Apremont Things to Do

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Although we were quite early when we first arrived at the Apremont Church we were already allowed to enter it. A huge advantage of our early arrival was the fact that there were almost no tourists at that time. Either the bus / coach did not arrive yet or everybody was still having breakfast at their hotels. Whenever we visit a church or cathedral the kids always want to burn a candle, it has become a bit of a tradition. The sight of burning votive candles - real or electronic - is common in most Catholic cathedrals. The candles are usually placed before statues of saints or at shrines. But how did this tradition get its start?

According to A Handbook of Catholic Sacramentals, by Ann Ball, the practice of lighting candles in order to obtain some favor probably has its origins in the custom of burning lights at the tombs of the martyrs in the catacombs. The lights burned as a sign of solidarity with Christians still on earth. Because the lights continually burned as a silent vigil, they became known as vigil lights. Vigil Lights (from the Latin vigilia, which means "waiting" or "watching") are traditionally accompanied by prayers of attention or waiting. Another common type of candle offering is the votive light. Such an offering is indicative of seeking some favor from the Lord or the saint before which the votive is placed. So for us lighting a candle is a way of extending our prayer and showing solidarity with the person on whose behalf our prayer is offered.

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Our main goal on visiting the little village of Apremont was to see the Château. Its magnificent towers of this Apremont castle stand up proudly over a lovely and picturesque small town. Built on a rocky mound at the place of an ancient medieval fortress, the Renaissance castle overlooks the entire valley and its gardens are particularly pleasant. But when we were at the Château d’Apremont we also had a magnificent view at the Church of St. Martins. In advance we didn’t know that there was such a beautiful church in Apremont. But make no mistake about it … right at that point we had our mind set at visiting this church as well.

We left the Chateau via the main gate and followed our way by foot to the Rue Louis XIII (street). While we were hiking we passed the village centre and saw some impressive mansions as well as quaint cottages. Finally we arrived at the steep steps carved into the rock face near the bridge lead up to the church with houses built into the cliffs. It was time to climb the huge stairs and make the last piece of walk towards the main entrance of the Church of St. Martins. Off we went!

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The pic show you how the canal across the Allier river in Gimouille. Of course it is an old story now and only the holliday boats use it because the little size os the canal.The bridge from 1838 is 343 m long; This is the point where we live de Bourgogne and enter in the Berry. ( from the Nievre to the Cher departement)

Before you come into the town, on about 1 km there is a stange construction: A round foodgate.
Last century the boats go from the canal into the allier river. There are any boards to explain it in different laguages.

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We left Nevers along the loire but on 1 hour walk we leave the Loire for the Allier. Both river go on together to the atlantic ocean . Did you know that the Loire is the longest river of France.