Juziers - Saint-Michel

Liutgarde of Vermandois, daughter of (Carolingian) Herbert II, widow of William I of Normandy (aka "William Longsword", "Guillaume Longue-Épée") and spouse of Theobald I (aka "Theobald the Trickster", "Thibaud le Tricheur"), donated her property at Gesiacum (= Juziers) including the existing church to the Abbey of Saint-Pierre in Chartres in 978. Soon after Comtesse Luitgarde died and the monks established a priory here.

Within the 11th century the nave of Saint-Michel got erected. The choir got added about a century later.

During the Wars of Religion the buildings burnt down, but a rebuilding process started again. It started to crumble again. After the Revolution the priory did not exist any longer. For a while the church was used as an "atelier de salpêtre", what meant high explosives were stored and handled here. Some poor restoration had been done in the early years of the 19th century, before Prosper Mérimée added the building to the lists of "Monuments Historiques" in 1850.

Seen here is the western facade. The church was locked. Some of the former convent buildings still exist and "le Bourg" is just east. Walking around, we met a friendly person, who told us, that a friend of him... he grabbed his cell phone... and five minutes later a lady arrived with the keys! Merci beaucoup!