Discovery tour of Basly

On 6 June 1944, Bud Hannam, a 19-year-old Canadian nurse with the Chaudière Regiment, went to treat soldiers and civilians in the school in Basly, which had been transformed into a military hospital. He stayed there for the whole summer. The former school, now a library, has been named after him since 5 June 2010.

The church originally belonged to the Abbey of Saint Wandrille, which was home to Benedictine monks. Typical Romanesque bell tower and porch dating back to the 12th century. The choir contains a precious wooden statue of Christ from the 13th century. The bell tower, destroyed by the bombings on 6th June 1944, was rebuilt two metres shorter than what it used to be.

In the garden, a statue of Serge Saint*. After a difficult period in his life, this artist settled in Basly. Self-taught, he threw himself wholeheartedly into sculpture, quickly expressing beauty (The boxwood hand), but also suffering (The headless bust, The weeping head, The hollow stone head). * The Serge Saint Sculpteur route will take you on a tour of some of his works: www.routes-serge-saint-sculpteur.net/

Originally, this building was probably the former farmhouse adjoining Basly Castle, which was burnt down during the Revolution. At the beginning of the 19th century, when the castle was rebuilt, the farm was surrounded by outbuildings. The manor farm is probably one of the oldest buildings in Basly. The farmhouse could be the wing of the old castle.

A remnant of local history in the 19th century, these were placed high up to be seen by carriage drivers on the roads, and are known as coachman's plates.

This charming village with its old buildings still bears the scars of the great events that took place here in 1944. The Canadian allied soldiers were here on June 6th in the early afternoon. After some fighting, Basly was liberated in the afternoon. 15 German soldiers were taken prisoner. At number 14 Route de Courseulles, you can still see the trace of a tank that damaged the wall while manoeuvring.

The history of the village was marked by the arrival of Swiss evangelists and Calvinists. The presence of Protestantism led to the construction of a temple in 1685, which was destroyed shortly after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The coexistence of the two religions led to the division of the population over the centuries. A former Protestant cemetery with a few graves is located on this communal heritage site.

This pond is home to the Accoucheur toad (Alyte). A small terrestrial toad that always lives near water, usually in small, more or less scattered colonies.