The best traffic-free bike rides around Garancières-En-Beauce

The church of Châtenay, which stands near its cemetery in a modest village in the Beauce region, is placed under the invocation of Saint Sulpice. Its construction could date from the 16th century. Behind a porch tower that rises majestically at its entrance, a rectangular nave of four bays serves as both nave and choir, ending in a flat chevet; an appendage to the east serves as a sacristy. A seigneurial chapel opens on the north side of the choir. To the south, a side aisle with its own entrance was built in 1720, the date when the tower was also supposedly raised. This two-story tower, covered by a gable roof, is built on a square plan, the second story set back from the first and pierced on each face by two semicircular bays. Inside, the nave is covered with a wooden cradle vault with exposed tie beams, the side aisles being rib-vaulted. Large pointed arches separate the nave from the south side aisle. On the eastern wall, large pointed bays have been walled up for the presentation of the large altarpieces. Buttresses with glacis, thick but narrow, reinforce the side walls at the level of separation of the bays, as well as at the chevet. The Sauvegarde de l'Art Français paid a sum of 75,000 F in 1993 to ensure the waterproofing of this building.

The nave dates from the 13th century, the sacristy from the 18th. Of very simple construction, the church nevertheless contains masterpieces. First, an antependium in painted Cordoba leather, representing Saint Médard; classified as a historical monument, just like the bells. A wooden cabinet from the 13th century containing a necrology. A painted wooden altarpiece from the 12th century, featuring two statues, repainted in 1893, representing St Médard and the Virgin Mary. A churchwardens' bench serving as an altar.

Attached to the castle, the 13th-century church was burned down in the 15th century. Rebuilt, it was consecrated in 1539. The lords of Oysonville could pass from the castle to the church through a door opening onto a platform at the back of the church without mixing with the people. The altarpiece, the churchwarden's pew and the pulpit are from the 18th century. In the 19th century, the paneling of the nave was replaced by a plaster vault. Many tombstones are visible.

The tower of the church of Sainville, as well as the choir and the first three bays of the main nave, are in the Transitional Romanesque style from the end of the 12th century; the rest of the main nave and the side aisles appear to date only from the 15th century. The bell tower contains three bells. The largest, listed as a historic monument, is engraved with a quatrain: "Founded smokes all new I am the Patron of Sainville, I bear the name of St. Peter. In the year 1014. XLIX." (1549) The second, from 1821, bears this inscription: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people." Gospel of Saint Luke, chapter 1, verse 68. The third is located above the other two.

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.

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

The Fondation d'Aligre et Marie-Thérèse establishment, which is in fact an "Accommodation Establishment for Dependent Elderly People", has the possibility of offering pleasant accommodation for 144 elderly people. It is also an archaeological site, where some sculptures of ancient objects have been recovered.

The Fontaine du Breuil wash house, an essential break ✨