The Vergy hill and its historical past

Go to Reulle-Vergy and park in the village centre at the crossroads of Rue de la Fontaine and Rue du Mont if you are travelling in a single vehicle. The walk starts from the Mairie-Lavoir de Reulle-Vergy located in the heart of the village, at the crossroads of Rue de la Fontaine and Rue Mont.

(S/E) Take Rue Mont. Continue straight ahead into Ruelle du Châtelet (there is a stone cross dating from 1870). Follow the^GR®7, marked on the ground and on the posts. Before the arched porch of a property, turn right and then immediately left to walk along a wall (keep to the left). Further on, you will come to the road at a place called La Croix montée de Vergy (altitude 429 m) and continue on the^GR® towards the church of Vergy. Pass in front of a stone cross dating from 1864, belonging to the Esmonin family. Go up the no entry road and reach the church.

(1) From the church, follow the^GR® markings^. In the woods, at the first crossroads, keep left to reach the ruins of the Tour Saint-Denis straight ahead.

(2) Retrace your steps to the crossroads and continue to the left, climbing the winding path to the first orientation table (with views from north-west to north-east), passing close to the ruins of the feudal castle of Vergy with its well, foundations, base, etc.

(3) Continue southwards, staying on the^{GR® trail.} Shortly after the second orientation table, begin the descent to approach the ruins of Saint-Vivant Abbey, which is currently being restored.

(4) Turn left to approach them and observe the remains that are still standing. Turn back.
Continue left to go around it via the carriage road and descend along its surrounding wall (guide on the left). Continue straight ahead until you reach the D116. Then turn right and carefully follow this road for about 200 metres. At the entrance to the village of Curtil-Vergy, cross the road and turn left into Rue de la Combe Pillard. Ignore a path on the right and continue to a fork in the road.

(5) Keep right on a vineyard path that descends, making a first turn right then left and passing through the bottom of the valley before climbing back up into the woods. Take the first path on the left.

(6) At the next four-way junction, turn left and continue straight ahead along this path. Just after passing under a high-voltage power line, you will come to a dead end at a crossroads.

(7) Turn left. Pass under the high-voltage power line again to reach the entrance to the village of Reulle-Vergy. Take Rue de Chambolle to return to the starting point at the Mairie-Lavoir (S/E).

(S/E) If there are several vehicles, it is preferable to use the church car park located higher up, outside the built-up area. In this case, walk back down to the starting point via Rue de Vergy, then Rue Basse, before turning right into Rue de la Fontaine. The walk starts from the Mairie-Lavoir de Reulle-Vergy in the centre of the village, at the junction of Rue de la Fontaine and Rue Mont.

There is a picnic and play area at the end of Rue de Chambolle in Reulle-Vergy, on the edge of the woods.

Benches are located in certain places on the Vergy hill.

Walking sticks are necessary for the ascents and descents in wet weather.

(S/E) Reulle-Vergy Town Hall and Wash House:

(1) Saint-Saturnin Church in Vergy: built on the remains of an ancient 6th-century Merovingian church, remodelled between the 12th (choir and bell tower), 13th (nave and three arches separating the choir and nave) and 16th centuries (ribbed vault of the nave with visible raising - church seen in profile). The entrance porch dates from the 18th century. It contains architectural treasures (a hide-and-seek game on two capitals featuring a fox and a hen; tasting on the third; the statue of Saint John the Baptist; the Virgin of Pity; Saint Barbara (16th century); the Blessing Christ (16th century) and the Virgin and Child (17th century).

(2) Remains of the Saint-Denis Tower: The only remaining building in the canonical quarter of the fortress (Saint-Denis Collegiate Church).

(3) Viewpoint and remains around the pre-12th-century feudal castle: One of the most beautiful and best strongholds (according to Louis VII, along with Carcassonne), built on a rocky spur. Owned by the Dukes of Burgundy through the marriage of Alix de Vergy to Duke Eudes III in 1199. Destroyed by Henry IV in 1609, probably out of personal resentment towards its owner at the time, dating back to the Wars of Religion, even though it had never been taken in battle.

(4) Remains of the Abbey of Saint-Vivant in Curil-Vergy: a Benedictine abbey founded and built in the 9th century by the Vergy family at the foot of their much-coveted Château de Vergy and dedicated to Saint-Vivant of Vendée. It depended on the Abbey of Sainte-Bénigne in Dijon and the Abbey of Cluny. It was the oldest monastic establishment in Burgundy and one of the richest (producing prestigious Burgundy wines such as Romanée Conti and Romanée Saint-Vivant for 650 years). It had up to 30 monks from 1136 to 1262, then 4 in 1678 and finally 9 in 1761. The cellars and church were rebuilt in 1766. The community was abolished in 1788. The monastery was declared national property during the French Revolution. It was abandoned and destroyed in the 19th century.