I continue on my road warrior mode again, and again in the beautiful Centre Val de Loire region with many visits. These are all firsts amazing abundance of marvelous places to see in my belle France. I ,again, passed by here rather quickly and finally this time stop to take a look at the church, the main building and see one of my wine suppliers. I went along on the road D749 and passed by the village of Rivière and saw the Notre Dame Church and peek at the Château de la Rivière. Let me tell you a bit more about them. Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The village of Rivière is located in the department 37 of Indre-et-Loire in the region Centre-Val de Loire. The village of Rivière belongs to the district of Chinon and the canton of Chinon. Chinon is 4 km away, Lémeré and Seuilly 8 km ,In 2019 it had only 703 inhabitants, It is off the road D749 very near the Vienne river. It is about 312 km from my house.
I was struck by coming to the church and was glad I did , it is a beauty of a monument to be seen by all, The Notre Dame Church was founded in the High Middle Ages, and inside is a beauty!!
The Notre-Dame-Church houses a completely original 3C crypt, presumed to have been built by Saint Gatien of Tours. According to tradition, Saint Martin prayed there, as did Saint Radegonde. The church currently visible was built in the 5-6C. Its bell tower and choir with a flat chevet date from the 11c. Significantly, Joan of Arc, whose standard had just been completed in the town of Chinon, went on a pilgrimage to Notre-Dame-de-Rivière. Later, in the middle of the 16C, the church was ransacked by the Huguenots, in 1562 to be precise. Restored in the 17C, the church was truncated by ten meters. In the 18C the altar was moved back up into the sanctuary. The paintings of the Romanesque period which covered the interior of the church, in its entirety, were covered in the 19C with paintings with biblical themes, works of the Count of Galembert. However, frescoes from the 11C have been restored and they can also be admired. At the level of the western facade, the lean-to covered porch built in the 17C is not lacking in charm. But it is above all for its interior decoration that people come to visit the building. The vaulted ceiling, completely covered with ornamental paintings, is very impressive. Within the parish of Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc-en-Chinonais, the Notre-Dame Church hosts a few masses and religious ceremonies.
Another monument where I had my wines but this time just passed by is the Château de la Rivière: The old fortified castle is said to have been built in the 12C, Since ancient times, vines have existed in Rivière, which was also an important river port in the trading and transport of wine. Most of the old plots were surrounded by stone walls to protect the vines from disease and frost. Fifteen generations follow one another in history to transmit to us..Recently, Pierre, Count of Monteynard . With Lantelme, Count of Monteynard ,and Hubert, Count of Monteynard the last born in 2005,webpage: https://chateauderiviere.com/
The local Touraine valley of the Loire tourist office on the church :https://www.touraineloirevalley.com/patrimoine-culturel/eglise-notre-dame-de-riviere-riviere/
There you go folks, glad I finally stopped at Rivière. There is so much to see here and so much architecture and history in the valley of the kings of France! I try to give you a taste of the region and Rivière its worth the stop for the monuments and the wines. Hope you enjoy it as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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