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beautiful pond, nice resting place

The ponds of Saint Félix are a paradise for fishermen. They are worth the detour because it is a site where nature is magnificent.

Leaving Beauvais to the northwest, the street and then the cycle path of the Saint-Quentin marsh, you quickly arrive at the superb body of water of Canada. It offers three kilometers of banks and a call for swimming in summer.

The Cathedral of Beauvais is one of the most important Gothic churches in France 🇫🇷!

It is always nice to meet old friends again, especially when it happens unexpectedly. When you enter the wonderful but only half-finished cathedral of Beauvais, you are greeted by the famous image of St. Peter from St. Peter's Basilica. This fits with the building's claim: the highest Gothic vault, the highest church tower, the largest church in France. However, it is a Gothic Babel: the vault and tower collapsed, and that was the end of money and Gothic architecture. The cathedral is a huge torso, the nave of which is a comparatively tiny Romanesque building that stands lost in front of the huge, centuries-old temporary dividing wall that the nave was supposed to replace.

Beauvais Cathedral was the most ambitious cathedral building project in France. Construction began in 1247 and the aim was to build nothing less than the largest church with the highest vault. Unfortunately, construction technology was not yet advanced enough. The towering choir was finished in 1275 and partially collapsed in 1284. The vaults, which were then built with no less ambition, reached 48.5 metres and are the highest Gothic cathedral vaults ever. Instead of a nave, the highest tower in the world was built over the crossing, 153 metres high. It was completed in 1569 and was the highest building in the world for four years, then the tower collapsed too. After that, money and Gothic architecture ran out and the church remained a gigantic torso. A slated wall closes off the church behind the crossing to the planned nave; the comparatively tiny Romanesque nave still stands here. This is probably how Cologne Cathedral looked before further construction in the 19th century. You enter the church through the wonderful south façade with its magnificent carved doors, past a statue of Peter, which is a replica of Peter in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and are overwhelmed by the feeling of space. The vault rises infinitely high, huge, bright windows bathe the room in bright light. The blue of the windows in the chapel ring of the apse glows mysteriously. Between the enormous pillars of the transept, powerful wooden auxiliary structures support the sensitive statics (which have now held for 700 years). Interestingly, the crossing pillars are different: one pillar, which may have survived the tower's collapse, has the familiar, diversely sharply contoured Gothic appearance, three pillars have distinctly round profiles. We are lucky enough to experience a baptism service and see the church "in operation". But it is a space of peace and contemplation: only a few visitors find their way to this building, which makes it all the more impressive. And there is another marvel that amazes visitors: a tower-sized astronomical clock from the 19th century, which displays an almost incalculable variety of astronomical data on numerous, beautifully designed dials.

If you are looking for a hidden gem to explore by bike, you can visit the hidden pond in Berthecourt. It is a small pond surrounded by trees and vegetation, located near the village of Berthecourt in the Oise department. You can access it by following the cycle route which leaves from Mouy-Bury and crosses the forest of La Neuville-en-Hez. The pond is a peaceful place to relax and enjoy nature.

The Saint-Félix pond is surrounded by woods and fields, and offers a wide variety of fauna and flora to observe. You can follow the marked trail around the pond, approximately 3 km long, where you will find a viewing platform, a picnic area and a fishing spot. The Saint-Félix Pond is an ideal place to enjoy nature and relax.