Heritage and Castles in the Laize Valley

Stone castle, typical architecture of the 16th century, is listed as a historical monument. A walled park with 120 hectare is connected with the castle. Inside, there is a source of mineral water.

The Jouette mill was a flour mill until 1945. Before the Revolution, the population were obliged to grind their grain at the common mill belonging to the nobles and the monks, in exchange for royalties. It supplied the local bakeries before being challenged by the large flour mills of Caen after the First World War. Private, closed to the public.

It is the last remain of the tannery industrie in the valley of Laize. It was built by Auguste Lefèvre in 1880 and operated until 1910. The mill has been restaurated by the association called Val de la Laize.

The castle known as Mademoiselle de la Gournerie, which can be seen on the left at the end of an alley of lime trees, is a classified site. This castle was built between 1760 and 1770 by the Harel family (originally from Cinglais and ennobled by Louis XIV). Private, closed to the public.

The castle of Bretteville was built in 1768 by Thomas Elie. 15 years late, he let built a cattage in an area of water an meadow. Some rebuildings were realised like wide avenues lined by limes, a reflecting pool and an English garden behind the estate.

Located between Caen and Falaise, the Urville-Langannerie Polish War Cemetery is home to the graves of 615 Polish soldiers. Inaugurated in October 1946, the cemetery is the last resting place of the soldiers and officers killed in the combat to liberate France. Most of them belonged to General Maczek's 1st Polish Armoured Division. This Polish War Cemetery is among seven foreign military cemeteries located in France and managed by the French State. The ONAC (French national office for veterans and war victims), in charge of maintaining and promoting the site since 2011, recently developed a "tourist" brochure in order to highlight this heritage site.

Seigniorial manor of the 14th century.

Rebuilt on or near a chapel, destroyed in the late 18th century and bearing the same name, this church, referred to as the Saint-Jean-de-Malpas Chapel is of Neo-Gothic construction. Its long single nave configuration earned it the name of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes (Our Lady of Lourdes) in the early 20th century.

At the Mathias quarry, a geological spectacle takes us back over 500 million years. From top to bottom, a series of geological events unfold on this beautiful face. Only geologists have the keys to translate them: here we discover marine sediments deposited on the root of an ancient, much older mountain, covering an even older one. When several geological histories are superimposed on the same site, we speak of an unconformity. In this case, there are two, and geologists refer to them as the "Laize-la-Ville double unconformity". As a result of this history, this site is a world-renowned geological landmark, known in most of the world's universities. Open to the public. If you come to the site by car, park in the parking lot opposite the town hall, which is a 500 m walk from the site.