Priory of Notre-Dame du Val des Nymphes
Vallis Nympharum / Vallem Nimfarum
(La Garde-Adhémar, Drôme)
The Benedictine priory of Le Val des Nymphes was established on a site believed to have been occupied since antiquity. Although there is no firm evidence to confirm this, the place name and some scattered remains appear to support the hypothesis. What can be stated with certainty is that a necropolis was established here, dated to the early Middle Ages.
On this same site, three churches were built, very close to one another: Saint-Martin, Saint-Romain, and this church of Notre-Dame, which served as the seat of the priory. Very little is known about the monastic house; its foundation is thought to have taken place sometime between the late ninth century, when it did not yet exist, and the year 1059, when Henry I, King of the Franks, granted it to the Abbey of Saint-Philibert de Tournus (Saône-et-Loire), together with the Abbey of Donzère (Drôme), now almost entirely disappeared. In 1119, a bull of Pope Callixtus II mentions it among the possessions of Tournus.
The church of Notre-Dame must date, at least, from this early phase, but it was rebuilt probably between 1160 and 1170. As for the other two churches, of which only a few remains survive, it has been suggested that Saint-Martin was contemporary with Notre-Dame and fulfilled parochial functions, while Saint-Romain may have had a funerary role, although these functions could have changed over time. Between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the surrounding population gradually moved to La Garde, where the monks themselves also maintained a residence. The priory then entered a period of decline, and the monastic community gradually disappeared, while the church of Notre-Dame lost much of its original function, until the priory was suppressed in 1540.
The church of Notre-Dame is a building with distinctive features, marked by the influence of Roman-period architecture. The lower part of the western façade, with its portal, is built of irregular stone blocks, while the upper section is organised into three blind arches separated by two pilasters. An oculus opens at the centre, with a pediment above. The masonry of this upper part consists of well-dressed stonework. It is a single-nave church divided into three bays, with a central apse decorated with arcading separated by columns with capitals, arranged on two levels. The structure is reinforced by buttresses that ensure its stability.
Spring and canalization
Spring and canalization
Spring and canalization
Roman cippus found in Le Val des Nymphes
Now in the church of Saint-Michel in La Garde-Adhémar
Photo by Palauenc05, on Wikimedia
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Le Val des Nymphes and the church of Notre-Dame are located to the east of La Garde-Adhémar, the municipality to which they belong