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The life of faith...

CHAPEL OF LUYNES

(NOTRE DAME OF THE CASTLE)


The chapel, called Notre Dame of Maillé or Notre Dame of the Castle, was built during the XVth Century and was completed in 1486 by Hardouin de Maillé, Seigneur of Maillé.

It replaces the little chapel of Saint Pïerre which was next to the castle, near the southwest tower. An order of monks was then created.

In the middle of the XVIIth Century, the Duke of Luynes, Louis Charles, because of the lack of participation by the monks, decided to transfer it to Langeais and to replace it with a new order of nuns.

The whole convent in the XVlIIth Century comprised about 50 people (nuns and personnel). At that time, chrïstenings and funerals took place in the chapel. The nuns lived in the convent until the French Revolution. It was then sold and destroyed by the owner, who reused these materials for other constructions.

For more than a century, the chapel served as a barn and a room where wine was pressed, before it was repurchased by the Duke of Luynes in 1910. lt was restored ïn 1986 by the parents of the present Duke, Jean d'Albert de Luynes.

One can notice the particular form of the ceiling's framework, which is shaped like a boat. Mass is still occasionally performed in the chapel today.


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