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 bottom of Rue du Vieux Manoir.

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

(1) Turn right, take the tarmac path that runs alongside the canal and follow it for about 1 km, towards the Calix viaduct. Pass under the viaduct and continue straight ahead into Avenue de Tourville. Leave Rue du Pont de Calix, pass in front of the leisure park (rowing club) and continue to the junction with Rue de la Rochelle.

(2) Cross Rue de la Rochelle, turn right and continue up the street until you reach the intersection 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 at Rue des Gens d'Armes. Go around the roundabout on the right, cross Rue des Gens d'Armes, then continue along Rue Basse, staying on the right-hand pavement, ignore Venelle Fouquet and continue to Rue de la Masse.

(3) Cross Rue de la Masse, turn right and continue up the street until you reach the intersection 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 walk up towards the Church of the Trinity and the entrance to the Abbaye aux Dames. Pass under the abbey's entrance porch, cross the courtyard and walk along the buildings opposite, on the left. At the corner of the buildings, turn right, then left, towards Parc Michel d'Ornano.

(5) Cross Parc Michel d'Ornano and make a detour to see the Lebanese cedar tree, perched on a hill accessible by a path called "Limaçon". This observation point offers a very interesting view of all the bell towers in the city of Caen. Leave Parc Michel d'Ornano via Rue de la Masse.

(6) Cross Rue de la Masse, turn left, then right and walk along Avenue Georges Clémenceau. Pass the entrance to Clémenceau Hospital and continue to the next intersection. Turn right onto Rue des Cultures and follow it until you reach Rue du Clos Charmant. Turn left onto Rue du Clos Charmant, negotiate the left-hand bend and continue to Clos Joli, ignoring the street 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 continue until you reach 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, pass the Saint-Jean-Eudes community centre and continue to the intersection. Use the pedestrian crossings to cross Rue du Calvados and then Rue Montmorency to reach the tree-lined path of Parc Edmond Pruede. Cross the park until you reach Rue Basse.

(8) Cross the street, turn left, follow Rue Basse, take a short detour via the stairs on the right and continue along Rue des Sources until you pass under the Calix viaduct. Turn left onto Rue de la Corderie, then left again at the first intersection. This will take you back under the Calix Viaduct to Boulevard de la Paix. Turn right onto Boulevard de la Paix, pass under the Calix Viaduct a third time, and follow the boulevard for about 500 metres.

(9) At Clos Saint-Hubert, shortly after Rue Roger Poulin, which leads to the boulevard on the opposite side and before a long stone wall, turn right into the cul-de-sac that leads to a residence. Keep left, follow the wall, continue along the path, then take the stairs 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 along the towpath on the left.
At the end of the path, turn left, cross the stream, cross Rue de Sources and visit the Petit Lourdes enclosure. On leaving, cross Rue de Sources, cross the stream and continue to the towpath. Turn left and follow the canal on your right for just over 200 metres.

(1) Back at this crossing point, 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 Petit Lourdes

The Congregation of the Brothers of the Christian Schools settled in Caen in 1870.
As the facilities were more than precarious, it was decided to move to a farm located on the banks of the Caen canal.
The establishment had a chapel that was too small, but for financial reasons, there was no question of enlarging it.
Fortunately, around 1861, a wine merchant from Rouen, Mr Dubosq, made a bold vow to build a church in gratitude for the miraculous healing of his wife in Lourdes.
It was a providential encounter in 1878 with Brother Dauphin, provincial of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, who wanted to build a chapel for their novitiate, that made this possible.
Work on the chapel was carried out from 1879 to 1880, and since 1882, when the chapel was consecrated, Petit Lourdes has welcomed pilgrims and tourists.
The chapel, the grotto and its spring, and the M-shaped hairpin bends, a 1/3 replica of the sanctuary of Lourdes, were built successively, making this place unique in the world.
The blessing of the grotto, the spring and the statue of the Virgin Mary dates back to 1883.
The inauguration of the hairpin bends and the first local pilgrimage date back to 1885, with 12,000 pilgrims counted that year.
It is a place of popular faith: burdens, joys, sorrows and hopes are placed in Mary's arms, and the people of Caen quickly got into the habit of making pilgrimages to this sanctuary.
After the law separating Church and State in 1905, the novitiate had to close its doors.
During the First World War, the site became a hospital, then a hospice, before becoming a convalescent home.
Part of this enormous complex can be visited on Rue des Sources. Visitors can enter and climb up to the chapel, below which is a grotto reminiscent of the one in Lourdes.

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

The Calix Viaduct

This road viaduct in the Caen metropolitan area completes the northern ring road of Caen, above the Orne valley. The western part of the viaduct is located in the municipality of Hérouville-Saint-Clair. It crosses the river, the Caen canal to the sea and a harbour basin, offering an unobstructed view of the peninsula. Construction began on 13 September 1971 and was completed in 1974. The structure has a total length of 1,200 metres. It spans 15 spans, including one 156-metre span and two 113-metre spans. It rises 38 metres above the river. Road traffic flows on two lanes in each direction.

The Tower of the People of Arms

This tower, located in Caen, is reminiscent of a fortified castle. It is actually the remains of a^16th-century manor house that originally had four towers connected by crenellated walls. Located not far from the Orne River, this residence was undoubtedly a holiday home, formerly known as the Manoir des Talbatières or Manoir de Nollent. Its current name, Tour des Gens d'Armes, seems to originate from the two statues of men in arms that adorned the entrance. This building is now owned by the Regional Council, which houses the CRéCET (Regional Centre for Ethnological and Technical Culture).

The Abbaye aux Dames

Built over a period of 20 years, between 1059 and 1080, the Abbaye aux Dames was remodelled in 1090. When the choir was enlarged at the very edge of the plateau, a crypt had to be built to support this extension. The upper parts of the transept and nave were covered with a ribbed vault at the beginning of^{the 12th} century. Only the lower level of the nave is still as it was designed by its creators. The lower parts of the towers, part of the south wall of the aisles, and the framework of the upper floors also remain from the^11th-century building. Although the decoration was remodelled in^{the 19th} century, most of it is original and quite remarkable, since the churches of Caen from the same period are not decorated. The capitals with plant, animal or human motifs are reminiscent of those in Bayeux and Thaon.

Abbeys, the fruit of penance: legend or reality?

It is often said that William and Matilda built the abbeys to obtain forgiveness from the Pope, who was angered by their marriage as they were distant cousins. Is this just a persistent legend? It seems that Pope Leo IX never succeeded in imposing any penance on the couple, even though he pronounced a mild form of excommunication. Why would William have needed a punishment to build abbeys in his city, when he built more than anyone else in the rest of Normandy and England? Several emissaries, including Lanfranc of Pavia, abbot of Bec-Hellouin and later abbot of Saint-Étienne de Caen and archbishop of Canterbury, were sent to Rome to plead the case of the ducal couple and make people forget the affront of the Norman couple, who had ignored the canonical prohibition. Matilda seems to have played a very important role in the duchy and the kingdom, which resulted from William's difficulty in ruling both Normandy and England. The couple they formed remained exemplary. Matilda died in 1083. She was buried in the abbey she had founded, where her remains still lie. Here is an excerpt from her epitaph: Thus she entered the dwellings of eternal life on the first day of November, after the hour of Prime.