This is Orbais-l’Abbaye !!!

Posted in Europe, France

This time thanks to my vast cd rom vault will tell you about a nice town with a historical monument worth the detour off the beaten path route of my belle France. This will be on the abbey but including the town as well as an introduction post. Therefore, here is my take on this is Orbais-l’Abbaye !!!  Hope you enjoy the post as I

The town of Orbais-l’Abbaye is located in the Marne department no 51 in the Grand Est region of my belle France. It is located at 57 km from Châlons-en-Champagne, 58 km from Reims, 28 km from Château-Thierry, 25 km from Épernay, 139 km from Versailles, and 581 km from my current home. The town is crossed by the D11 road, towards Montmirail and Épernay, and by the D 42, towards Château-Thierry and Champaubert. We came from Versailles along the N12 highway to exit 1 connect directly with the A86 outer beltway of Paris continue dir Sceaux, Rungis, Créteil crossing the Marne river to connect with the A4 autoroute de l’est dir Disneyland Paris, Metz, to exit/sortie 18 at La Ferté Jouarre to connect with the D603 road or Route de Metz passing by Jouarre continue on the D407 road to Viels Maisons where the road take the name of the D933 road or Route de Paris, passing by Montmirail continue to Vauchamps and bear left onto the D11 road to City center and the abbey at Orbais-l’Abbaye.

The idea of coming here is to visit the former Saint-Pierre Abbey ,The Church Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul was built at the end of the 12C and beginning of the 13C by Jean d’Orbais, one of the architects of Reims Cathedral. Its abbey church is in the late Romanesque style. The abbey church was 78 meters long with eight nave bays. Two of them still stand today. The architecture is superb, particularly the facade, with its two towers, and the choir with an ambulatory featuring five radiating chapels.

It also contains 12C stained glass windows, funerary slabs from the 14-15C, a 16C baptismal font, and 15C glazed tiles. Also, decorations, and grisaille paintings, most of which are located in the choir. It also features paintings such as the Supper at Simon’s House, Christ in the Garden of Olives from the 17C, the Virgin and Child from the 19C and Saint-Prix . The former abbey church has several 13C stained-glass windows that were extensively restored in the 19-20C.

A bit of history on the abbey church tell us that according to Flodoard, Saint Réole, Bishop of Reims, endowed and consecrated the Abbey of Orbais in 677, according to Charles Le Cointe, or in 680, according to others, under the invocation of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, under the rule of Saint Benedict and Saint Columbanus, on the land and estate given to him by Thierry or Theodoric, king of West Francia or Neustria, in the eighth year of his reign and with the consent of Ebroïn, mayor of the palace. Saint Réole brought six monks from the monastery of Rebais. Childebert IV, son of Thierry III, protected the abbey. Charles the Bald, around 860, gave the Abbey of Orbais a village, land, or lordship. It was enriched by donations from Vulfaire, Archbishop of Reims, and the Counts of Champagne, Thibaut II and Henry I. In 937, during the reign of Louis IV d’Outremer, the Hungarians advanced through Lorraine and Champagne, entered Orbais, plundered and ruined the abbey. It was burned during the Hundred Years’ War, almost destroyed by the English under Charles VII, and again ravaged in 1550, 1552, and 1568 by the Protestants. From the Concordat of 1516, it was governed by commendatory abbots. On February 13, 1790, the Constituent Assembly during the French revolution pronounced the abolition of monastic vows and the suppression of religious congregations. The archives of Orbais Abbey were partially plundered by the commendatory abbot Nicolas de la Croix and the remainder destroyed by the Huguenots in 1567. The destruction of the abbey’s medieval archives prevents us from having precise historical data on the construction of the abbey church. All this according to wikipedia,

Other things to see here are the former parish church of Saint-Prix, now disappeared, but whose memory is preserved in a street name in the town. The Saint-Réole tower. The castle of Orbais-l’Abbaye.

A bit of history I like tell us that under the Ancien Régime,(monarchy) Orbais was the administrative center of a deanery of the same name, dependent on the archdeaconry of Brie and the diocese of Soissons. During the Great War or WWI, on September 3, 1914, the French 5th Army established its field headquarters in the town, at the château.

The town of Orbais l’Abbaye on its heritage : https://orbaislabbaye.fr/histoire-et-patrimoine/

The local Marne dept 51 tourist office on the abbey : https://www.tourisme-en-champagne.co.uk/abbatiale-saint-pierre-saint-paul/orbais-labbaye/pcucha051v5022j4

The Art de Vivre à la Champenoise magazine on the abbey : https://www.artdevivrealachampenoise.com/orbais-labbaye-une-eglise-abbatiale-un-veritable-passage-du-temps-riche-en-histoire/

There you go folks, another dandy in my belle France passing by visiting and enjoying its monuments, We look forward to be back, eventually! So much to see in a nostalgic region of many family visits going way back in time, Again, hope you enjoy this post on this is Orbais-l’Abbaye !!! as I

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

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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