Today the weather turned sour again – we had a huge lightning-thunderstorm last night and woke up to clouds and cool temps and likely rain. So we decided to drive to the town of Chateau-Landon.
We learned of Chateau-Landon when we saw it described as a stop on a canal boat trip. It is an ancient town, with what sounded to be lots of interesting sites. So off we went. Chateau-Landon did not disappoint; it’s a beautiful town set on a hillside, with some interesting things to see, not all of which we saw. We’ll be back to explore Chateau-Landon more thoroughly.
The Church
The church in Chateau-Landon ranks among the most interesting we’ve seen. Churches reflect the development and history of the towns they serve. We find them interesting for that reason; they are always unique, like their towns, and always interesting. Here are three views of this most unusual church:
Now, I suspected that both faithful readers of this blog are scratching their heads and saying, “He thinks that’s interesting?” So let me explain a bit.
This Church was built on a much older church, as is common here. The picture on the left is from the earliest remaining part of the building; it was constructed in the 11th century, so that wall, and the aisle behind it, is Romanesque in style. There are few signs of Romanesque in France, as most churches from that time were later rebuilt in Gothic or Renaissance styles (or in some cases, it appears, no style at all).
The central nave is from the 13th century, so it’s Gothic: note the vaulting and pointed arches. Okay, that’s not all that interesting, I guess.
The North Aisle is unusual in several ways. It was built in the 14th century, so it’s pure Gothic, too, but this aisle is as wide as the nave. In fact, there is an altar at the front of this aisle, so this Church really is, from left to right facing the front, Romanesque aisle, Gothic nave, and what’s really a second late-Gothic nave. It turns out that when the north aisle was constructed, they decided to use all the land they had at the side of the Church. This “aisle” is wide and oddly-shaped, as it follows the line of the road outside.
Anyway, for us, an interesting Church.
And of course, every church needs a bar-brasserie (d’eglise translates as “of the church”): 
Abbay of St. Severin
This is a picture of the 12th century abbay of St. Severin. Today it is…a retirement home. Really. A beautiful retirement home at that (you can’t see the residential areas, but they’re in beautifully-restored abbay buildings). Laurie and I applied to live there.
Exercise
We did get some exercise:
Laurie says it was 80 steps; I was panting too hard to count. Someday they’ll be more about Chateau-Landon, as there evidently are more things to see. We liked this place a lot.
Make Way for Ducklings
Hi Laurie and John,
I’ve enjoyed reading your blogs and just saw your question to Carol about our trip. Yes, the weather was a bit cold while we were there, but it did not slow us down much. Bernards were very generous with us, got us off to a good start with the Metro, took us to Vaux le Vicomte, and home for dinner. We had that first week-end to explore on our own and enjoyed a Sunday at the Luxemburg Gardens without crowds. We saw a lot with our tour, appreciated our hotel, and were only drenched once. The last week-end, we aborted our plans for Giverney and enjoyed chatting with the daughter of my cousin who teaches in Paris. She is from N. Ireland and was very interested in family and life in the US. All in all, we had a very good trip and appreciate you thinking of us! Tomorrow is book club and I will miss you, especially.
Joanne
John and Laurie,
I love all the history in these churches. The construction alone is amazing. I think it was in a later blog but I would love to stumble into an organ concert.