following numerous miracles, the parish took the name of Saint-Prest. The current church's crypt is the apse of the 9th-century Carolingian church, which replaced a 6th-century sanctuary. Access to the 12th-century nave, on the west side, is through a beautiful Romanesque portal, carved from beautiful limestone, surmounted by a triple saw-tooth archivolt and framed by two small columns with capitals. On the right, a face would be that of Eve, and on the left would appear the tempting serpent.

Many centuries ago, our ancestors discovered the possibility of harnessing the power of the elements—which, while helpful and useful on the one hand, could also be a threat as untamed forces of nature—for various purposes, thus eliminating the need for human or animal muscle power. Mills like these are a good example of the human engineering skills of earlier generations: The heavy millstones used to grind grain or press oil, for example, could be powered by wind or—as in this case—water.

The parish church of Saint-Remy de Vérigny, located in the current new commune of Mittainvilliers-Vérigny, has been documented in the archives since 1126 as being dependent on the abbey of Saint-Père in Chartres. Its construction probably followed shortly after this date, as evidenced by the use of grison for both the buttresses and the frames of certain bays and the large west portal with a grison roller. The proximity of the manor and then the castle of Vérigny, owned by the prestigious families of O and Vieuville until the early years of the 18th century, encouraged donations and legacies in favor of the parish church. It is to Charles II of O that we owe the construction of the north aisle as well as the family chapel in the right bay of the choir, on the north side. The ribbed vaults and the hanging keystones sculpted with little angels evoke the creations of the second quarter of the 16th century such as those of the church of Bérou-la-Mulotière. If the only vestiges of stained glass windows preserved date from the

It resembles a Romanesque church, its pointed roof in local tiles, its four-sided bell tower is made of slate. The church of Poisvilliers has a nave whose base is from the 12th century, remodeled in the 16th century. The walls are made of various rubble blocks, the buttresses are made of cut stone. The west gable was redone in the 18th century. The date appears on the keystone of the door in the center (MDCCLXX /1770) The paneled vault is a simple vessel, the nave is widened to the south. The choir, narrower than the nave, dates from the 12th century and ends with a semicircular apse. It was transformed in the 16th century into a three-sided apse. The altarpiece is neoclassical in the Louis XVI style. It is made of fir. The pulpit is made of oak. In 1844, the high altar and the bell were repaired. A special tax is required. Thirty taxed forts are summoned. There are two stained glass windows in flamboyant Gothic style (the closest to the choir) on each side. There are three stained glass windows of Gothic inspiration and a Romanesque stained glass window. On the plan dating from 1852, we can see a porch that has now disappeared. The bell was installed in 1810. It was named Marie-Céléstine. Damaged, it was repaired in 1956 and named Louise-Simone. The Stations of the Cross were made by Mr Bernacchi in 2000. We discovered that Poisvilliers was a parish until 1807. It was then united with that of Berchères-la-Maingot. We found old plans attesting to the presence of a presbytery opposite the church.

Bench, greenery, river and shade for a bite to eat or a break.

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.