Montenay: Heritage and Landscapes

Montenay offers a variety of starting points for a stay: a prehistoric stone monument, architectural heritage from several periods, and landscapes along the Ernée Valley. There is also a pond designated for fishing and walking, as well as the program at Café-Concert Le Décibel. If you are looking for a hotel in Montenay, you can first plan your trip around a theme: local history, landscape, or cultural offerings.

Heritage and Architectural History

There are outcrops of Armorican sandstone in the Mayenne Forest. The Polissoir La Pierre Saint-Guillaume is classified as a historic monument; the classification took place on December 31, 1889. It lies south of the hamlet of La Berthelière, east of the commune of Montenay, along a local road. You can discover the polissoir in the hamlet of La Berthelière along Route 9 L’Oscence. The Neolithic period refers to when the stone monument was created; 1889, by contrast, marks its later classification.

The Maison du Chapître is a preserved part of a former Augustinian monastery dating from the 16th century. Its architectural features include a doorway with molded frames and decorated window surrounds. The moldings articulate the door frames, while the window surrounds have their own decorative details. These specific design features complement the history of the monastery building. Montenay church was built from 1875 to 1879 and consecrated in 1880. Its consecration thus took place the year after construction ended. The monastery remnant and the later church represent two distinct building phases. Together, they span a chronology from the Neolithic period through the 16th century to the late 19th century.

Valleys and Landscapes

Route 9 L’Oscence descends into the Ernée Valley, where there are slate outcrops and shade-loving valley flora. The route also includes the path from Aunay and a small road toward Château de la Bas-Maignée. The Ernée Valley between Monthéreux and Gué Guerin is associated with a former mill. This brings together different points of interest under the valley theme: the landscape features along the route and the historic mill connection in the section named.

Pierre Montpinçon is a hill formed by large boulders, on a pine-covered rise overlooking the Perche Valley in the Mayenne Forest. In contrast to the Ernée Valley, this is a rise with boulders and pines, as opposed to the valley landscape with slate outcrops and shade-loving flora.

Activities and Cultural Offerings

Fishing and walking are available at the Montenay pond. Café-Concert Le Décibel presents a program featuring local talent and international groups. The Médiathèque L’Oscence in Montenay is part of the Communauté de communes de l’Ernée reading network. Through this network, books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, and video-on-demand services are available free of charge. The offerings therefore vary in type: activities at the pond, a cultural program, and access to media through the reading network.

Discover more destinations: Pontmain, Préaux, Daon, Port-Brillet, Sainte-Suzanne, Meslay-Du-Maine, Lassay-les-Châteaux, Désertines

Return to the main travel overview: Mayenne.