Attractions and Places To See around Saint-Utin - Top 12

Another beautiful half-timbered church on the Route des Églises à pans de bois de Champagne.

Stage city Via Francigena France Cyclo/Pied: During this stage, the "romieux" are invited to stop at Rosnay l'Hôpital, whose church exceptionally has a crypt. In the 12th century, Thomas of Canterbury, a refugee in France, honoured Rosnay with his presence. He celebrated mass in the crypt in 1164, and it is said that a spring gushed out there that cured all who came there to quench their thirst. This spring still exists today under the name of "St. Thomas Well". A little further on, in Lesmont, the walker can take a small detour to access the remains of the old Roman road linking Reims to Langres, which would have been used by Sigeric in his time.

Église Saint-Amand: The oldest part of the church, the north-east wall, dates from the 12th century. The rest of the building consists of numerous additions from the 16th century. The single-door portal is set in a rectangular loophole decorated with three coats of arms. It supports a bare tympanum surrounded by two archivolts, one of which has a plant decoration; A lightly braced gable rests on plinths outside the portal and rises above the whole.

The church of Saint Martin de Somsois dates from the first Gothic period, but was thoroughly restored in the 16th and 19th centuries. The three-bay nave is covered with sexpartite vaults which have been preserved in the first two. The two-bay choir is flanked by aisles and chapels. The three-sided apse dates from the 16th century. The west façade has retained its three portals. The central pointed arch portal was flanked by two column statues, of which only one remains (13th century). In the choir there are 4 painted panels from the 16th century, including a crucifixion.

Saint Nicholas (Saint-NICOLAS), Bishop of Myra, to whom the half-timbered church in Outines is dedicated, is - along with Saint Martin - one of the most popular saints of all. Almost every child in Germany - and far beyond - is probably familiar with his day of remembrance, December 6th. On the eve of this day, the children used to put their shoes or boots - which were of course cleaned with great care - in front of the door so that Saint Nicholas could fill them with gifts that night. In more agricultural areas, it was also customary for children to provide a small donation of food for the donkey, St. Nicholas' riding animal (according to another tradition, it was a gray horse).

The Roman Catholic parish church of Saint-Georges in Chavanges, a commune in the Aube department in the Grand Est region of France, dates back to the 12th century. In the 15th and 16th centuries the church was rebuilt in the Gothic style. The Romanesque west portal of the 12th century church has been preserved. The arched portal is framed by simple archivolts that rest on slender columns decorated with capitals. Stylized leaves, birds and a kneeling person are depicted on the capitals. The nave has three aisles and is divided into three bays. Adjacent to the nave is a two-aisled transept, which opens onto a wide choir. This has three apses with a polygonal end. The grisaille window with scenes of the Apocalypse was installed in 1540. The motifs are largely borrowed from Albrecht Dürer's woodcuts of the Apocalypse, which he published in 1498 in his “Big Book” with the title The Secret Revelation of Iohannis. Source: Wikipedia

In southern Champagne, between the Lac du Der-Chantecoq and the lakes of the Forêt d'Orient, there are a number of half-timbered churches (Eglises en pans de bois) from the 16th to 18th centuries. Without exception, the churches are located in smaller towns that lacked the financial resources for a stone building at the time of construction. Today the churches are considered special historical witnesses that have been renovated in recent years. They are accessible to tourists through a “Street of Half-timbered Churches” that connects some of the churches. The Church of Saint Nicholas was built around 1600. Source: Wikipedia