This peaceful and preserved village located 10 km from Fontenay-Trésigny has barely 800 inhabitants. While having retained its rural character, it is appreciated for its living environment. Its rich natural and historical heritage gives it a remarkable cachet. Made up of wooded areas, natural and agricultural areas, the town of Bernay-Vilbert is crossed by many footpaths and many rivers, including the Yerres River. Its inhabitants are called 'Bernéens-Vilbertiens' and 'Bernéennes-Vilbertiennes', which, we have to admit, is rather long to write! Attached to the crown of France in 1361 to ensure the defense of this border area, Bernay and Vilbert had been doted with castles in the 12th century. The one in Vilbert was destroyed in the 16th century, the one in Bernay in the 19th century. In the middle of the 14th century, the lord of Fontenay, Jean Le Mercier, an influential person, acquired as Grand Treasurer of France and minister of King Charles VI, the lordship of Vilbert. In 1395, Jean le Mercier sold his lordship to the lord of Bernay. It passed through several hands to find itself in the 18th century in the family of the Dukes of Crillon. It was then bought by the chancellor d'Aguesseau, minister of King Louis XV, who passed it on to his son-in-law, the duke of Ayen, father-in-law of Lafayette. After this long history of neighbourhood and alliance, it was not until 1972 that the villages of Bernay-en-Brie and Vilbert were associated to form the commune of Bernay-Vilbert. This one has developed an agriculture around the cereal culture still alive today and to a lesser extent of the breeding. In the village of Bernay, there is a magnificent Romanesque church of Stain-Pierre (13th century). Vilbert, for its part, is home to the beautiful church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Vilbert which was built during the 15th century.At the start of the church in Bernay-en-Brie, a beautiful rural route which is part of the "Randonner au cœur de la Brie" (hiking through the heart of the Brie region) network runs for 17 km (5.5 hours walk), passing through Vilbert, Courtomer and Courpalays. On this route, you will walk along the banks of Yerres River, passing farms, fields, woods and a castle....
