Auteur/autrice : Gilberte MBELE

The last star was sold last month. Sell a star? In Saint-Paul-la-Coste, this is possible when it comes to the stars that adorn the celestial vault of the Romanesque church of the town.

Sabine Nicolas, the president of the association of Friends of the Church of Saint-Paul-la-Coste (1) recalls the time when the project was born : « I was with my brother Philippe. Last summer we were watching the stars in the sky. They reminded us of those of the church. We should start a referral program and sell them, he told me. Immediately said, immediately done. »

A star for the Ukrainian people

Since last October, the proposal to buy one or more of the 185 stars has been circulating on social networks, making itself known by posting or through the press. At the price of € 10 for yourself or as a gift, you become a godfather or godmother, star buyers. « Many people thought the idea was great », says Sabine.

As we will have understood, the dimension is spiritual. The act of purchase gives a sense of belonging to this church and to the Catholic community.

The first star was offered to Pope Francis.

In his letter of thanks last December, he congratulated the association for the action taken to safeguard the religious building. This Friday evening, at the time of the reception to welcome the 185 stars, we will be able to observe in particular the plaque for the heritage ribbons awarded in 2020 or a photo of the beginning of the work in 1990 under the mandate of Daniel Layris.

The list of the names of the buyers will be discovered, duly framed.

« They want to give them to children or grandchildren. Sometimes the gift is intended for a sick person or posthumously, specifies Sabine Nicolas. Some families have bought a dozen of them. Each godfather or godmother received a certificate in his name numbered and dated. A star was presented to the people’s president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelinsky. »

In mid-June, the thermometer happily exceeds the 30 ° C mark in the region. In this strong heat, we know that it is essential to hydrate well, but also to avoid stuffy places. Here is a list of various Norman cool places where you can go to escape the heat, while discovering the local heritage.

The sea, the lakes, the forests, the gardens: these natural havens of freshness mean that we can consider ourselves happy to live in Normandy when the mercury climbs high on the thermometers. And if it is still too hot on the beach or under the trees, it is always possible to take refuge in the traditional air-conditioned places such as cinemas, supermarkets, or museums.

Beyond these usual anti-heatwave haunts, the region is full of cool and pleasant places to spend time and get educated at the same time.

1Places of worship

Old stone, high ceilings, stained glass windows that dim the atmosphere, religious buildings serve as a haven of freshness. In the region, with two « Cities with a hundred spires » and many places of worship scattered throughout the territory, we can say that we are blessed. Four basilicas (Lisieux, La Chapelle-Montligeon, Bonsecours and Dover-la-Délivrande), seven cathedrals (Rouen, Evreux, Coutances, Bayeux, Le Havre, Lisieux and Sées), a dozen abbeys (Mont Saint-Michel, Caen, Lucerne, Hambye…) and hundreds of churches, so many places full of symbols and history to discover at all times, and even more so when the sun is beating hard outside.

2The underground and caves

Do as many animals do, stay away from the scorching rays of the sun by infiltrating underground. On this theme, you will find nothing better than the Subterranean Slates, in Caumont l’eventé (14). 30 meters below the ground, it’s constantly 12 ° C, you might even need to put on a sweater to browse the galleries of the site. Another underground walk, the visit of the Cave of the Petites-Dalles (76) that our reporter Felix Bollez makes you discover in the report below.

Do you know the insides of the largest cities in the region? In Rouen, the underground of the Dungeon are to be discovered. And in Caen, cooler, a network located 12m underground, it was used to store foodstuffs, but was also a shelter and a hiding place during the Second World War. On the other hand, you will have to anticipate the hot weather, because its visits, only in the summer, are already complete for 2022.

3The cider cellars

The Normans who grew up in the countryside, with ancestors who produced apple alcohol, know this well: it is cool in the cellars, near barrels and bottles. Some of these cellars can be visited, at the cider and calvados producers. The Pays d’auge is full of distilleries ready to open their doors to you, especially along the the cider route and its twenty producers. However, in case of severe heat, we strongly advise you to give preference to apple juice over alcoholic beverages.

The regional health agency (ARS) has set up its heatwave info service toll-free number, 0 800 06 66 66, a toll-free number for advice during this period of high heat.

It is a religious building dating back to the Romanesque period », Gaël Carré, from the archaeological service of the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (Drac), summed up during the last review of the restorations of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church.

On Friday, June 17, it is the archaeologist researcher at Archeodunum, Jean-Baptiste Vincent, who will present to the public the archaeological study of the building that he has carried out. According to him, it is the only medieval church in the whole of Normandy that preserves ancient masonry dated to this day ». For him, the discovery was possible because an integral stitching of the plasters of the masonry was carried out before repair, we carried out a reliable dating (II^e – IV^e century) thanks to the analysis of the pieces of wood used for the construction of the walls.

Jean-Baptiste Vincent, whose research is carried out over a wide great West, believes it is quite rare in the life of an archaeologist to find an architectural ensemble, of which so many periods of construction can be defined, from antiquity to the XVIII^e century. From a chronological point of view, it is an open book.

Friday, June 17, at 18 p.m., presentation of the archaeological study of the church. Conviviality room 56, rue du Général-de-Gaulle. Free entrance.

Several churches are still waiting for regional subsidies or are promised for sale, or even condemned to demolition. The fate of the Church of Our Lady of the Holy Sepulchre,…