The history of Laval Dieu begins in this place formerly called “la Bouche de Semoy” when the Archbishop of Reims, Hincmar, had a chapel built in 867, that was dedicated to Saint Rémy and entrusted it to the secular canons from the Braux Collegiate Church with a view to evangelising the region. Twelve canons from Prémontré arrived in the month of June 1128, at the beginning of the Semoy Valley which then became for evermore the “Vallis Dei”, the Vallée de Dieu, Laval-Dieu. Right from the moment it was founded Laval Dieu Abbey received as alms or in exchange for prayers, the inherited lands in Monthermé and further beyond in the neighbouring areas situated in the Empire, such as Auton wood in the Roc la Tour direction, owned by the Orchimont family. That is how Monthermé became an entity, a village, a seigneury whose lord of the manor was the Abbot of Laval Dieu. The inside of the church’s walls is entirely covered with oak panelling up to a height of 3.50 m that was installed in the early years of the 18th century.
References:The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).
The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.
The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.
The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.