15. Ussy-sur-Marne to Nanteuil-sur-Marne

In the life of Saint Colomban, written around 640, the monk Jonas de Bobbio indicates that Colomban and his companions were welcomed by the family of Authaire, an aristocrat at the court of Austrasia. The domus where this servant of Théodebert (or Thibert) king of Austrasia and friend of Colomban, resided, would be located in the commune of Ussy-sur-Marne.
If archaeological excavations do not allow us to date the church of Ussy-sur-Marne with certainty, it is very likely that Authaire, a fervent Christian, was buried in a consecrated place near his residence.
The hagiograph of Saint Colomban tells us that he blessed two children of Authaire, Dadon who became bishop of Rouen under the name of Saint-Ouen and Adon founder of the monastery of Jouarre.
In the church, a 19th century stained glass window reminds us of this meeting. This stained glass window was restored in 2013 by the St Authaire Parish Association with the help of the Town Hall.

The foundations of the church allow us to date it from the 9th century, during the following centuries several extensions were made. It is composed of a nave with a north aisle that extends to a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The nave and the north aisle are separated by a row of large pointed arches supported by quadrangular piers. The nave is carpentry. The choir is vaulted.
The church is listed as a Historic Monument for its 11th and 12th century nave, and the glass canopies of its 16th century Chapel of the Virgin.

Before arriving in Jouarre you will go around the park of the Château de Venteuil. In 1760, the Baron d'Obenheim, a German lieutenant-general, had the castle built by the architect Saget des Louvières. It was acquired 150 years later by Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu. This elegant 18th century residence with sober lines was the residence of the Jussieu family, a family that included five famous botanists. Today the property is private and cannot be visited.

In the 7th century the lands of Jouarre belonged to the family of Authaire, an Austrasian nobleman who had welcomed the Colomban monks and his companions in 610. Colomban blessed two of his sons Dadon, future bishop of Rouen under the name of Saint Ouen and Adon who founded the monastery of Jouarre around 630. He called upon the abbot of the monastery of Luxeuil, founded by Saint Colomban in 590, to receive monks who would organise the community according to the rule of the good fathers Benedict and Colomban as practised at Luxeuil. Initially it was a double monastery welcoming monks and nuns in two separate buildings. In the 9th century, the abbey was an important centre of pilgrimage in the influence of Aachen, capital of the Empire. This new destination for pilgrims was to open up points of reception and trade, and the town of Jouarre was born.
A community of Benedictine nuns animates it nowadays. The whole of Notre-Dame Abbey is classified as a historical monument on the 1840 list.
The Romanesque Tower of the Abbey is undoubtedly the monument that best sums up the history of Jouarre. Built at the end of the 11th century on Gallo-Roman foundations, it is attached to the facade of the abbey church. Its high silhouette and its bells have made it a faithful landmark for travellers from the outset: "Toujours je veille" is still the motto of the town today.

The church, begun in 1440 with the tower and choir and completed in 1559, retains three 16th century glass canopies, damaged during the Second World War.
A beautiful calvary and reliquary hunts remind visitors that Jouarre was a place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages.

The crypts of Saint Paul and Saint Ebregisile, located behind the chevet of the parish church of Jouarre, contain the tombs and some cenotaphs of the founders and the first abbots and abbesses of the abbey Notre Dame de Jouarre still preserved in the 21st century. These crypts, whose initial construction dates back to the 7th century, have undergone many changes and alterations that make their history difficult to read. In their architecture as in the decoration of the tombs they contain, they combine the influences of several periods (Merovingian, Carolingian).
The first archaeological excavations of the crypts date back to the early 1840s. The relocation of the cemetery in the immediate vicinity of the crypts enabled Abbot Thiercelin to carry out a comprehensive study of the crypts and the remains of the church of Saint-Paul in 1869-1870.
A monument open during the day, the crypt can be visited with an application and guided tours are organised by the Jouarre tourist office.

Just next to the Pont de l'Europe you pass the memorial where the names of 3888 British soldiers who fell in the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914 are engraved. It is the work of the sculptor Goldchmidt in 1928. Fighting was intense at this place so that the British troops, under the command of General French, succeeded in crossing the river on a boat bridge and resuming the offensive. It is surmounted by a sculpture in the shape of a sarcophagus decorated with war trophies, flag, bayonets and helmet. The short sides of the memorial are adorned with a carved sword, pointing downwards, while the front and back of the monument are carved with panels surmounted by a carved crown. The inscriptions are in English and French.
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The millstone industry in La Ferté-sous-JouarreFor several centuries the quality of the stone from La Ferté-sous-Jouarre has been recognised for its qualities in the manufacture of millstones for cereal mills. Its hardness and its slightly granular aspect allows it to keep its original qualities for a long time.
The reputation of La Ferté millstones has conquered the whole of Europe and the United States.
Until the first half of the 19th century the millstones were shipped by sea, the remains of the millstone port can be seen on the banks of the Marne at La Ferté-sous-Jouarre. At that time there are 4000 workers employed in this extraction and its manufacture making the wealth of local businesses. The economic prosperity develops the small town of La Ferté and the residences of masters are born.
At the end of the 19th century, the arrival of the railroad will give a new economic impetus to this industry. In the middle of the 20th century, grinders made with steel rollers replaced the millstones in the mills. While these allowed for greater efficiency, their speed of rotation separated the germ from the grain as well as its husk. It is the germ that contains most of the nutritional elements of the grain. Flours obtained in this way are lower in protein, minerals and vitamins. The activity of the millers died out in the 1950s.
At La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, on the via Columbani, you can observe the used millstones used to reinforce the road along the Marne river after the bridge of Europe.

Reuil or Radolium keeps the memory of a priory, installed by Radon, a son of Authaire, lord of Ussy visited by Colomban in the 7th century. In the 12th century, it became a Benedictine priory Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul depending on the abbey of Cluny. Information is lacking to know the history of this priory which would have been built on the site of the church.
The painter Henri Hayden stayed there in the village. In the woods above the village, you will recognize holes, former sites of extraction of millstones, and an area of extraction of clay to make bricks and tiles in Luzancy.

Built in the Middle Ages and then probably destroyed during the Hundred Years' War; the present building was built in the 15th or 16th century. Owned by Marshal de Berchery, of Hungarian origin and commander of the hussars under Louis XIV, it welcomed illustrious guests such as Chausson and Debussy. Louis XV was the Marshal's guest.
The "freyssinet" bridge is a reconstruction after the destruction of June 1940. Luzancy was often the scene of violent confrontations during the wars of the last centuries. The castle was the seat of the "American Women's Hospital No. 1" of 150 beds managed exclusively by American women doctors, serving the population, after the arrival of the American contingent in 1918. The church is dedicated to St Germain St Leu.
Jean-Baptiste Corot, a painter and engraver in the 17th and 18th centuries, was not the only artist to stay here. The "lodge", a cenacle of artists made it easier for them to stay for a long time at the end of the 19th century. Every year, Corot, a painter from Ville d'Avray and Barbizon, came to stay with his friends Rémy, whose house dominated the rue de l'Eglise and the former rue du Bac, which became allée Corot.
Today the castle of Luzancy is used as a children's home. It welcomes 76 children, teenagers and young adults who encounter difficulties in their family environment.

The nave of the church preserves remains from the 12th and 13th centuries, but the present building was mainly built towards the end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century, on the site of the original chapel. This building no longer has its original form, as the nave collapsed around 1837. The ceiling that was rebuilt at that time is only a simple ceiling.
The funeral monument of Marshal Bergery, lord of Luzancy, was placed in the church of Luzancy.

The first church in Nanteuil-sur-Marne was destroyed during the Hundred Years War. It was rebuilt in the 16th century and enlarged in the 17th century. The bell tower collapsed in the 19th century and was rebuilt in the 20th century. After the bombings of the Second World War the stained glass windows of the choir were reconstructed from the elements of the old stained glass windows. The ceiling was rebuilt at the same time.