Scandibérique - Villeparisis / Thieux stopover

Stage between Villeparaisis and Thieux:

Departure: Villeparisis (77270), Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France

The Canal de l'Ourcq runs from Mareuil-sur-Ourcq to the Bassin de La Villette. Built in the XNUMXth century to supply Paris with drinking water, its face will never stop changing. Crossing the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, it reveals all its facets. From the countryside to the city, from industry to leisure, it reflects the transformations of the suburbs of Paris.

To discover in Gressy:
- The pond: located in the municipal park called "Parc Macquer", it was a natural pond in the 60s. It is now fed by an arm of the Beuvronne and at its southern exit, it joins the Canal de l'Ourcq of which it provides part of the diet. It will enchant you with its setting and the quality of its water where even studs manage to wriggle.
- Saint-Denis Church: Its construction dates from the 12th century and was dedicated to Saint Denis by the two Augustinian monks dependent on the Abbey of Chaage, in the wake of the Abbey of Saint Denis. It is built in rubble stone masonry. It was originally covered with a plaster and lime plaster, frequently used in the region. We still have traces of it on the eastern part of the north gutter wall which was not affected by the campaigns carried out in the years prior to 1980. The Saint-Denis church benefits from the exterior light provided by four stained glass windows dating from 1902 following the bequest of Mlle. Lefèvre. These are diamond-shaped stained-glass windows set with a red thread. A flower with four petals is painted on each rhombus. Regarding the bell tower, we know that its construction dates back to the XNUMXth century and that it was raised at the end of the XNUMXth or the beginning of the XNUMXth century. It has been recently redone as well as the mechanisms that guide the bell and the clock.
- Hôtel Le Manoir de Gressy ****: it occupies an old farm dating from the 85th century. The Manoir de Gressy offers XNUMX spacious and comfortable rooms. It combines a warm atmosphere with top-of-the-range services, including a restaurant where you can enjoy traditional French cuisine. The hotel has charging stations for electric vehicles.

To discover in Compans:
- The Moulin d'Ouacre: it dates from the XNUMXth century. It has not been active since the XNUMXth century, however it will be used during the Second World War, to provide flour to the village.
- The castle: it was built at the end of the XNUMXth century in the Louis XIII style, by M.VALLÉE. He was a great bourgeois, close to the Emperor Napoleon III. Empress Eugenie came to the inauguration. She offered, on this occasion, the Stations of the Cross in the church. It is an important building, the ridge of the roof is sixteen meters high. There are thirteen windows per floor on the facade. The castle is still inhabited, having been divided into apartments.
- Church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption: the church, restored in 1694 and in 1730, was completely rebuilt in 1867. In 1694, the Hôtel-Dieu and the chapter of Notre-Dame-de-Paris, who collect local tithes, take part in the restoration of the bell tower, whose bell is baptized the following year, in the presence of "Louis Boucherat, Knight, Count of Compans, Chancellor and Keeper of the Seals of France"26. The church consists of a single nave, furnished with two rows of enclosed pews. Access to each bench is permitted by a small door which opens onto the central aisle. The back of the choir is occupied by an altarpiece, gift of the Chevalier Boucherat, in 1699. The latter offers, on the same occasion, the altar and a painting illustrating the wish of Louis XIII. Entrusted to a painter in 1825, so that he could make a copy, the painting has disappeared.

Arrival: Thieux (77230), Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France.

To discover in Thieux:
- Church of Saint-Médard: it contains several elements classified as an object including the altarpiece of the high altar and a painting by the painter Jean-Jacques Lagrenée.
- The wash house: at the exit of the village, on the D26, in the direction of Villeneuve-sous-Dammartin. Supplied by a spring on the edge of the Rû de la Biberonne, a picnic area next door. Beautiful restoration faithful to the authenticity of the place.