Name: Chapelle Saint-Antoine
Rating: 2

Routes

Planner

Features

Updates

App

Get the App

Chapelle Saint-Antoine

Chapelle Saint-Antoine

Recommended by 23 hikers

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: Parc naturel régional Normandie-Maine

Save

Location: Magny-Le-Désert, Alençon, Normandy, France

Save

See hikes here

Take Me There

Routes here

Best Hikes to Chapelle Saint-Antoine

4.4

(8)

hikers

1. Sentier des gorges de Villiers — loop in the espace naturel sensible de l'Orne

5.58km

01:29

60m

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Easy

4.7

(14)

hikers

2. Chapelle Saint-Antoine – La Fontaine de Chaude Eau loop from Antoigny

8.39km

02:15

100m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Intermediate

4.8

(10)

hikers

3. Les gorges de Villiers – Chapelle Saint-Antoine loop from Antoigny

8.02km

02:09

100m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Navigate

Send to Phone

Save

Intermediate

Tips

Nicolas Vergnaud

March 15, 2023

In the heart of the Andaine forest, in the Villiers gorges and near the Gourbe, this lovely chapel has an idyllic setting. Consecrated to Saint Anthony the Great, it is said that fantastic beings inhabit it.

Translated by Google •

David Lpx 📸

January 25, 2021

A few steps from the Gourbe, which meanders quietly through the Andaine forest, hides a chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony the Great. If the oldest trace of the building dates back to 1232, its foundation is estimated in the 6th century.

Property of the Abbey of Saint-Martin-de-Troarn, the chapel was destroyed during the Revolution, but the statue of the saint was spared. Definitively attached to Magny-le-Désert, the old oratory was rebuilt in 1875. But why this loyalty to Saint Antoine?

The devotion follows the acquisition of a fragment of the bones of the saint obtained by the parish priest of Almenêches from the bishopric of Grenoble. A relic offered to the parish of Magny was placed in the chapel during a procession, organized on June 2, 1879, in the presence of several thousand faithful.

For more than a century, the chapel became the object of popular veneration, and masses were celebrated there on January 17, the date of the death of Saint Anthony, in Thebaid, in ancient Egypt, and on Pentecost Monday.

Near the small monument, a well is revealed where crosses of hazel wood made on site are accumulated. Placed in this fountain, these crosses grant wishes and ensure healing. Custom or legend, not a word, it's a secret...

It is also said that mysterious beings haunt the place. Fairy of the Heathers of Andaine, Gisèle Normande and Mélusine du Poitou protect travelers on full moon evenings. But after midnight, the werewolf Guierou and his friend La Grande Bique would intimidate walkers into falling from the rocks of the Villiers Gorge.

Source: ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/sarthe/andaine-les-secrets-de-la-chapelle-saint-antoine-6129984

Translated by Google •

In the know? Log-in to add a tip for other adventurers!

Details

Informations

Elevation 190 m

Weather

Sunday 12 October

17°C

10°C

0 %

If you start your activity now...

Max wind speed: 12.0 km/h

Most visited during

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See hikes here

Take Me There

Location: Magny-Le-Désert, Alençon, Normandy, France

Chapelle Saint-Antoine

1. Sentier des gorges de Villiers — loop in the espace naturel sensible de l'Orne

2. Chapelle Saint-Antoine – La Fontaine de Chaude Eau loop from Antoigny

3. Les gorges de Villiers – Chapelle Saint-Antoine loop from Antoigny

Other Popular Places to Check Out

We value your privacy ⛰️

We value your privacy ⛰️