Travel Guide Crécy-La-Chapelle

Crécy-la-Chapelle is first and foremost a pretty village nestled in the greenery on either side of the Grand Morin and its "brassets" or river arms, which earned it a place to stay for many painters and the nickname "Little Venice of Brie". There were originally two villages, La Chapelle-sous-Crécy and Crécy-en-Brie, which were united in 1972. The town grew out of the tanneries of the 9th and 10th centuries, with the construction of a fortress flanked by towers on the marshes of the Grand Morin. Water became the main driving force behind trade, and tanners' houses sprang up. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the town was a major producer of hides, wool, cloth and wine, and traded in timber and livestock. Built on the island formed by the two arms of the mill, the château hosted many kings, from Philippe le Bel to Louis XII, as well as Joan of Arc, Catherine de Médicis, Henri IV and his favorite, Gabrielle d'Estrées. Even today, the vestiges of times gone by remain: the belfry, the washhouses and the old bridges, all the way to the superb 14th-century collegiate church. In the second half of the 19th century, Crécy attracted painters. Corot was one of the first, attracted by Francisque Châtelain. Others followed, happy to find themselves in the city of the Grand Morin painters: Toulouse-Lautrec, Denain, Alexandre Altmann, a painter of Ukrainian origin - decorated with the Legion of Honor and who donated 27 paintings to the town - Dunoyer de Segonzac..