The best road cycling routes around Bizou

The church of Saint-Germain, located in the middle of the village, has a massive character accentuated by the embankment of the departmental road on the north side. The building shows three construction periods: to the north, the imposing square stone bell tower with a pyramid roof dates back to the 12th century; the nave, extended by a choir with a flat chevet, is covered with shingles with a tie-beam and collar-beam roof structure, perhaps dating from the 14th century; to the north and south, two side aisles, each of two bays, were added at the beginning of the 16th century, forming a transept opening onto the nave through pointed arches. These aisles are vaulted with quadripartite vaults with prismatic mouldings; to the south, the former seigneurial chapel has been joined to the aisle. The heavy silhouette of the monument is due to the fact that the side aisles were covered in line with the tiled roof of the main nave, contrary to the custom of the Perche region which favours the covering of each bay of the side aisles with separate roofs resting on transverse gables. The bell tower has two storeys topped by a cornice with modillions; it is buttressed by flat white stone buttresses. The upper storey is pierced by small bays, opening onto the belfry. This bell tower has a square lower hall vaulted with transverse arches, resting on capitals with simple foliage supported by engaged colonnettes at each corner. To the east, a pointed arch opening, now fitted with a stained-glass window, led to a small apse whose arrises were still visible before the work in 1974. This bell tower may have been built around 1190, at a time when Hugues de Thagaric and his wife Anne de Doncourt gave half of the church of Préaux to the Hôtel-Dieu of Nogent-le-Rotrou. This lord of Préaux had gone to England, qualified as seneschal, managing the property of the Count of Perche, Geoffroy V, and his wife Mathilde of Saxony, niece of Richard the Lionheart. The nave and choir form a rectangular space. The west facade has a beautiful pink rendering. It is finished with surmonts and opens with a large door and a window remodelled in the 19th century. The main decorative elements of the church are the high altar, with a pretty gilded wooden tabernacle from the late 17th century, reassembled in 1846 after the raising of the choir; the altars of the side chapels are dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint Mary Magdalene. The seven 16th-century stone and terracotta statues, which had been buried in the bell tower embankment, have been replaced there. Also noteworthy is the keystone with the arms of France in the south chapel and, on the wall, a pencil drawing certainly representing Pierre de Fontenay, sieur de la Reinière, a local man who actively led the reconquest of the Perche in the name of King Henry IV. It shows the silhouette of a town with a high keep which could be that of Bellême, of which Fontenay was governor. A commemorative stained-glass window of the 1914-1918 war is also to be noted. For the repair of the church roof, the Sauvegarde de l'Art français granted a donation of €34,000 in 2009.

The original Marian shrine "La Salette," which is referred to in this patronal feast, is located in the French Alps (Grenoble district) and is an important Marian shrine, even if it has not achieved the same level of fame as other pilgrimage sites honoring the Mother of God—such as Lourdes in the French Pyrenees or Fatima in Portugal. The hiking highlight "La Salette" can be found on komoot at the following link =>> https://www.komoot.com/de-de/highlight/1861054

Like several churches in the parish of Sainte-Anne, the church of L'Hôme-Chamondot has Saint Martin, Bishop of Tours in the 4th century, as its patron saint. The building is of Romanesque origin, first remodeled in the 16th century, with the creation of ramparts on the west facade and the addition of decorative elements at each corner of its roof. It underwent extensive renovations in the 19th century, with the construction of the brick bell tower-porch, which was completed in 1892. The choir was rebuilt around 1838 with the creation of a sacristy behind the chevet, and all the bays we see today were opened between 1838 and 1842. It contains beautiful interior furnishings: A high altar dated 1841 made of inlaid wood, flanked by two 17th-century statues (IMH) representing a Virgin and Child and Saint Martin. A wooden Christ on the cross, attached to the beam of glory, with the La Vove coat of arms at its base. A beautiful 18th-century wooden lectern with an eagle (CMH). Thirty choir stalls and their misericords carved in the 18th century (IMH). 18th-century panels adorn the altar of the Virgin on the left side of the nave, some of which are believed to have come from the former Carthusian monastery of Val Dieu. The six stained-glass windows depicting the four evangelists, a Virgin and Child, and Saint Martin were installed by Louis Barillet, a renowned 20th-century master glassmaker, in 1934.

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.

The church was built in 1865 by Father Migorel, who supposedly had three visions of a church to be built on a hilltop at the junction of three roads. It was consecrated in 1867 and opened for worship. The octagonal tower, erected in 1871, is decorated with polychrome bricks and topped with four turrets housing statues of archangels.

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