This was a new visit as we were in the area going further south and decided in my road warrior trails to stop by, Had not found nothing to do a post until now from my wonderful cd rom vault collection,a picture and post that should be in my blog for you and me, And again, thank you for reading my blog since Nov 2010, appreciated. Therefore, here is my take on this is Lignières !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The village of Lignières, formerly Lignières-en-Berry, is located in the Cher department no 18 in the Centre-Val de Loire region of my belle France. It is 47 km from Bourges, 41 km from Châteauroux, 28 km from Issoudun, 25 km from La Châtre, 472 km from my current home, and 277 km from Versailles along from which we came on our road warrior trail on the N12 continue on the A86 bearing right onto the N118 road to hook up with the A10 dir Bordeaux ,past Orléans take the A71 highway past Vierzon, continue to Bourges on exit/sortie 7 bear right onto the N142 road to the roundabout Porte de Trouy bear right onto the D73 road continue to City center Châteauneuf sur Cher then continue on the D940 road going into the center of the village follow same road with panels église XII siécle (church 12C) to the church, Before, you passed by the castle but we did not stop as this was a passing village,,,,,
The Church of Notre-Dame consecrated in 1450 under the name of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption, is a three-aisled basilica with a dome on squinches and apsidal chapels. It is one of the many late Romanesque churches with Gothic elements found in Berry. Construction of the building began in the 11-12C, but its current appearance consists primarily of sections built in the 17C and 19C, with some 18C elements. Originally a simple chapel within the castle walls, this church is accessible by bridges at both the front and rear. A 12C Romanesque church, remodeled in the 17C and enlarged in the 19C is built of limestone with a slate and zinc roof and runs alongside the Arnon river. It houses numerous treasures, including the Oratory of Saint Joan of France. This oratory is where Joan of Valois (Joan of France), who lived in Lignières for 15 years, would spend long periods in prayer. A small fireplace, installed for her comfort by her father, Louis XI, is also visible. A statue depicts her in the habit of the Annonciade, an order she founded.
The Virgin nursing the infant Jesus is a subject very rarely depicted in French sculpture. It resembles in every detail the stone statue created in 1652 for the Carmelite convent in Pontoise. It is therefore undoubtedly earlier, The Oratory of Joan of France (12C): Joan of France, daughter of Louis XI, spent her youth at the Château de Lignières, where her father entrusted her education to François de Beaujeu and Anne de Culan. She spent many hours in prayer in the small oratory of the church and there received the inspiration to found a religious order in honor of the Virgin Mary, the Order of the Annunciation. She was beatified on June 18, 1742, by Pope Benedict XIV and canonized on May 28, 1950, by Pope Pius XII. The pulpit of 1677 was probably donated by Anne de Gonzague de Clèves, Princess Palatine, chatelaine of Lignières from 1668 to 1683.
Other things to see here with more time are the current Château de Lignières, a large residence built from 1654 onwards by François Le Vau, complete with a moat and outbuildings. Its dependencies, the main courtyard, the moat, the service buildings, and the park were constructed between 1654 and 1660 on the site of the former fortified castle by François Le Vau, brother of Louis Le Vau. This building is highly representative of French classicism. It has been closed to the public for several years and is owned by HRH Sixte-Henri de Bourbon-Parme. A member of the Ducal House of Parma and a Franco-Spanish politician, leader of the traditionalist Carlist Communion, and pretender to the Spanish throne as a descendant of King Felipe (Philip) V. The Place du Marché or market square features a 16C market hall where markets are still held on Mondays and Thursdays. Located in the heart of the Berry countryside, the Horse and Donkey Center is a 140-hectare estate open to the public. It actively contributes to the development of the equine industry and the preservation of the Grand Noir du Berry donkey. The site includes a museum dedicated to donkeys, a 3-star accommodation facility, various reception areas, and infrastructure for equestrian sports. Twenty-two donkeys and five horses are present so that visitors can have direct contact with the animals. The Chapelle Notre-Dame de Pitié or Chapel of Our Lady of Pity (1861) ; this chapel, which adjoins the retirement home, was originally the hospice chapel. Patients could attend divine service there. It was built thanks to Viscount Eugène de Bourbon-Busset, is in the Neo-Gothic style, and is illuminated by large stained-glass windows and rose windows. The stained-glass windows depict the patron saints of the benefactors’ family; their coats of arms appear on the keystones, and their initials are sculpted on the walls of the entrance door. This chapel was restored and reopened for worship in 1976. Ancien Hospice et Hôtel-Dieu or formerly a hospice and Hôtel-Dieu (1861), the hospice was founded in 1424 by Jean V, Prince and Baron of Lignières, advisor and chamberlain to the king, and was then completely rebuilt in the 19Cy by the Bourbon-Busset family. A sculpture on the oval pediment of the facade depicts two angels holding a banner inscribed in Latin with the following phrase: “They gave this house to the Blessed Virgin and to the poor.” The hospice has since been converted into a retirement home.
A bit of history I like tell us that from the 11C to the 15C, the fief was held by the knights of Lignières-en-Berry, an important feudal family from Berry whose genealogy is given by Father Anselme and Abbot Morér, and which included, in the 14C, the Grand-queux Jean V, son of the Grand-queux Philippe, himself son of Jean IV de Linières, until the marriage in 1431 of the last heiress of the line, Jacqueline, daughter of Jean V de Lignières, to Édouard de Beaujeu-Amplepuis, a younger son of the lords of Beaujeu, attached to the Bourbon and Orléans families. Jacques de Beaujeu-Amplepuis, son of Édouard de Beaujeu and Jacqueline de Lignières, inherited the lordship of Lignières. Antoinette d’Amboise, daughter of Guy d’Amboise, nephew of Jacques ; Catherine de Beaujeu-Amplepuis is the heiress of Lignières after her aunt, Catherine d’Amboise. In the 16C, Francis I granted the appanage of the fief to Catherine de Chaumont d’Amboise, daughter of Charles I de Chaumont d’Amboise, and widow without issue of her cousin Philibert de Beaujeu-Amplepuis, whom they have just met, especially since she herself descended from the Beaujeu-Linières family. The La Rochefoucauld-Barbezieux family then inherited it, through the marriage of Antoinette d’Amboise to Antoine de La Rochefoucauld, Lord of Barbezieux and Seneschal of Guyenne. However, the La Rochefoucauld-Barbezieux family would later sell Lignières. From the second half of the 16C to the 18C, the estate passed through various hands, by purchase or inheritance. It is best known for the presence of Saint Joan of France , Duchess of Berry, daughter of Louis XI, founder of the Order of the Sisters of the Annunciation, beatified in 1774 and canonized in 1950. Joan was sent at the age of five to the Château de Lignières and was raised by François de Beaujeu, Lord of Lignières, and his wife Anne de Culan. She spent a significant part of her life in this town, including the 22 years she was officially married to Louis, Duke of Orléans, the future Louis XII, though she rarely saw her husband. Lignières was the seat of the Ursuline community of Lignières, active from 1638 to 1790. During the first of the Wars of Religion, and like other towns in the duchy, the town was captured and sacked by the Huguenots in 1562, and on this occasion, the church was looted and burned. Lignières was an important center of Calvinism at the time when John Calvin, a student at the University of Bourges, founded numerous reformed schools. During the 20C, and particularly after WWII, the village lost much of its economic importance to nearby towns, notably due to the closure of the railway line.
The local South Berry area tourist office on Lignières : https://www.destination-sud-berry.com/en/decouvrir/lignieres-en-berry/
The community of towns of Arnon Boischaut Cher on the heritage of Lignières https://www.comcomabc.fr/la-communaute/les-communes/lignieres/
There you go folks, a dandy quant off the beaten path village to visit, and we enjoyed it, We shall return for more in the area, eventually, Again, hope you enjoy this post on this is Lignières !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 