Attractions and Places To See around Rances - Top 14

The Saint-Jacques-et-Saint-Philippe church in Lentille is eye-catching with its timber-framed architecture and cob façades. It was built during the 16th century and was restored to its original appearance in the 1970s.

At Brienne-le-Château, the Via Francigena crosses the story of a famous character: Napoleon Bonaparte. Indeed, from 1779 to 1784, Brienne welcomed the young Bonaparte to its royal military school, which has now become a museum dedicated to Napoleon I and the French campaign. During the 1814 campaign, the city became the hub of the two combined armies of Silesia and Bohemia that marched towards Paris. On 29 January, during fierce fighting, French troops recaptured the ruined city and even came close to capturing Blücher, who was then living in the castle. Built in the eighteenth century, the castle, residence of the Loménie de Brienne, can be seen from the city below, but is not open to the public.

The emperor gave 1,200,000 francs to the city of his youth. Part of that money was used to build the town hall, inaugurated in 1859. On the town hall is a pediment with a medallion depicting Napoleon and an eagle above it. In front of the building is a statue of Bonaparte in a school uniform of the time: a blue suit with trim, jacket and short red trousers

This building was badly damaged in 1940 by a fire that destroyed much of the city, but has been restored to its original state. The church, where Napoleon made his first communion, is built of stone from the Champagne region. It has a 14th-century nave and a 16th-century choir with choir girth. Look at the original images in the Renaissance stained glass windows: on the left the story of Noah, on the right the legend of Saint Crispin and Saint Crispinian. Also note the bell-shaped holy water font (16th century), the baptismal font and the choir screen (18th century).

Brienne lies on the banks of the Aube river in a plain called la Plaine de Brienne. The Counts of Brienne dominated the history of the area for a long time. They were one of the most important noble families of medieval France and produced statesmen, diplomats and crusaders. Johann von Brienne (1169/74–1237). He was chosen by the French King Philip II as husband and regent for the heir to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. From 1210 to 1212 he was king of Jerusalem. He then became the father-in-law of the Roman-German Emperor Frederick II, with whom he became enemies and also fought against him as the Pope's general. From 1229 he ruled Constantinople for nine years. Brienne-le-Château became known as the training site of Napoleon Bonaparte, who studied here for five years (May 1779 to October 1784) as a boarding school student at what was then the Royal Military School. To complete his studies, he left Brienne-le-Château and finished it at the École Militaire in Paris. On April 3, 1805, he visited Brienne-le-Château again on his trip to Italy for the coronation, now already as Emperor of the French. On January 29, 1814, the Battle of Brienne was fought near Brienne, which ended with a victory for France under Napoleon Bonaparte against the Russians and Prussians under Field Marshal Blücher. Sources: Wikipedia

The Roman Catholic parish church of Saint-Georges in Chavanges, a commune in the Aube department in the Grand Est region of France, dates back to the 12th century. In the 15th and 16th centuries the church was rebuilt in the Gothic style. The Romanesque west portal of the 12th century church has been preserved. The arched portal is framed by simple archivolts that rest on slender columns decorated with capitals. Stylized leaves, birds and a kneeling person are depicted on the capitals. The nave has three aisles and is divided into three bays. Adjacent to the nave is a two-aisled transept, which opens onto a wide choir. This has three apses with a polygonal end. The grisaille window with scenes of the Apocalypse was installed in 1540. The motifs are largely borrowed from Albrecht Dürer's woodcuts of the Apocalypse, which he published in 1498 in his “Big Book” with the title The Secret Revelation of Iohannis. Source: Wikipedia