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 !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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