Notre Dame du Chêne
Our car was due its Controle Technique (CT). It’s similar to an MOT, but the CT lasts for two years, unlike an MOT in the UK that lasts for one. The Renault garage is in Bar-sur-Seine, our neighbouring town, so the plan was to drop the car off at the garage, go for a coffee, and then take a short walk through the woods at the back of the town, before heading back to collect the car.
Our usual café was closed for holidays, so we went to the café de Ville in the centre of town. It was very pleasant, and, as usual with french cafés, we were able to take a pastry in to eat with our coffees.
The route we had planned, using our outdoor active app on our phones, took us up the small climb to the old clock tower at the back of the town, where we immediately found ourselves walking through the woods, which I have to say was rather beautiful, and a very pleasant relief from the heat of the sun.
We headed towards the historical Templars building of Avalleur, although we were not planning on visiting it today.
From there, we walked across the fields, heading back down towards ‘Notre Dame du Chêne’, a very pretty little church nestled in a clearing in the woods. I had read a lot about it, but never visited until now.
On the 11th September each year there is a pilgrimage through the woods to the church. The origin of this dates back to 1153, when St Bernard used to come to pray at the foot of an old oak tree. It was rumoured that a young shepherd had found a statue of the Virgin in a hollow of the oak, and that he had removed it and taken it to the church in Bar-sur-Seine. However, the statue somehow returned to the hollow in the tree. Many times he retrieved the statue and placed it back at the church, but it always found its way back to the hollow in the oak. In 1669 they decided to build a chapel at the site of the oak tree. Originally constructed of branches, the chapel was built around the oak itself, and the statue stood in its hollow above the main alter. In 1724 the Mayor of Bar-sur-Seine, Mr Hénault, replaced the primitive branch constructed chapel with a solid wooden building, and added the steeple.
It has since been replaced with a brick and stone building. It is a spectacular sight, rising from its clearing, and we will try and visit it on one of its open days to see the statue that is apparently still there.
