Look to your right to spot a towering structure of pale limestone, defined by a multi-tiered, intricately carved bell tower and a deeply recessed, arched stone doorway at its base. This is the Church of the Trinity.
It was built out of pure social awkwardness. Back in the eleventh century, the local abbesses ran the neighboring Abbey of Ronceray. They had a problem. The abbey was full of young, wealthy girls from the nobility. But their chapel was also being used by the local commoners. The abbesses wanted to maintain strict control over the parish, but they absolutely did not want their aristocratic girls mixing with the regular townsfolk. Their solution? They built this parish church completely tangled up in the abbey's architecture, keeping the commoners close, but safely separated by solid stone walls.
Take a look at your screen for a glimpse inside the main hall, or the nave. You are looking at a perfect example of what is called the first Angevin Gothic style. Unlike standard flat or slightly curved ceilings, this regional design features heavily domed vaults reinforced by irregular stone ribs. Notice the carved stone joints where the ribs meet. Each of those keystones is totally unique, with the central one seemingly suspended in mid-air.
Of course, this church has seen its share of drama. During the French Revolution in seventeen ninety-three, the resident priest, Father Simon-Jean Gruget, refused to swear allegiance to the new revolutionary government. He was forced into hiding. He holed up in a tiny secret room across town, overlooking the main square where the guillotine was set up. From a small window, he would watch the executions. Whenever a condemned prisoner was marched to their death, Father Gruget would wave a blue handkerchief with red checkers. This was a secret signal, letting the victims know he was silently giving them absolution, the religious forgiveness of their sins, right before the blade fell.
He narrowly escaped death himself. During a tense police raid on his hideout, he disguised himself as an old woman spinning yarn, completely faking his voice. A police inspector actually recognized him, but decided to let it slide, shouting out a greeting to the fake old woman to throw off the other guards and save the priest's life.
To really understand who held the power here, check your app again to see a hidden architectural detail tucked away inside. This intricately carved sixteenth-century spiral wooden staircase allowed for secret movement through the building. It leads directly down into the mysterious crypt of the neighboring abbey. Right on those stairs sits the heavy limestone tomb of an abbess from fourteen ninety-three. It is a very literal reminder that even after death, the noble abbesses were always hovering over the commoners.
This church is a brilliant piece of historical engineering, built to manage both faith and high society. Whenever you are ready to move on, we can head to the next stop.
