Le Petit Lourdes in Hérouville-Saint-Clair

Parking is available in the car park at the corner of Rue des Sources (along the canal) and the lower end of Rue du Vieux Manoir.

(S/E) With your back to the street and the canal, head towards the pavement and the wall running alongside it, then turn right towards Rue du Vieux Manoir. At the corner of the wall, cross Rue des Sources and the stream, then take the path leading to the towpath along the edge of the canal.

(1) Turn right onto the tarmac path running alongside the canal and follow it for about 1 km towards the Calix viaduct. Pass under the viaduct and continue straight on along Avenue de Tourville. Ignore Rue du Pont de Calix, walk past the leisure park (rowing club) and carry on to the junction with Rue de la Rochelle.

(2) Cross Rue de la Rochelle, turn right and follow it up to the junction with Rue Basse. Cross Rue Basse, then turn left towards the Tours des Gens d’Armes. Follow Rue Basse for about 600 metres until you reach the Manoir des Gens d’Armes and the roundabout on Rue des Gens d’Armes. Go round the roundabout on the right, cross Rue des Gens d’Armes, then continue along Rue Basse, keeping to the right-hand pavement; ignore Venelle Fouquet and carry on until you reach Rue de la Masse.

(3) Cross Rue de la Masse, turn right and follow it up to the junction with Rue de Calix. Cross Rue de Calix, then turn left towards the Abbaye aux Dames. Follow Rue de Calix until you reach Place Reine Mathilde.

(4) Keep to the right and head up towards the Église de la Trinité and the entrance to the Abbaye aux Dames. Pass under the abbey’s entrance porch, cross the courtyard and walk along the left-hand side of the buildings opposite. At the corner of the buildings, turn right, then left, towards Parc Michel d’Ornano.

(5) Walk through Michel d’Ornano Park and make a detour to see the Lebanese cedar, perched on a hillock accessible via a footpath known as the ‘Limaçon’. This vantage point offers a fascinating view of all the bell towers in the city of Caen. Leave Michel d’Ornano Park via Rue de la Masse.
(6) Cross Rue de la Masse, turn left, then right, and walk along Avenue Georges Clémenceau. Walk past the entrance to Clémenceau Hospital and continue to the next junction. Turn right into Rue des Cultures and walk down it until you reach Rue du Clos Charmant. Turn left into Rue du Clos Charmant, negotiate the left-hand bend and continue on to Clos Joli, ignoring the road on the right.

(7) Turn right onto Clos Joli and continue until you reach Rue du Puits Picard. Turn right onto Rue du Puits Picard, pass the Clémenceau community centre, negotiate the right-hand bend and carry on to Rue Guerrière. Turn left onto Rue Guerrière, then left again onto Rue Tortue, until you reach Avenue du Calvados.
Turn right onto Avenue du Calvados, walk past the Saint-Jean-Eudes community centre and continue to the junction. Use the pedestrian crossings to cross, in turn, Rue du Calvados and then Rue Montmorency to join the tree-lined path through Parc Edmond Pruede. Walk through the park until you reach Rue Basse.

(8) Cross the street, turn left, follow Rue Basse, take a short detour via the steps on the right and continue along Rue des Sources until you pass under the Calix viaduct. Turn left into Rue de la Corderie, then left again at the first junction. You will then pass under the Calix Viaduct once more and reach Boulevard de la Paix. Turn right onto Boulevard de la Paix, pass under the Calix Viaduct for a third time within a few moments, and follow the boulevard for about 500 metres.

(9) At Clos Saint-Hubert, just after Rue Roger Poulin joins the boulevard on the opposite side and before a long stone wall, turn right into the cul-de-sac leading to a house. Keep to the left, follow the wall, continue along the footpath, then take the steps leading down to Impasse de la Taille, then Rue des Sources. Cross Rue des Sources, cross the stream, then turn left onto the path that runs alongside the towpath on the left.
At the end of the path, turn left, cross the stream, cross Rue des Sources and visit the Petit Lourdes enclosure. On leaving, cross Rue des Sources, cross the stream, and carry on to the towpath. Turn left and follow the canal on your right for just over 200 metres.

(1) Back at this junction, turn left, cross the stream, cross Rue des Sources, turn left and walk along the wall to reach the car park (S/E).

Le Petit Lourdes is open to visitors every day of the year from 2 p.m., except on Thursdays, which are reserved for cleaning and maintenance of the site.

History of Le Petit Lourdes

The Congregation of the Brothers of the Christian Schools settled in Caen in 1870.
As their accommodation was extremely precarious, it was decided to move to a farm situated on the banks of the Caen-to-the-Sea Canal.
The establishment had a chapel that was too small, but for financial reasons, enlarging it was out of the question.
Fortunately, around 1861, a wine merchant from Rouen, Mr Dubosq, made the bold vow to build a church in gratitude for the miraculous healing of his wife in Lourdes.
It was a providential meeting in 1878 with Brother Dauphin, Provincial of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, who was keen to build a chapel for their novitiate, that made this project possible.
Work on the chapel took place between 1879 and 1880, and since 1882 – the year the chapel was consecrated – ‘Petit Lourdes’ has welcomed pilgrims and tourists.
The chapel, the grotto and its spring, and the M-shaped winding path – a replica on a 1:3 scale of the sanctuary at Lourdes – were built in succession, making this place unique in the world.
The blessing of the grotto, the spring and the statue of the Virgin Mary took place in 1883.
The inauguration of the winding paths and the first local pilgrimage took place in 1885, with 12,000 pilgrims attending that year.
It is a place of popular devotion: burdens, joys, sorrows and hopes are placed in Mary’s arms, and the people of Caen quickly took to making pilgrimages to this sanctuary.
Following the 1905 law separating Church and State, the novitiate was forced to close its doors.
During the First World War, the site became a hospital and was later converted into a hospice, before becoming a convalescent home.
Part of this vast complex is open to visitors on Rue des Sources. You can enter and climb up to the chapel; below it, a grotto reminiscent of the one at Lourdes.

http://www.hsc-lepetitlourdes.weebly.com...

The Calix Viaduct

A road viaduct situated in the Caen metropolitan area, it completes the northern ring road of Caen, spanning the Orne valley. The western section of the viaduct is situated within the municipality of Hérouville-Saint-Clair. It spans the river, the Caen–Sea Canal and a harbour basin, offering an unobstructed view of the peninsula. Construction of the structure began on 13 September 1971 and was completed in 1974; it has a total length of 1,200 metres. It comprises 15 spans, including one measuring 156 metres and two measuring 113 metres. It rises 38 metres above the river. The road carries traffic on two carriageways, each with two lanes.

The Tour des Gens d’Armes

This tower, situated in Caen, resembles a fortified castle. It is in fact the remains of a^16th-century manor house which originally comprised four towers linked by crenellated walls. Situated not far from the River Orne, this residence was undoubtedly a holiday retreat, formerly known as the Manoir des Talbatières or the Manoir de Nollent. Its current name, the Tour des Gens d’Armes, seems to derive from the two statues of men in armour that once adorned the entrance. The building is now owned by the Regional Council, which houses the CRéCET (Regional Centre for Ethnological and Technical Culture) there.

The Abbaye aux Dames

Built over a period of 20 years, between 1059 and 1080, the Abbaye aux Dames was remodelled as early as 1090. When the choir was extended right to the edge of the plateau, it was necessary to construct the crypt to support this extension. The upper parts of the transept and the nave were covered with a ribbed vault in the early^12th century. Only the lower level of the nave remains as it was originally designed. Also surviving from the^11th-century building are the bases of the towers, part of the south wall of the aisles, and the framework of the upper storeys. The decoration, although altered in^{the 19th} century, is largely original and quite remarkable, given that churches in Caen from the same period lack ornamentation. Capital mouldings featuring plant, animal or human motifs are reminiscent of those at Bayeux and Thaon.

The abbeys, the result of penance: legend or reality?

It is still said that William and Matilda built the abbeys to secure the Pope’s forgiveness, as he was incensed by their marriage whilst they were distant cousins. Is this merely a persistent legend? It would appear that Pope Leo IX never succeeded in imposing any penance whatsoever on the couple, even though he did pronounce a mild form of excommunication. Why would William have needed permission to build abbeys in his own town, when he had more built there than anywhere else in the rest of Normandy or in England? Several envoys, including Lanfranc of Pavia, abbot of Bec-Hellouin and later abbot of Saint-Étienne de Caen and archbishop of Canterbury, were dispatched to Rome to plead the case of the ducal couple and smooth over the affront caused by the Norman pair, who had flouted the canonical ban. Matilda seems indeed to have played a very important role in the duchy and the kingdom, stemming from the difficulty William faced in ruling both Normandy and England simultaneously. The couple they formed remained exemplary. It was in 1083 that Matilda died. She was buried in the abbey she had founded, where her remains still rest. Here is an excerpt from her epitaph: Thus did she enter the abodes of eternal life, on the first day of November, after the hour of Prime.