Church of Notre-Dame d'Elan

Notre-Dame church is the former church of the Cistercian abbey of Élan, founded in 1148 by Witier, Count of Rethel, where several members of his family, including Hugues (died 1229) and Philippe de Bourgogne (died 1415), were buried. Although the duration of the work remains unknown, Manassès IV, Count of Rethel, was buried here in 1199. After destruction caused by the Thirty Years' War, a porch with two portals was rebuilt in 1720 under the abbot of Châteauneuf de Rochebonne. In 1840, an architect was commissioned to convert 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 nave, the porch and the apse, now used as a sacristy.
Excavations carried out in 1968 confirmed that the current church retains the first two bays of the abbey church, which originally measured 55 metres long by 24 metres wide. The church faces slightly north-east and has an elongated plan. The three-bay nave and choir form a single rectangular nave, followed by a semicircular apse. The timber-framed bell tower is located above the porch. The walls are of Dom-le-Mesnil ashlar, with chequered limestone and black marble floors. The west facade 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 has a slate roof.