France: Center,
South-West, and South (April 2022) -- Part 1/2
Etampes
(Essonne department):
Etampes is a small town located some 50km south-west of Paris.
Church of Notre-Dame-du-Fort. It was founded in the 11th century, extended in the 12th, and
fortified in the early 13th.
- Church's bell tower and south facade.
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- South portal. All the statues adorning the portal were beheaded,
probably during the Religious Wars (16th century).
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- Church's interior.
- Entrance of the sacristy.
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- Stone carvings, some unusual, dotting the church's interior.
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Bourges
(Cher department):
The city of Bourges is more than 2000 years old. It was the capital
of the province of Aquitaine at the end of the Roman Empire and, later, of the
Kingdom of France under the reign of Charles VII (1403-1461) during the Hundred
Years War.
Mill on the Auron river.
In the Bourbonnoux street.
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Towers of the Gallo-Roman fortification walls. (The much-remodeled
towers in the right and center photos were incorporated into the eastern facade
of the Jacques Coeur's palace built in the mid-15th century. See below.)
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Jacques Coeur's palace. Jacques Coeur (1395-1456) was a high state
official under King Charles VII and a state-sponsored merchant. The huge
personal fortune he amassed through these two activities led to his disgrace in
1451. He was imprisoned at the time the construction of the palace was
completed in 1453. Although he eventually managed to escape, he spent the rest
of his life in exile and died on the island of Chios. So, he never lived in his
palace.
- Facade of the palace seen from the courtyard.
- Large fireplace in the palace's feast room, intended to serve as
a reception hall.
- Section of a decorative stone frieze above the fireplace.
Cathedral Saint-Etienne. This Gothic cathedral was built between
1195 and 1230 on top of an earlier Romanesque church. It measures 118 meters in
length and its nave is 37 meters high and 41 meters wide. It features a large
ensemble of 15th and 16th-century stained-glass windows.
- West facade, the cathedral's main entrance.
- Tympanum of the west facade's
central portal, depicting the last judgment by God.
- Left: North tower. Right: Spires and flying buttresses.
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- Flying buttresses on the north side of the cathedral.
- Chevet (exterior of the apse) at the eastern end of the cathedral,
with a ring of radiating chapels.
- Interior of the cathedral. The pillars and the vaults of the
nave are 21 meters and 37 meters high, respectively.
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[Rightmost photo: Lower collateral aisle on the northern side of
the nave.]
- Some of the 15th and 16th-century stained-glass windows.
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- Close-ups on two stained glasses in the windows shown in the
middle and right photos above.
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- Left: Entrance of the so-called crypt, actually the remain of
the former Romanesque church, on top of which the cathedral's choir was built.
Right: Corridor leading to the crypt.
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- Small sculptures adorning the corridor to the crypt.
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- Gisant (lifelike recumbent effigy) of
Duke Jean de Berry (1340-1416), brother of King Charles V, in the crypt.
This sculpture originally covered the duke's tomb, now lost. It is finely
carved in white marble, with pieces of black stones encrusted. The second photo
below shows a statue the duke's first wife, Jeanne d'Armagnac, praying next to
the gisant.
- Muzzled bear at the feet of the duke's gisant.
- Piece of the cathedral's original choir screen (13th century)
stored in the crypt. It represents the legionnaire Longinus piercing the right
side of Christ with his spear. (The cathedral's choir screen was damaged in
1562 during the Wars of Religion and destroyed in 1757 during the
reconstruction of the choir. Only a few pieces of the original screen remain
today.)
- Polychrome sculptural group (mid-16th century) in the crypt,
depicting the entombment of Christ.
Argenton-sur-Creuse (Indre department):
This small town features picturesque old houses on both sides of
the Creuse river next to the Pont-Vieux (old bridge).
Colorful houses on the right bank of the Creuse, seen from
Pont-Vieux.
Houses on the left bank of the Creuse.
Houses on the left bank of the Creuse and Pont-Vieux.
Old mill on the Creuse.
Other views of the Creuse.
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Boussac
(Creuse department)
Boussac castle sitting on an outcrop overlooking the Creuse river.
Built in the 12th century, this castle was ruined during the Hundred Years War,
re-built in the 15th century, damaged during the French Revolution, then
restored again. The castle had been the property of Jean de Brosse (1375-1433),
who fought the English alongside Joan of Arc and attempted to rescue her before
she was burned in Rouen in 1431. He had been made Marshal of France in 1426 by
King Charles VII. Because of his debts at the time of his death (in Boussac),
his creditors threatened to have him excommunicated postmortem and his remains
dispersed. However, Charles VII paid off his debts. In more recent times,
writer George Sand visited the castle several times.
Lavaufranche
(Creuse department):
Commanderie Templiere (Templar Commandery) founded in the 12th
century. It was an establishment of the Hospitalier Order of Jerusalem in the
region.
Toulx-Sainte-Croix (Creuse department):
Settled more than 2000 years ago by Gauls, this village was later
occupied by the Romans. In the 3rd century it was Christianized by Saint
Martial.
Romanesque church (11th century) dedicated to Saint Martial. The
separation of the nave and the large bell tower is unusual. It might be the
result of an early collapse of intermediate spans of the original building.
- View of the church.
- Exterior view of the nave.
- The nave's colorful interior contrasts with its austere
exterior.
- Other views of the bell tower, with its pointed roof.
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Trapezoidal limestone sarcophagi dating from the 7th century excavated
near the village and stored in the bell tower.
Moutier
d'Ahun (Creuse department):
Medieval bridge (11th century) over the Creuse river, with the
small village of Moutier d'Ahun, visible on the left side of the photo.
Old houses of Moutier d'Ahun seen from the bridge.
Romanesque church, which was part of a Benedictine monastery
founded in 997. The church is now best known for its unusual 17th-century
Baroque woodwork representing imaginary characters and animals.
- View of the church.
- Woodwork inside the church.
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- Left: Stone sculpture in the facade of the church. Center and
right: 13th-century polychromatic stone sculptures inside the church, representing
Saint Benoit and Saint Antoine.
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