Tour Notre-Dame-du-Val, Tower in Provins, France
The Tour Notre-Dame-du-Val is a stone tower in Provins, France. It has a square base with an arched passage, an octagonal section with louvered openings, a clock, and a slate roof topped by a lantern and cross.
Built in the 16th century, the tower is the last remaining piece of the Notre-Dame-du-Val collegiate church, which was destroyed during the French Revolution. It was classified as a historical monument in 1905.
The tower now holds the bells of the nearby Saint-Ayoul church, and its clock marks time for the neighborhood. Its name comes from the collegiate church that once stood here, and locals pass by it daily on their way through the lower town.
The tower stands at the corner of Rue Notre-Dame and Rue Vieille-Notre-Dame in the lower town, near the Saint-Ayoul church. You can see it from the street; there is no interior access, but the surrounding area is easy to walk.
The lantern at the top of the tower has been leaning slightly to the southeast for decades, and recent maintenance revealed a rotten wooden post. A small iron rooster also sits atop the cross, often unnoticed by passersby.
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