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Orval (Municipality, Cher, France)

by Arnaud Leroy

Presentation of Orval
Municipal flag of Orval

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Presentation of Orval

Orval (2,300 inhabitants; 765 ha) is a small city located in the center of France, east of the bigger city of Saint-Amand-Montrond.

Remains from the late Age of Bronze have been found in Orval, as well as the remains of a Gallo-Roman agricultural estate (villa) or maybe a temple and a potter's oven.
In the Middle Ages, Orval belonged to the abbey of Déols, a Benedictine abbey founded in 917 by Ebbes le Noble and consecrated in 1107 by Pope Pascal II. The abbey of Déols was so wealthy that it was nicknamed "St. Peter's lifeblood". It disappeared in the XVIth century.
Later, Orval was the capital city of a domain that encompassed more or less the south of the today's department of Cher, and belonged to famous noble families such as Sully, Albret, Gonzague and Condé. The castle of Orval was trashed during the Hundred Years' War. Afterwards, the famous Orval fairs were transfered to the neighbouring city of Saint-Amand-Montrond, where they kept their original name (foires d'Orval) and still take place in automn.

The main historical building in Orval is the Saint Hilaire's church, built in the XIIth century, mostly known for its reliquary cross from XIIIth century (croix d'Orval). The cross is said to have been offered to Henri II de Sully, Lord of Orval, by King of France Saint-Louis (Louis IX). It was stolen in the XVIth century and given back to the parish of Orval in 1575. In the XVIIth centur