The Village of Courgis

The small village of Courgis is located just near Chablis. The village is built on the northern side of one covered slope of vines. This vineyard, of approximately 325 ha, produces wines called Chablis Premiers Crus and famous Chablis wines

Panoramic vue of the village of Courgis, beside Chablis

This village, formerly encircled by fortified walls with ditches, has preserved its old and picturesque aspect. Its narrow streets, its old houses surrounding the new castle and the church of the Assomption-de-Notre-Dame, from the XIIIe and XVIe centuries, are always wedged in by the covered way.

At the time of the Wars of religion, the lord of Courgis, Synadoch de Boulainvilliers, known as Besoncourt, was one of the principal chiefs of the Protestant troops. In 1568, he took part in the Chablis attack. Huguenots burned the Saint-Pierre suburb as well as the village of Préhy.

It is said that the Sainte Épine de Courgis was brought back directly from Jerusalem by the crusades. Initially deposited in tGirondelles Castle in the Ardennes by Godefroy de Bouillon, it was brought to Courgis by Edmée de Geresmes, lady of Girondelles, heiress of Courgis Castle, who hoped to protect it from too many invasions in the Ardennes.

She made a gift of the Holy Relic to abbot Nicolas Chaumard then priest of the village in 1633. Denounced to the officiality of Auxerre, its authticity was questioned and the committee concluded the authenticity of the Courgis relic.

Miracles had even taken place.

Nowadays, the worship continues each year the last Sunday before the Assumption.

Courgis is proud to have received, in the years around 1750, the famous writer Restif de la Bretonne.

  
Sainte Épine of Courgis                     Village of Courgis                          Table d’orientation

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