The best traffic-free bike rides around Breux-Sur-Avre

The first mention of the existence of the Church of Saint-Martin de Nonancourt is a 12th-century charter, but the original building probably dates back to the 7th or 8th century. The bell tower that now occupies the middle of the façade dates from the reconstructions of 1204. During the Hundred Years' War, the church was largely destroyed, like many buildings in the region. The side aisles, nave, and choir were rebuilt in the 16th century. The Chapel of the Virgin, also known as the Chapel of the Rosary, was also added. The Church of Saint-Martin contains numerous works of art, some of which are listed: neo-Gothic and Renaissance furnishings, including the centerpiece, the pulpit, a veritable wooden lacework; a variety of statuary, a 16th-century organ case and finally an enigmatic fresco discovered during recent works in 2001. The stained-glass windows of the church constitute a truly remarkable collection, both in terms of their number (26 in total) and their quality. The lower windows of the nave are the oldest pieces, dating from the 1500s, while the upper windows date from the 1520s and 1530s.

Built in the 15th century on the foundations of a chapel whose origins can be traced back to a papal bull from Pope Alexander in 1142, Saint Apollonia was worshipped there.

Notre-Dame-des-Puits Chapel. This Marian chapel, the foundation of which is the subject of a legend, dates back to the 12th century: while digging a well, a villager is said to have found a statue of the Virgin that he took to the parish church of Droisy, but which returned to the well three times at night, a miracle that reflected the Virgin's desire to see a chapel dedicated to her in this place. The building seems to have suffered heavy damage during the wars of the 15th century, like the surrounding villages, but, rebuilt in the following century, it was invoked against plague epidemics and was the site of new miracles. A brotherhood, created in the 18th century, ensured the organization of festivals and pilgrimages, and contributed to the purchase of the furniture: it is to them that we owe the order for the altar and its altarpiece, as well as the stained glass windows. Confiscated during the Revolution, the chapel was bought back by the faithful who reconstituted a brotherhood. In contemporary times, it was enlarged to the west by the construction of a porch, probably to facilitate access to the building on pilgrimage days, and two doors were opened there, one to the west, the other to the south. It is a building with a quadrangular plan of fairly large dimensions, with a modest wooden bell tower which has kept its bell from 1775. On the almost blind north facade, a small sacristy was added at the level of the choir. From its origins, it has retained, at the chevet, only fragments of masonry in grison and the trace of two bays. Renovations in the 15th and 16th centuries date several openings, including a pointed window with a trilobed network in the southern wall and a thick buttress halfway up the chevet. The interior of the building is covered with a wooden vault that was in poor condition. The church has a large amount of furniture, the masterpiece of which is undoubtedly the magnificent altarpiece, dated 1644, the work of Jean Racine, a painter and sculptor from Rouen; the iconography of the whole is dedicated to the Holy Family and the painting represents the Nativity. The work is set between two fluted columns and two pilasters, under a broken pediment and a niche in which a Virgin and Child, adored by two angels, has been placed. In front of each pilaster, two monumental statues have been placed, on the right Saint Anne and the Virgin, on the left Saint Joseph and the Child Jesus. The main altar is framed by two side altars, placed slightly back and at an angle and connected to each other by paneling; two doors were opened on the right and left in this woodwork to allow access, behind the altar, to the miraculous well which was located slightly below the apse For the repair of the covering paneling, the Sauvegarde de l’Art français granted aid of €10,000 in 2008.

The Saint-Rémy church in Saint-Rémy-sur-Avre is dedicated to Saint Remi of Reims, Bishop of Reims who baptized Clovis in 496 in the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Reims. In the 12th century, it marked the border between the Duchy of Normandy and the French royal domain on which Saint-Rémy-sur-Avre depends. It is a flamboyant Gothic church from the 15th century, probably rebuilt since we have mention of its existence since the end of the 11th century.

Église Saint Madeleine is a church where beautiful various statues of Saints, famous and less famous. The reason for so many different statues is that the school of sculpture was established here.

church with special bell tower: octagonal on a square base

A beautiful church to visit.

A beautiful route to take