Cléry-Saint-André, located about 18 kilometers (11 miles) southwest of Orléans (map) on the left bank of the Loire, is a small village of 3,300 inhabitants and one very large basiica.

You can see the basilica from a distance as you approach Cléry-Saint-André.

The Basilica Notre-Dame de Cléry dates from the 15th century and is cited as an example of flamboyant Gothic architecture. We came looking for it after hearing of it in the children's song, "Orléans, Beaugency, Notre-Dame de Cléry, Vendôme, Vendôme." This song commemorates and celebrates the few places that were loyal to the Dauphin Charles, later Charles VII, after the Treaty of Troyes, in which the English took over most of France. More...

Visible from a distance, the basilica dominates the village. The large square tower is all that remains of the original church, dating from the 14th century. The basilica was rebuilt after the wars of religion in the 16th century, when it was partially destroyed.

King Charles VII and the Count of Dunois were instrumental in building the church, but it was King Louis XI who was its principal supporter. On Assumption Day, August 15, 1443, Louis, Charles VII, and the Count of Dunois were ordered to assault the British at Dieppe, in Normandy. According to the story, Louis XI swore to build a church in Cléry if the Virgin Mary would help him win the battle. Legend tells us that the English surrended within an hour.

Louis XI did not live to see the basilica completed, but he is buried in the church, along with his wife, Charlotte de Savoie. In fact, you can see not only his white marble tomb, but also the skulls of Louis and Charlotte! (The church also houses the heart of Charles VIII.)

One is Louis XI, one Charlotte de Savoie, but which is which?

Joan of Arc came to Cléry twice, in April and June of 1429, en route to Orléans and after her success there on her way to Meung-sur-Loire, where she led an attack on the fortified bridge, claiming it for the French and thwarting the English plans to cross the Loire. At that time, she would only have seen the tower of the basilica, sitting amidst a large pile of rubble left from the English battles.

More recenty, a statue of Joan of Arc was erected in the basilica, commemorating her visits to Cléry.

So after visiting Orléans, Beaugency, and Notre-Dame de Cléry, the last stop to complete the song is Vendôme.

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