Longpont-sur-Orge - Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Garde

Legends tell, that here, near a holy spring, Gallic druids met to worship a pagan wooden statue of a woman, when Dionysius of Paris (aka "Saint Denis") and his disciple Saint Yon christianized the area in the 3rd century. Dionysius discovered that the pagan idol in deed was a statue of the virgin ("virginia partitura").

This was a place of pilgrimage since very early times, being the oldest place of Marian devotion of Ile-de-France.

Local nobility founded a convent in 1031 and added this as a priory to the Cluny-network around 1060. The convent went through very difficult times, but managed to exist up to the French Revolution.

The property then got confiscated and was finally sold to a Swiss investor. The church, now serving the parish, was ruined. The old, unstable tower got demolished in 1794. During the early 19th century, the civil authorities warned people to enter the ruined church, that was ready for demolition. There were plans about replacing the ruin by a new, smaller building.

Finally, after decades long discussions about financing, only parts of the church got demolished and the rebuilding process started in the second half of the century.

The (damaged) portal seen here is from 1220 - and for this is pretty "modern". The "Coronation of the Virgin", was created just a few decades after the tympanum of the cathedral in Senlis had introduced this icon.

To reach Longpont-sur-Orge I had to cross the very busy Route National 20 - and found out, that this road was for sure once was the "chemin".