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Origin and history

The Saint-Lyé church of Saint-Lyé-la-Forêt consists of two distinct parts: a north side of Romanesque origin (late 11th century), which remains the north wall and the two-storey square bell tower, and a Gothic nave added at the end of the 15th or early 16th century. This nave, larger and higher, is closed to the west by a facade pierced by a broken arched door and to the east by a three-pane choir lit with five windows. The asymmetry of the building, with a single lower side to the north, creates a remarkable visual balance, reinforced by vaults replacing an old panel in 1898.

The church houses a rich and well-preserved furniture, including a white marble altar, statues dedicated to Saint Joseph, the Virgin Mary and Saint Lyé, as well as a shawl containing the relics of the latter, a hermit of the forest of Orléans whose cult dates back to the tenth century. The relics, after being transferred to Pithiviers and burned by the Calvinists, were brought back to Saint-Lyé in 1664. Every year, a pilgrimage takes place on Pentecost Monday in honour of the saint. The stained glass windows of the choir illustrate episodes of Christ's life, while funeral plaques, such as that of Peter Liegat (1733), recall local history.

The village of Saint-Lyé-la-Forêt developed on an ancient site of the Orléans-Paris route, occupied from the 1st century AD until the Lower Empire. Legend has it that Simon de Bombelle, having saved Saint Louis during the Crusades, received in 1273 the Barony of the Mothe-Saint-Lyé, who remained in his family for three centuries. This history is linked to the Château de la Mothe, a 16th-century mansion rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries, inscribed with historical monuments in 1968. The church, for its part, underwent several renovations, notably in 1898 (voûts), 1990 (sacristy), and 1995 (roof and box).

Saint-Lyé-la-Forêt, a rural commune in Loiret in the Centre-Val de Loire region, has 1,257 inhabitants in 2023. Its architectural heritage, marked by the church and the castle of the Mothe, is part of a territory with varied landscapes, between forests, arable land and karst areas. The commune, crossed by the A19 motorway and the departmental roads, is part of the area of attraction of Orléans and retains an identity linked to its medieval history and the veneration of Saint Lyé, local patron saint.

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