Église Notre-Dame d'Elan

The Church of Notre-Dame is the former church of the Cistercian abbey of Élan, founded in 1148 by Witier, Count of Rethel, where several members of his family, such as Hugues (died 1229) and Philippe de Bourgogne (died 1415), were buried. Although the duration of the work remains unknown, Manasses IV, Count of Rethel, was buried there in 1199. After destruction due to the Thirty Years' War, a porch with two portals was rebuilt in 1720 under the abbacy of the abbot of Châteauneuf de Rochebonne. In 1840, an architect was commissioned to transform part of the abbey church into a parish church, while the rest was sold. This led to the demolition of many elements, leaving only two bays of the nave, the porch and the apse, now used as a sacristy.

Excavations carried out in 1968 confirmed that the present church preserves the first two bays of the abbey church, which originally measured 55 metres long by 24 metres wide. The church, oriented slightly to the north-east, has an elongated plan. The three-bay nave and the choir form a single rectangular vessel, followed by a semicircular apse. The timber-framed bell tower is located above the porch. The walls are made of Dom-le-Mesnil ashlar, with floors in checkerboard limestone and black marble. The western façade ends in a gable with a classical portal, while a second portal at the entrance to the nave is also decorated with pilasters and a curved pediment. The entire building is covered in slate.