The best traffic-free bike rides around Mortagne-Au-Perche

Paved road by 2025.

I am delighted to see and see again the basilica of "La chapelle Montligeon" and I am proud to have been the doctor of this charming village. In the year 2000 and following after 40 years of general medicine in Paris. R.G. Dean of the "couch of doctors".

From very humble beginnings, a significant sanctuary with a very unusual patronage has emerged in La Chapelle-Montligeon, one I've never encountered anywhere else: The church here, with the papal distinction of "Basilica Minor," is not one of the usual churches dedicated to Our Lady, but rather specifically to "Our Lady, the Liberator of Souls in Purgatory." The present pilgrimage church was built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, as the previous building had become far too small for the pilgrims who came here.

Nestled on hillsides painted with ochre, yellow, or pink sand, limestone, and lights, Mortagne-au-Perche is a must-see for anyone wanting to explore Le Perche. A favorite holiday resort of the Counts of Perche and their wives, Mortagne-au-Perche has managed to preserve its monuments and historical heritage. This medieval town brimming with character is recommended for exploring by bike or on foot.

Moutiers is one of the oldest villages in the Perche region, built around a monastery founded in the 6th century and destroyed by the Norman invasions. This is where the village's name comes from, since "Moutiers" means monastery in Old French. On the slopes of the hill, called Mont Harou, stands the church, flanked by a few typical Perche houses that form the old town. To reach it, you'll have to navigate the steep, straight climb of Church Street or take a detour through small streets that soften the steepness of the climb. The church square offers a beautiful view of the surrounding area. Don't forget to walk around the church to admire the gargoyles, which are quite exceptional for such a small church. Restrooms and water are available right next door.

Praying for your deceased is more than necessary. If you don't pray for yours, pray for mine. 🙏🏻😇

In the nearby park shaded by large trees, the ruins of fortifications recall the memory of the six towers of the old castle built in the 11th century……. In the nearby park shaded by large trees, the ruins of fortifications recall the memory of the six towers of the old castle built in the 11th century by Geoffroy IV, Count of Perche, in order to control this border region near the Chartres region, Normandy, and the possessions of the Lords of Bellême and Alençon which extended as far as Sées. During the Hundred Years' War, Charles, Count of Evreux and King of Navarre, allied with the English against the King of France, seized the fortress in 1364. It was then besieged and retaken on behalf of King Charles V by his younger brother Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, using catapults that threw large stones to collapse sections of the walls. But after the English victory at Verneuil in 1424, they rushed to destroy Marchainville, setting fire to the town and the castle. The church, too, has experienced some vicissitudes. It occupies the site of a very old small monastery, given to the abbey of Saint-Evrouit by a certain Fulchierus of Chartres, who was chaplain to Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem and author of an account of the first crusade. The monks built the priory church in the 11th century, of which the thick right wall with its flat buttresses, the cornice in grison stone, and the support points of the descending roof, which housed a small adjoining cloister, still remain. The church was enlarged (end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century) along its entire length by a side nave resting on stone arches, whose voussures connect without capitals to octagonal pillars. On the unfortunate initiative of Abbot Fleuriel, this side nave was knocked down in 1723, and the roof of the church lowered. It was not until 1810 that a new priest, Abbot Dubois, had the four arcades of the current chapel of the Virgin reopened. The three other old arcades, still visible, remain blocked in the left wall of the nave. Unfortunately, on March 15, 1820, the shock of an earthquake caused the old square bell tower of the priory, which was located above the entrance to the choir, to collapse, which caused considerable damage. Thanks to the generosity of the inhabitants and the personal contribution of the Bishop of Séez, the church was repaired and a new bell tower was erected next to the entrance porch in 1824. On the classical-style altarpiece, a painting, dated 1949, of the Holy Virgin surrounded by angels replaces the painting of the Assumption hanging in the nave. The 18th century tabernacle presents a pretty wooden statuette of the resurrected Christ, with on each side those of a holy bishop with a kneeling donor, and perhaps a Father of the Church. Two pretty statues of Saint Lawrence and Saint Peter adorn the altarpiece of the chapel of the Virgin, where in the center appears the traditional image of Our Lady of Victories presenting Jesus as a child on a starry sphere that symbolizes the world. Above, appear God the Father, his arms outstretched, and the Holy Spirit. Finally, let us not forget the curious statue of Saint Louis with his scepter, presenting the crown of thorns and the three nails of the crucifixion, nor the ancient painting, in the nave, of Saint Eloi as bishop, with his anvil of patron saint of blacksmiths.

Located in a green setting, this chapel of Romanesque origin has preserved all of its 16th century painted decor. An excellent overview of the artistic production of the period. Romanesque in origin and then remodeled in the 12th and 15th centuries, the chapel of Réveillon is one of the rare churches that have preserved their wall paintings. The richness of its treatment and themes is exceptional. We can still read on these walls a profusion of details such as a frieze of arabesques where birds, fruits and flowers are intertwined. Its varied themes represent, among others, The Dict of the Dead and the Three Living, the Passion, the Temptation, the Lives of the Saints and Martyrs, Saint Christopher, etc.