Froville offers a rich cultural focus: the Église Notre-Dame et prieuré brings together architectural history from the 11th to the 16th century, remains of the cloister have been preserved alongside it, and the Jardin d’Harmonies adds a seasonal garden to the site. There is also an annual festival of sacred and baroque music. Two questions can therefore help with planning your trip: would you mainly like to explore the architecture and historical details, or would you also like your travel dates to include the garden and music festival?
Church and Priory: Several Building Phases
The main building phases of the Église Notre-Dame et prieuré date from the 11th, 15th and 16th centuries. The church’s Gothic choir dates to the 14th century; the surviving remains of the cloister date to the 15th century and are located beside the church. The building history therefore includes several clearly distinct periods. Parts of the Église Notre-Dame et prieuré are listed as a Monument historique, while other parts are classified as a Monument historique.
The history of the cloister extends beyond Froville: some of its western arcades are on display at The Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In Froville, the remains of the cloister, built in the 15th century, have also been preserved. The church also contains two tombstones; one of them bears the year 1551. This date refers to that tombstone, not to both.
Jardin d’Harmonies: Garden and Plants
The Jardin d’Harmonies adjoins the church dating from the 11th century and the cloister dating from the 15th century. It is open from spring to autumn. The garden preserves two-hundred-year-old box trees; its roses include numerous English roses, old roses and so-called new old roses. The plants are labelled with their common and Latin names. If you are interested in the plants, you can use these labels as a guide during your walk, rather than classifying the roses by category alone.
The garden thus adds a different kind of interest to your trip planning than the architectural history of the priory. Its opening period is seasonal, not year-round. If you want the garden to be part of your stay, coordinate your travel dates with its stated opening period from spring to autumn. This lets you include the garden as a separate focus without equating it with the historical building phases, which are described without seasonal limits.
Planning for the Music Festival and Visits
The Festival de musique sacrée et baroque de Froville takes place every year between May and September. Together with the garden’s seasonal opening, this makes your choice of travel dates especially relevant: the garden is open from spring to autumn, while the festival usually runs between May and September. For a specific year, check the exact festival dates and garden opening hours in advance; the period given does not specify a particular event date.
Guided tours and educational visits of the Prieuré de Froville are available on request. If you would like to include such a visit, you will need to make an enquiry as part of your planning. When looking for holiday accommodation, you can first decide whether you want your stay to focus more on the architectural history, the garden or the festival. You can then compare your preferred travel dates with the seasonal details and the festival period, without assuming anything about a particular accommodation or its amenities.
Froville therefore offers three different points of interest for a stay: the building phases of the church and priory, the plant life of the Jardin d’Harmonies and an annual music festival. The arrangements differ: the garden is open seasonally, guided tours and educational visits are available on request, and the festival takes place between May and September. This information gives you a basis for choosing the focus of your trip and a suitable time to visit.
Discover more destinations: Pierre-Percée, Favières, Moncel-Lès-Lunéville, Méréville, Saint-Maurice-Aux-Forges, Flirey, Longwy, Jarny.
For the main travel overview: Meurthe-Et-Moselle.
