Leffonds is a commune in the Haute-Marne, in Grand-Est region, 20 km south of Chaumont.
Its vast territory of 36 square kilometers belongs to the Plateau natural region of Langres, known for its forested valleys qu'entaillent assigned to agriculture, but also its rich hydrography (the Seine and the Meuse there are source).
Crossing herself by being Suize, the Poisel and Sointures, and from a course more recently by the A5, which connects the Ile-de-France to the axis Luxembourg-Beaune (A31) the town appears in the tenth century with the route of the Via Francigena ("way of the French") by which the pilgrims join Rome from Canterbury, Calais, Arras and Reims... Here, in this area, this road again the route of a Roman road. In the twelfth century, 4 km northwest of the present village, on the site of Mormant, a hospitable house is built to accommodate the pilgrims. It will become an abbey whose activity will decline, however, long before the Revolution.
The remains of this area, and particularly green environment Leffonds remain the assets of the resort, which now has about 350 inhabitants (we numbered more than 800 in the nineteenth). A step of interest for ecotourism lovers!
On the same village, the Saint-Denis church reveals the major heritage site. The construction of the gatehouse in 1828 preceded the rest of the building in the 1850 All reports to the neo-Gothic style, according to a plan made up of three naves of three bays, a projecting transept with chapels oriented, and a chorus surrounded by an ambulatory. The set is vaulted warheads. Slates cover the tower, which crowns the tower, while the tiles were used for the rest of the church. Note finally noble materials: gatehouse, pillars, buttresses and windows frames are in stone.
If remains of houses and farmhouses of charming appearance in the small town, it is then the site of Mormant need to go to discover the remains of the ancient abbey.
His story begins at the dawn of the twelfth century with the creation of a shelter for pilgrims, managed primarily by Augustinian monks and the twelfth for some time by Templar and finally by the Hospitallers.
At its peak in the fifteenth century, the abbey has a hotel and hospital, a tithe barn of two levels (upstairs houses the monks and the ground floor, are stored taxes collected in kind), a strong house a church, the whole being surrounded by ramparts.
The Hospitallers were de facto gradually transformed the abbey in more agricultural center in hospital dedicated to pilgrims.
Although less prosperous, the set is dismantled in the eighteenth century, before the Revolution. After this, there remains one hand that God's House which was transformed into a barn. The ground floor reveals a large vaulted room with three ships of three sections. Note capitals decorated St. Jacques shells, leaves and carved fruit... Upstairs, there are still the old religious cells and a sixteenth century fresco depicting the Lamentation of Christ (which is the 13th station of the cross, when Jesus down from the cross and his body handed over to his mother). On the other hand, is still visible the hospital-hospice, originally formed from two vessels vaulted barrel on the entire first level.
Moreover, the remains of the city wall and the commander of the vault can also be observed.
The entire site of the old abbey is protected as historical monuments. An association created in 1982 has laid a trail and occasionally, organizes guided tours. Information +33 6 15 36 48 94.
The countryside around the ancient abbey, forest areas of the territory and the banks of small rivers can lead to scenic hiking in the distinctive landscape of the Plateau of Langres. Maps and information +33 3 25 87 67 67.
One can also enjoy a step Leffonds to play a game of tennis (the courts were renovated). Information +33 6 83 42 36 73.
