Lost in the French countryside

[French Mystique Tours]

There are so many places to explore by bike in the countryside near Paris I never know where to start. I've been to a lot of places near Paris but every time I look at a map of the area within about a 1-1/2 hour train distance from Paris I'm overwhelmed by the number of places I still have to explore. Whenever I pick a destination I start by knowing next to nothing about the area I've chosen. It never ceases to amaze me once I start to research an area how astounded I am by the number of interesting and historic sites that are found in such abundance. So many seemingly unknown places that have such long and rich histories linked to famous historical characters and events and the buildings and memories they've left behind. But that's just the beginning because it's only once you arrive in these places and realize how naturally beautiful they are that the intertwining of history, landscape, monuments and the passage of time reveals its subtle but permanent presence on the open road before you.

For today's ride I picked an area near Château-Thierry, which is located on the Marne River about 90km east of Paris. For all the research I just talked about doing I'll admit I did absolutely none before this trip. My primary objective was to take advantage of the beautiful weather we had been having (clear blue skies and temps in the low 20°C range) and have a beautiful ride in the countryside. It was only after I returned that I discovered the full depth of what there was to see and do in the area where I had been biking. You really have no idea how much there is to see in this area because it's an area that's completely off the radar of tourism. I did indeed find beautiful scenery and historic places to visit on my ride but let me share a few links with you to demonstrate what there is to see and do in the area that I didn't see. And that I know I will be coming back to see.

Thinking about taking a lovely hike in the countryside near Paris but don't know where to go? Here are about 110 of them in the area near Soissons, from around Château-Thierry and the Marne river in the south to Saint-Quentin to the north. The hiking brochures include detailed maps, distances, time estimates and itineraries of all the places the walks will bring you by.:

www.tourisme-soissons.fr/index.php/circuits_touristiques/circuit_touristique/%28offset%29/20/%28genre%29/randonnees

And here's a specific walk that begins in the lovely little village of La Ferté-Milon, where there is a medieval castle ruin and a museum dedicated to Jean Racine. This hike is 52km long and there are many hikes of a few hours but I chose it because it gives a broad overview of the area I explored today. However, if you wanted to do overnights and such the cart lists the gîtes, hotels, restaurants and all the other necessities you would need along the way as well as providing a numbered itinerary pointing out all the places of interest you'll pass on your route:

aisne.tourinsoft.com/upload/MEDIA_0e0a7afb-3ba0-42f6-ae71-7f297b841143.pdf


There is so much more I could show you but I'd rather get on with reporting on my ride today. I took the train from Paris Gare de l'Est in the direction of Château-Thierry and swiched trains at the little town of Trilport just after Meaux, picking up another line in the direction of La Ferté-Milon. As nice as La Ferté-Milon is I was taking a different route today that would have me ending up in Château-Thierry. Stepping off the train in Crouy-sur-Ourcq the medieval past is right in front of you.











The donjon in the above photos is known as the Donjon du Houssouy. It was built on top of an 11th century fortress and dates to the end of the 14th century. Built by the local seigneur, Robert de Sepoix, it was partially destroyed during the civil revolt known as the Fronde and again during a siege by the Duc de Lorraine in 1652. The village used to be much more lively in the past owing to its position on the adjacent Canal de l'Ourcq, which attracted commerce, merchants and artisans to the region, and was renowned for its market. The train station was on the outskirts of the village so I pedalled towards the town center to have a look around. Here's the local museum, housed in some sort of an old building.




Below is the local church, L'Eglise Saint-Cyr et Sainte-Juliette. It dates to the 12th century and was rebuilt in 1550. It was closed when I was here but it's supposed to have some old churchy things inside. You'll notice a rare gathering of a people in this photo, atypical of most of my tiny country village visits.

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There was another château in town that I saw but didn't photograph. Apparently I missed seeing the grounds of a château built by Mansart in the 16th century. All that remains is a bridge and the entry pavilions. I felt I had seen enough so it was time to get on with the ride and see what else there was to see.










The rapeseed was just starting to blossom. In a few weeks the landscape will be carpeted with a patchwork of blazing yellow fields.




The next vilage I pulled into was Montigny-l'Allier. I knew there was supposed to be an old Knights Templar Commanderie in town and I figured I'd see a sign for it somewhere. You'd think a tiny village like this out in the middle of nowhere would have the sense to put up a sign and advertise its primary tourist attraction but no such sign existed. I poked around for a minute or two and assumed that if I followed the street called rue de la Commanderie that I stood a pretty good chance of locating the compound.






I arrived in front of a suburban home that had an old donjon of some sort in the yard. It certainly looked Templarish but it was less impressive than what I was hoping for.




I was about to turn around, figuring there was no sign since the remains weren't very impressive, but then I caught the red tiled roof of some large building poking above the tree line. Maybe that's it.






Now that is definitely what I was hoping to see. How could there be no sign to a place such as this?




It was a private residence so I couldn't enter the courtyard but that didn't matter because it was most impressive standing back to view it. There's not too much info I could find on the web about the town of Montigny itself but I did find a bit of history on the Commandery. It is assumed the primary buildings date from around 1160 and after the suppression of the Templars it was handed over to the Knights Hospitaliers, who continued to expand the domain into the 14th and 15th centuries. Mostly the history recounts through whose possession the domain passed over the centuries with no grand tales of adventure or intrigue.

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There was a canal behind the compound. I'll have to see where the cart path goes someday.










Country horses always get bored and look for any opportunity to have some company.






The farmer was too busy driving his tractor to talk to the horse.




I thought I had seen all there was to see in Montigny but obviously there was still the center of the village ahead of me.






It was about as quaint as a little country village could be.










The church is a classified historic monument and that's about all I can tell you about that.

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I took one last look at Montigny before heading out of town.














I could tell by the sign below that I was approaching some sort of medieval monument.




Originally known as the Couvent de Cerfroid, founded in 1193 by the Provençal saint Jean de Matha and a hermit from the Valois region known as Saint Felix, it is currently used as a residence of spiritual retreat. The buildings remaining from the medieval era were in ruins but it certainly was a beautiful setting.

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Here's a bit more from wikipedia about the Couvent de Cerfroid:

Felix was surnamed Valois because he was a native of the province of Valois. At an early age he renounced his possessions and retired to a dense forest in the Diocese of Meaux, where he gave himself to prayer and contemplation. He was joined in his retreat by St. John of Matha, who proposed to him the project of founding an order for the redemption of captives.
After fervent prayer, Felix in company with John set out for Rome and arrived there in the beginning of the pontificate of Innocent III. They had letters of recommendation from the Bishop of Paris, and the new pope received them with the utmost kindness and lodged them in his palace. The project of founding the order was considered in several solemn conclaves of cardinals and prelates, and the pope after fervent prayer decided that these holy men were inspired by God, and raised up for the good of the Church. He solemnly confirmed their order, which he named the Order of the Holy Trinity for the Redemption of Captives. The pope commissioned the Bishop of Paris and the Abbot of St. Victor to draw up for the institute a rule, which was confirmed by the pope, December 17, 1198. Felix returned to France to establish the order. He was received with great enthusiasm, and King Philip Augustus authorized the institute in France and fostered it by signal benefactions.
Margaret of Blois granted the order 20 acres (81,000 m2) of the wood where Felix had built his first hermitage, and on almost the same spot he erected the famous Monastery of Cerfroid, the mother-house of the institute. Within forty years the order possessed six hundred monasteries in every part of Europe. St Felix and St John of Matha were forced to part, the latter went to Rome to found a house of the order, the church of which, Santa Maria in Navicella, still stands on the Caelian Hill. St Felix remained in France to look after the interests of the congregation. He founded a house in Paris attached to the church of St. Maturinus, which afterwards became famous under Robert Guguin, master general of the order.
St Felix died amongst his fellow Trinitarians at their motherhouse in Cerfroid on November 4, 1212.






That was nice enough. Back to the road.










The next village I pulled into was called Brumetz. My tourist map of the area labeled it as a picturesque village.

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I can't tell you anything about Brumetz. Nothing at all.








Not having learned a single thing about Brumetz I continued onward.








The next village, called Gandelu, was also labeled as a picturesque village on my tourist map of the region. In contrast to the last few villages I visited the official website for the town of Gandelu was so extensive and full of so much history that one could probably spend well over two hours reading about all the historical places and events of interest related to the town. But since most of it is not that exciting I'll just give a brief summary. The village was located at a strategic point on the old road between Paris and Reims in Gallo-Roman times and a castrum was built there. It must have been heavily wooded throughout the centuries since much of its history seems tied up with who owned logging rights in the area. I'll spare you the list of the various seigneurs who held sway over the area but I'll mention that they seem to have interacted quite a bit with the nearby Couvent de Cerfroid and the folks over at the Templar compound in Montigny. That would seem to make sense. There was this one seigneur, Jean de Montmirail, who was a good friend of Philippe Auguste (King of France) and that's important. In the 13th century the village was renowned for its garlic, which is not as important as being good friends with a king. You get the idea.

In actuality, the official town website for Gandelu so extensively detailed the towns history from the 12th to the 18th centuries that it covered at least 40-50 pages worth of material. I'm sure the histories of Cerfroid and the Templar compound are just as rich and illustrious as Gandelu but sometimes you have to have just one very devoted town historian (which Gandelu does) and one or more people with computer skills who can create a website for your town. Gandelu is obviously very lucky to have these types of people. I'm still not going to recount any history because it's all about who the various overlords were through the centuries and not full of tales of great battles, historic events or interesting anecdotes and such. Since it didn't fascinate me I'm assuming it wouldn't fascinate you either.




There was some cool old stuff in Gandelu, including what looked like the ruins of a fortress on a hill overlooking the village.

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The village bus stop is a colorful place.








I was really very much enjoying my ride in this area. It was incredibly scenic and peaceful and I already knew I would be coming back here a few more times to explore. I was thinking how it would be nice to find a charming chambre d'hôte in the area, when lo and behold I looked to my left and saw this sign......




…....which was an advertisement for this establishment.....



…..which is exactly the kind of place I was looking for.






It was about this time of the day that my bottle of water ran out. I hadn't seen a single open store in any of the last 3 villages (each of which only had about 2 or 3 stores total) when I turned the corner and stumbled on what must have been the only open bar/restaurant in a 20km radius. I bought a bottle of Perrier and the bartender refilled my water bottle for me. I took a seat outside on the terrace and had a relaxing break.






Rehydration completed I pedaled on to the nearby small hamlet of Veuilly la Poterie, passing through a short stretch of green countryside on my way.

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Veuilly la Poterie takes its name from the potters who used to work and reside in the village. I have no idea where they all went. Now might be a good time to mention that the region in which I was riding was the theater for some fierce fighting in WWI. Numerous memorials and cemeteries of the war dead can be found throughout the region. On June 5, 1918 Veuilly was the scene of heavy fighting between the Allies and the Germans as the village was taken by the Allies and retaken by the Germans. Attempting to penetrate the woods north of the village, the Germans were pushed back by an American counter-attack. Two days later the village was the target of heavy artillery shelling and the following day a successful Franco-American attack allowed the Allies to take the village and push further south and east to repulse the Germans. Heavy fighting continued in the region for some time after. I didn't visit any of the war memorials or cemeteries today but there are quite a few in the area.

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Wake up everyone. We're arriving at the next village.




This village was called Marigny-en-Orxois, another designated picturesque village on my tourist map. With the exeption of Gandelu, none of the villages I passed through up to this point had much of any detectable presence on the internet, which is how I usually do my research. Very little in the way of tourist office websites, blogs by locals, links buried within links leading to interesting anecdotes, or official town hall websites. The only historical info I was able to uncover about Marigny was on the tourist office website of a neighboring village. I discovered that Marigny has a covered market hall dating from the early 17th century, a church dating from the 12th and 13th centuries, and that there is a château in town that was once owned by the father of Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV's favorite mistress. I took a picture of the market hall and the church. I passed by the château but unaware of its ''history'' I neglected to take a photo.

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You can see the covered market hall ahead in the distance.

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After having learned next to nothing about Marigny it was back to the country, where there was still nothing to learn.
















Passing through the tiny hamlet of La Voie-du-Châtel.

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Up next was Lucy-le-Bocage, a designated Ville Fleuri (flowered village) on my tourist map.




The village was known as Lucy in the end of the 12th century and acquired the name Bocage at the end of the 19th century. Bocage is a type of landscape defined in France as a mixture of pasture and fields bordered by small woods or hedges. As you've seen from my previous photos I think you'd agree that's an accurate description of the landscape in this area.

Being the last week of March I was a bit early for the full flowering of the village but the recent warm weather had allowed the village the opportunity to get a head start.

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Here's the church, which was built in 1934 on top of where there had originally been a 13th to 14th century church that was destroyed during WWI.




I wasn't able to find it but somewhere in the village is a pear tree that was used by the Germans as a lookout point during WWII. It was later used by the Americans who buried their war dead under the tree. In the adjacent village of Belleau is an American cemetery where the bodies of the victims of the Battle of Belleau remain (we'll learn about that battle in a minute). A small chapel was erected there and traces of old trenches and mortar blasts remain in the environs of the cemetery where many of those buried died in battle.










The area where I was riding near Belleau was the battleplace of a brutal clash between the Allies and the Germans in June of 1918 in a battle that became known as The Second Battle of the Marne. The battle was part of the Aisne Offensive with Belleau Wood and Château-Thierry being the locations where the most vicious clashes occurred and where the most significant triumphs over the Germans were achieved. Although America had entered the war in 1917 (when the first U.S. Troops arrived in France) only a small portion of its troops saw significant action until early 1918. This is the time when the U.S. troops took their first offensive actions.

Up to this point the Allied forces in France seemed near defeat with the Germans having recently crossed over the Chemin des Dames, a defensive line north of the Marne considered impregnable. They were advancing along a 40 mile front towards Paris and the anxiety among the Allies was indescribable. Newspaper headlines were almost despairing as they chronicled the day to day victories of the German forces. On May 28th the first American offensive action, and subsequent victory, occurred at Cantigny. Although this operation was not of great importance it gave a feeling of enthusiasm to the Allies and signalled to the Germans that the Americans had arrived.

As a result of their defeat at Cantigny the Germans rushed their most formidable troops and artillery to the front near Château-Thierry. The German High Command was anxious to prevent American success from boosting Allied morale and sent their best troops there ''in order to prevent at all costs the Americans being able to achieve success''.

The battle at Belleau Wood was known as a tactical and confused mess since both sides were hidden and interspersed throughout a one mile square dark forest and poor information and personal conflicts among the commanders of the Allies, with their differing strategies, muddled coordination of the offensive. Here is a map that shows the allied locations at the start of the conflict.



On the 5th of June the French ordered an attack to retake the Belleau Wood, believing the Germans only occupied a small portion of it when in fact they controlled its entirety. This turned out to be the single worst day in U.S. Marine history with 1,087 men killed or wounded. Here's a photo of Marines being relieved on June 16th.




After bombing the woods into oblivion the woods are finally completely taken from the Germans on June 26th. Here is an old tower in the woods, at the base of which you can see the crosses marking temporary American graves.




Here is a first hand account of the fighting from Colonel Frederick May Wise, commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Marines.

''Along toward ten o'clock that night the German shelling started. They gave those woods hell. The Germans were pouring everything they had into that ridge. It didn't take any urging for the Marines to get into fox holes the minute they knew we were going to hold it. But though the Germans didn't launch any infantry attack, they kept up a continuous shelling with all the artillery in range, and poured an unceasing stream of machine-gun and rifle fire against that ridge. Everywhere up and down the line, masses of earth, chunks of rock, splinters of trees, leaped into the air as the shells exploded. Machine-gun and rifle bullets thudded into the earth unendingly. That place was getting warm.

Clinging to the crest of that ridge, we found the German shells bad enough. But there was worse to come. They had trench mortars in the Bois de Belleau, and presently they began to cut loose on us with them. Those aerial torpedoes, nearly four feet long, packed with T.N.T., would come sailing through the air and land on the ridge. That whole ridge literally shook every time one of them exploded.''

The Battle at Belleau Wood is often seen as a turning point in the war. It marked the arrival of the Americans and greatly increased the confidence of the Allies since The Wood had been considered a nearly impregnable position.. At the same time it took the heart out of the Germans since their best forces had been resoundingly defeated. It cost them 3 divisions and forced them to change their plans by preventing an extending position to Meaux, which was the German objective.

The woods have grown back and the countryside has resumed its peaceful existence but the reminders of war are still scattered across the landscape. I continued onward towards my destination of Château-Thierry, which wasn't far off now.

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The next village I entered was Bouresches, which had figured just as prominently as Lucy-le-Bocage in the battle for the Bois de Belleau.


















I left the open country behind and entered the first of three small hamlets, the first called Vaux. Vaux was taken by the Allies on July 2, 1918 shortly after the battle of Belleau.

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Vaux has the distinction of being the first place in France where the militant Anarchist movement established an experimental community in 1902, called the Milieu Libre de Vaux (roughly translated as the Free Environment of Vaux). Tiring of talk of a new society, the community was an attempt by the movement to help prove to men that it was in free communism that individual happiness could be found with the fundamental principle being that each will produce to his abilities and each will consume to his needs. (It seems to me that communities founded on these two principles always fail because they neglect the fact that humans are greedy and selfish and inevitably each doesn't do himself what someone else can do and each consumes more than he needs).

But why locate in this tiny obscure hamlet? Because it was the home of a certain 69 year old Father Alphonse Boutin who embraced the idea of an idyllic life of communism and comraderie and therefore offered his house and 2 hectares of land to the movement, on the condition that he could participate in the experience. The first settler arrived in January 1903 and by May 1904 there were 13 settlers. Apparently I wasn't the only famous cyclist to ever visit Vaux as it was reported that Lenin visited the village by bicycle in 1903 while he was attending conferences in Paris. Membership dwindled (as if it had ever been booming) to 7 people in 1905 and the society was dissolved in 1907.

Writings in anarchist newspapers and newsletters circulated commenting on the demise of the experiment and tried to point out how and why the community failed. This lead to the creation of a second community in 1911 situated 800 meters from Vaux in a place called Bascon. Instead of devoting themselves to anarchism the community focused on being vegan nudists. I can totally see how a failed attempt at a free anarchist/communist society would lead one to consider nudist veganism as a viable alternative. WTF!? Here is a picture of the nudist vegans, although for the sake of photographic modesty they are partially clothed.



The heyday of the colony was from 1919 to 1926 as followers flocked to the colony, mostly attracted by idea of veganism I'm sure. The colony ceased functioning in 1931 but continued to be a holiday resort for vegans, and nudists, until 1951. One of the original colonists who arrived in 1919, Jean Labat, left lasting memories in the area. He would go to the market on Fridays in nearby Château-Thierry and sell pictures of the colony to people who wanted them (and I bet lots of people did). Because of his long beard and the fact that he walked barefoot and barely clothed he was nicknamed Jesus Christ. A violent dispute with another original colonist in 1938 was the cause of his death. So much for the idea of peaceful coexistence and brotherly love. To put a face with a name, look at this next photo and ask yourself if you would buy a picture of a nudist vegan colony from this man.



Aside from biking through WWI battle territory and anarchist/nudist/vegan territory I was now also entering champagne country and I saw my first vineyards. In the photo below you might be able to make out the vineyards on the hill in the distance.





I didn't see a sign but I was pretty sure I was now entering the second small hamlet after Vaux, called Monneaux.












The villages I had been riding through are located in the Aisne department, which has 10% of the vineyards in the champagne growing districts. I was in an area of vineyards that extended along the Marne river from Château-Thierry west to around Crouttes-sur-Marne and the vines here have been granted AOC status. The predominant grape grown here is pinot-meunier.

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I was now arriving at the outskirts of the town of Essômes. Essômes is noted for its abbatial church the Abbatiale Saint-Ferréol d'Essômes-sur-Marne. Here is is.




The church was built in the 13th century and renovated in the 17th century in a renaissance style. The church is all that remains of what was once a much larger abbey complex. There has been an abbey here since at least 720AD when Charles Martel granted land to the Abbey of Saint Médard. The church is noted for its large format painting (4.5m x 3.6m) La Colère de Noé (The Anger of Noah), painted in the 19th century by an artist unknown to this date. He must have been good because it recently cost over 70,000€ to restore this painting.






At the top of a hill above the village is a memorial to the American war dead who died fighting here in 1918 known as Le Monument Américain de la Cote 204. The site was chosen as it was the place of violent combat in July 1918. Here is a link to a site that shows the monument with some explanation (in French).

grandeguerre1418.unblog.fr/2007/05/01/le-monument-americain-de-la-cote-2004-chateau-thierry-02-aisne/

I should also provide a link to the nearby cemetery of Belleau Wood so here it is.

grandeguerre1418.unblog.fr/2007/05/02/le-cimetiere-americain-daisne-marne-belleau-02-aisne/


Leaving Essômes I biked on a main road for about a kilometer to the outskirts of Château-Thierry and picked up a trail along the Marne river towards the town.














The name Château-Thierry comes from the name of the 8th century King of the Franks, Theuderic IV, who was held here captive in a castle by Charles Martel. Around this time a village starts to form around the castle. The town continued to grow and that's what we see today. That's a very concise history of events. It was severely damaged in WWI during the previously mentioned fighting. The Battle of Chateau-Thierry occurred during July of 1918 just after the Battle of Belleau and the hill just outside town, Cote 204, where the American monument is located was the scene of some of the worst fighting. They did a good job fixing things up and it's a pleasant place today with some notable buildings, monuments and museums. The remains of the old castle are perched on a hill overlooking the town and the ramparts are mostly intact. There is also the Musée Hôtel Dieu, a medieval/renaissance hospital which houses the treasures from these periods of history. The town was also the birthplace and home of Jean de la Fontaine, the literary master of French fables, and a museum dedicated to him is located in his childhood home/mansion. There's also some champagne houses to do some tasting. Since Jean de la Fontaine is a rather major literary figure I'm going to give you a link to the museum wesbite. It's all in English and they have an extensive on-line database with all of his fables (in English) in case that interests you.

www.musee-jean-de-la-fontaine.fr/jean-de-la-fontaine-page-uk-1-0-5.html


Let's go have a look around town.




Below you'll see the church. You've seen these before so there's not much more I can tell you about that.








I pedaled uphill to get a look at the old castle. The earliest castle on the site dates to the 4th century and was modified to much of its present form from the 10th through the 13th centuries. In the 15th and 16th centuries a dry-moat was dug around the castle and by the 17th century it had become a residential palace. At the end of the 18th century it was mostly destroyed.

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Here's what the castle originally looked like. I'm guessing the illustration must be from the 16th or 17th century.
















Here are some photos of the old Hôtel Dieu (now a museum).

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I like the Art Deco era cinema building.











And that's all for today. See ya!