Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The chapel of the hermitage of Franchard, originally dedicated to Saint Alexis of Rome and then to the Virgin, finds its origins in the eleventh century with the attested presence of hermits. In the 12th century, the murder of two hermits (circa 1180 and between 1180-1194) marked its history before Guillaume, canon of Orleans, founded a monastery there around 1194. Under Philippe Auguste (1197), the site became a Trinitarian Priory dependent on Saint-Euverte Abbey of Orleans, with two religious in charge of praying for the king.

In the 13th century, the priory organized around a chapel, a convent building and a fountain, before being destroyed during the Hundred Years War (1354). Reconstructed in the 15th century, it fell into ruins and in the 17th and 18th centuries became a den of robbers after the monks left. In 1676 Louis XIV yielded the ruins to the Mathurins of Fontainebleau, who celebrated an annual Mass at Pentecost, attracting pilgrims and visitors despite his dangerous isolation.

The site was finally abandoned after a decision of the Council of Regency in 1717 ordering its demolition, following repeated murders. Today, there is only a section of the wall, which was listed as historical monuments in 1926. The Ermitian fountain, renowned for its healing virtues, and the 18th-century forest house recall its past. Writers such as Flaubert, George Sand or Musset immortalized this mysterious place in their works.

The initial architecture included a chapel, a convent and a enclosure, centered around the fountain of the Ermites, described in 1169 for its reddish waters with supposed healing powers. The priory, linked to the order of the Trinitaries, illustrates medieval anachoretic life, between spirituality and insecurity, before falling into oblivion after centuries of decline and violence.

Among the notable characters, Guillaume (prieur circa 1194-1200) and Adèle de Champagne (mother of Philippe Auguste) marked his story. The painter Auguste Garondel was murdered there in 1626, while the Duchess of Montpensier evoked in 1661 a royal promenade followed by a fire in the gorges of Franchard. These stories contribute to the black legend of the site, between mysticism and banditry.

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