Paris1972-Versailles2003

Once again, in my search ever ending past time at home , I found me older pictures not in my blog and they should, It is great joy to look over these pictures and remember happier times in my life on my previoius travels; all bringing back great lovely memories of my family. This time I bring you back to royal and lovely Blois and one of its emblematic monument, the Church Saint Nicolas of Blois !!! Hope you enjoy it as I

I like to bring you to an area of much fanfare and visits very popular and one of its most emblematic castle. Oh did I say castle, well that was another post. The city of Blois is loaded with goodies to see and do, and I like to bring you more of the Church Saint Nicolas of Blois. The church is located is located ,of course in Blois, and the department of Loir-et-Cher no 41 ,in the Centre-Val de Loire region of my belle France.

The Saint-Nicolas-Saint-Laumer Church was originally the abbey church of a monastery built in the 12C. It takes the name of the founder of this abbey, Saint Laumer. Its construction began in the 12C. The choir, the transept and the first span of the nave are built from 1138 to 1186. The Church is finished at the beginning of the 13C. The church is in the Middle Ages an important place of pilgrimage. It is indeed home to several relics: Saint Lubin, Saint Laumer, Holy Mary the Egyptian and a fragment of the Cross of Christ. A small anecdote here: Jeanne d’Arc or  Joan of Arc spent a few days in Blois, at the end of April 1429, before the royal army left to rescue Orléans, which was under siege. She had her flag blessed there, in Saint-Sauveur, the former church of the Château de Blois which no longer exists and which was located next to the current Maison de la Magique.

The Church Saint-Nicolas has a long story as the oldest church in old Blois. The story goes that fleeing the Vikings, Benedictine monks from the monastery of Corbion in Perche, former province of the kingdom of France ,while the French revolution, the province of Perche was cutoff into parts for the dept of the Eure-et-Loir, Orne, and a small section for the dept of Eure found refuge in Blois in 924. In the 12C, they built a monastery there. Their abbey church will be the Saint-Laumer Church, the name of the founder of their first monastery. And, from this founder, they took away the relics. The true appellation of Saint-Nicolas is therefore Saint-Laumer.However, popular call today Church Saint Nicolas, The story continues that from 1138 to 1186, the first part of Saint-Laumer was built: choir, transept and first bay of the nave. The rest is completed at the beginning of the following century. With the Wars of Religion, the church was damaged by the Protestants and the abbey destroyed. The latter was rebuilt in the 17-18C. During the French revolution, Saint-Laumer became the Hôtel-Dieu or hospital.

We enjoye the visits to the Church of Saint Nicolas. It is very vast and impressive; the church is  Roman in architecture with three levels of elevation, Inside it has huge transepts with beautiful chapels and  contemporary stained glass windows showing a brilliant light in yellow and blue proper for the meditation The church thanks to the foundation of Stéphane Bern in France is undergoing a huge renovation project started in 2020 and should last until 2025.

The City of Blois on the Church Saint Nicolas: https://www.blois.fr/annuaire/sites-culturels-remarquables/eglise-saint-nicolas

The Blois Chambord tourist office on the Church Saint Nicolas of Blois: https://www.bloischambord.co.uk/on-the-agenda/heritage/monuments/eglise-saint-nicolas-250270

The Loire Valley regional tourist office on the Church Saint Nicolas of Blois: https://www.loirevalley-france.co.uk/organise-your-stay/visits/other-monuments-and-heritage/eglise-saint-nicolas-abbaye-saint-laumer

There you go folks, a dandy really, worth the detour in pretty Blois, The Church Saint Nicolas, one of the best religious monuments in Blois, me think. Again, hope you enjoy the post as I.

And remember, happy travels ,good health, and many cheers to all !!!

Let me tell you a bit more of the Church Saint Nicolas of Chaumont sur Loire, on the banks of the Loire river in the region of Centre Val de Loire ,dept 41 of the Loir et Cher, 17 km from Blois, I have written before but again found me some older pictures not in my blog that they should, Therefore, here is more on the church ; hope you enjoy it as I.

The Church of Saint Nicolas is dedicated formally to Saint Nicolas and Sainte Eugénie de Rilly.. The bell tower is square and high enough to see it from far, once Inside if have time, we didn’t there is a nave with three transepts, alongside several chapels and great light with the stained glass windows. There is a statue of Saint Nicolas, Saint Martin, Sainte Catherine, and a pieta from a now gone nearby church. You will be able to see other statues and work of arts as paintings from the 19C.

It is built in the last quarter of the 19C a little away from the village, and is easily identifiable by its large forecourt, leading to the few steps of the entrance and two busts carved on both sides, and its porch. It is dedicated to Saint Nicolas and Saint Eugénie de Rilly. Its square porch tower stands proudly above the entrance and, relatively slender, is seen from afar. At your entry into the church, you distinguish a nave with three bays, lined with side chapels, lit by large openings adorned with stained glass windows. The church unveils in particular a beautiful statuary, including a statue of Saint Nicolas, another of Saint Martin, one of Saint Catherine, and finally a remarkable Pieta coming from a disused chapel nearby.  The current Church of Saint-Nicolas , was built in 1883 with its presbytery on the former island of Tranchepied between the village of Chaumont and the village of Saint-Martin. The majority of the church’s windows are closed by antique glass windows connected with lead.  Two circular windows on each side of the porch tower represent the baptism of Clovis, above the baptismal font, and the burial of Christ. They seem to date from the end of the 19C, from the period of construction of the church.

Saint Nicolas, patron saint of the parish, because of the Loire, is the patron saint of seamen, and children. He is represented in a bishop’s dress, dressed in a chasuble covering the dalmatic and dawn, wearing the miter. At his feet a child is presented in the salt. St. Martin, bishop of Tours, evangelizer of many  campaigns, is represented in the habit of bishop, wearing a miter. He carries a butt in his left hand while his right hand is blessing. This wooden statue would come from the church prior of St Martin. Then, St. Catherine, martyr, patron saint of students among others, is presented standing. She wears the toga, a crown on her head and holds with one hand the open book and the other with the sword that decapitated her. The Pieta or Virgin of Mercy would come from the chapel of Herpinière, hidden during the French revolution in a mulch not to be destroyed. She is made of stone. This suffering Mother can be consoling mothers in pain.

Other statues are present in the church as St. Vincent, St Anthony of Padua, St. Joan of Arc, St Michael, Jean Marie Vianney or Cure of Ars, St. Philomena, St. Therese of Lisieux, the Virgin Mary, the Sacred Heart, … There are portraits such as the one representing the Holy Family, offered to the parish in 1852 by the State and Christ offered by the family of Korewo are beautiful. The tomb of the abbot Pilon, priest of Chaumont during the construction of the church, is present in the southern chapel and carries an epitaph.

The Parish of Chaumont sur Loire on the Church Saint Nicolas :http://www.paroissedechaumontsurloire.com/article-paroisse-saint-nicolas-de-chaumont-sur-loire-sainte-eugenie-de-rilly-98631283.html

The town of Chaumont sur Loire on how to get there https://chaumontsurloire.fr/comment-venir-a-chaumont-sur-loire/

There you go folks, a nice Church Saint Nicolas, in pretty Chaumont sur Loire with a castle over the Loire (see post) a short walking distance away, can’t ask for more, worth a detour me think, Again, hope you have enjoy the post as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!