Attractions and Places To See around Val-De-Mercy - Top 20

The woman who lives next door in the keep even washes her laundry here.

How I love bathing my feet in a washhouse!

The extremely impressive church in Cravant was dedicated to the two SAINTS "PIERRE et PAUL". They are also known as the "Princes of the Apostles" and their common feast day in the calendar of saints is June 29th. * Simon, nicknamed Peter (Rock), was a fisherman on Lake Genesareth when he - together with his brother Andrew - was called by Jesus Christ to be a "fisher of men". According to Catholic understanding, he is the highest apostle and the two thousand year long line of popes - currently Francis - are his successors. In statues and paintings, Peter is almost always depicted with two keys in his hand; this attribute refers to the Bible verse in Matthew: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Chapter 16, Verse 19). * Paul was initially an opponent of the Christian movement and was not called to the apostleship of Jesus Christ during his lifetime like the other apostles, but was only converted later with the famous "Damascus experience". His attribute is the sword with which he was executed. According to the Roman law of the time, such a sentence was a "privilege" (quick death and not, like other types of execution, associated with a long, painful death struggle) that was available to the citizens of Rome.

The stronghold of Belombre was the seat of part of the lordship of Escolives held, in 1507, by the lieutenant general of Auxerre, Blanchet David. Marie David brought it to Jacques de Meung dit de La Ferté, who died on June 4, 1589, massacred by the Leaguers of Auxerre. Madeleine de La Ferté Meung, her granddaughter, transmitted Bellombre to the La Bussière family and Catherine de La Bussière brought it to the Girard d'Azy family. The children of Paul de Girard sold it, around 1656, to François de Chastellux, who ceded this first half of Escolives in 1670, to Robert Chaponnel, Receiver General of Finances. He died on October 28, 1678 without issue, while he was undertaking the reconstruction of the castle. Anne Robineau, receiver general of Finances in Provence, who carried out the project developed by Chaponnel and built a new castle on the land surrounded by a moat on the site of the medieval manor. In 1709, Louis Gayot, buyer, united the two shares of the land of Escolives before selling the Château de Bélombre in November 1726, to Joseph Le Muet, King's attorney in the bailiwick of Auxerre. Rosalie Le Muet married in 1804, Jean Jacques Claude Baudenet d'Annoux. Their son, Louis-Hugues, who feared the dangerous invasions of the waters of the Yonne, decided to demolish the castle which he rebuilt on vast basements around 1870. The estate is located on the left bank of the canal. It is a large single-story building. Corner chains and harped stone legs support the entablature and an attic floor in the overhang of the broken roof. The moat and the stone bridge decorated with elegant 18th century ironwork have been preserved. (1) MH protected elements: facades and roofs; water pit ; the pillars of the entrance gate; the vestibule and the interior staircase with its wrought iron banister: registration by decree of December 6, 1977. The facades and roofs of the outbuildings; the terrace located to the southwest of the castle and the sleeping bridge; the bridge thrown over the moat, in front of the northeast facade of the castle; the gardens surrounding the castle; the perspective alley and the double water alley: registration by decree of June 7, 1993 The Chateau de Belombre 89290 Escolives-Sainte-Camille, private property, cannot be visited.

View of the 18th century castle from the cycle path.

In 2019 a former outbuilding and the former studio of Pierre Merlier were fitted out in order to present and highlight different periods of the work of this artist. In 2020 a 3rd room offered visitors a larger number of wood sculptures, terracotta and polyurethane bas-reliefs, bronzes, paintings. The surprise is total, provoked by the quantity, the diversity, the themes tackled, the materials used, the theatrical and not museum staging of a unique and singular work. The buildings, the proximity of the Canal du Nivernais bordered by the towpath make this Museum an attractive place. https://www.ot-auxerre.fr/offres/musee-pierre-merlier-escolives-sainte-camille-fr-2643474/

The Saint Pierre Saint Paul church is a remarkable building. It has a unique architecture in Burgundy. Its impressive dimensions remind us that Cravant was a city of more than 3000 inhabitants. The church then belonged to the bishops of Auxerre who came there regularly and did everything to make it beautiful and imposing. The interior of the church, with its nave, its Renaissance choir, its chapels, its keystones and its vaulted ceilings, bears witness to its prestigious past. It was built in the 9th century, enlarged in the 12th century then rebuilt at the end of the 16th century. https://www.bourgogne-tourisme.com/abbayes-et-autre-edifices-religieux/eglise-de-saint-pierre-et-saint-paul-de-cravant-3

The Cravant property is a fortified building built in the 14th century to protect the property of the Bishop of Auxerre. The rest of the mighty outer wall is reminiscent of a castle. The building is now privately owned. The old public washhouse is right next to it. A monument is erected facing the street. The 4,500 soldiers who fell here in a historic battle defending France in 1423 are remembered there.