Paris1972-Versailles2003

And getting back to my belle France, there is so much to see and do! I have as said, taken advantage of having family in the Nord dept 59 of the Hauts de France region to visit some nice towns far from me. This has been the case of these 3 which I am given life to an older post on the cities of  Albert, and Péronne. Of course on the monuments ,they have their separate posts in my blog. This will be on the now usual from me black and white series ,no pictures.

This is the case for me on the North of France, old Picardie, Somme, Pas-de-Calais, Nord departments old regions now all under the Hauts de France region.   Well, the oldest brother of my dear late wife Martine, lived around here, and much of the family on his wife’s side are all spread around. We have come visiting since 1990, and never stop,just happened the outings have been sporadic when it comes to tourism…. As often, I am reminder and now know, living and visiting are two different things. This is a vast area full of history and sadly some of WWI reminders.  I have written before on Albert ,and Péronne as well as mentioned some of the WWI grounds and memorials around here.    

Let me take you into Albert in the Somme Dept 80 of Hauts de France. Albert as well in dept Somme 80 of Hauts de France.130 km from Paris but only 45 km from family base. Albert is close to the autoroute A1 connecting Paris to Lille on exit 13 and 14 as well as a train station TER on the line Rouen to Lille.

A bit of history on Albert I like

The lordship of Encre belongs to the Counts of Saint Pol and later to the House of Clermont -Nesle in the 15C finally to the family of Humiéres in the 16C; being subjects in part to the abbey of Corbie until the 13C from which it is subject to the king of France. Nevertheless there is a charter from 1090 showing in favor of the abbey of Mont Saint Quentin and subject to the Castle of Péronne. The war against  Spain continues after the treaty of Westphalia in 1648, the Grand Condé passed on the services of the king of Spain Felipe IV and attack Albert  and later burned it in 1653. The peace treaty of the Pyrénées in 1659 puts an end to 24 years of war that gives the Artois to France and Albert stop being a frontier town even if totally ruined.

During the French revolution the town is in arms and took part in the Great Fear of  1793  or the reign of terror where the heads of Duke of Chartres, Duke of Orleans, citizen Philippe Egalité, and the last lord of Albert took its toll. During this period of terror, the mayor of Albert hides the statue of Notre Dame de Brebiéres in a barrel of salt and hide it in his store. The six bells in the Church and statues were transfered to a food storage in the city hall, while the archives of the hospital and Church were burned. By the WWI of 1914-1918 Albert was the theater of great battles ; in September 1914 the Battle of Albert in the run to the sea ; 1915 was heavily bombed  that destroyed almost all the belltower of the Church was hit but the golden Virgin stayed hanging; during the battle of the Somme in july-november 1916; during the battle of Kaiser spring 1918, the city was in ruins and occupied by German troops, in 1918, General Douglas Haig launch a counter offensive in Albert by August 21st; main trust of the offensive was carried forward by the British 3rd army and joined by the 2nd corps of the United States. Albert finally felled and liberated August 22nd.  In WWII Albert is occupied again by May 20 1940 and finally liberated September 1st 1944 with the help of the local police and national police who joint the Resistance against the SS nazi; by 22h the tanks and canons of the 2nd British army entered the town to finally liberated it.

Things to see in Albert

The wonderful Basilica of Notre Dame de Brébiéres built from 1885 to 1895 in neo byzantine style, and connects to the museum of WWI;  the city hall or Hôtel de ville d’Albert in the art deco style inspired from the flemish with vast dimentions in the square or Place Émile Leturcq.  The train station or Gare d’Albert built after WWI opened in 1925, in brick on top a bell tower. In the room of lost steps there is a suspended airplane Potez 36/14 built in the factory of Méaulte near Albert. The wonderful museum of the Somme 1916 or musée Somme 1916, (see post) an old underground museum that connects to the basilica, civil defense and life in the trenches during WWI. There is a nice museum of aeronatics and industry or the musée de l’Épopée de l’Industrie et de l’Aéronautique d’Albert , located in the business park of parc d’activités André-Liné, rue de l’Industrie leaving the city in direction Amiens facing the factory of  Bétrancourt. 

The Pays du Coquelicot tourist office on the Albert Cathedral and other things to see: https://www.tourisme-paysducoquelicot.com/la-basilique/

And ,I end my line at Péronne.  The train line was closed and the TGV too far so the best way is to come by car at Peronne. The city is close to the autoroute A1 Paris-Lille, A29 –Amiens-Saint Guentin and it is on the N17. It is about 145 km from Paris taking the A1.

A bit of history I like on Péronne.

There was heavy conflict here between the king of France, Louis XI and the Duke of Burgundy Charles the Fearless head of the Burgundian State. The Péronne area was a territory that belong to the duke of Burgundy since 1418 and was part of the lands disputed between the duchy and the kingdom from 1463 to 1477.  By the treaty of Péronne in 1641, the principality of Monaco gets out of the Spanish protectorate and becomes part of the crown of France, for a month the king Louis XIII stayed in Péronne as well as Cardinal Richelieu to formalize the agreement with Honoré II Grimaldi of Monaco. By the time of the French revolution, the people elect deputies that are against the French revolution. In June 1815 after some resistance the Napoleonic troops in Péronne surrendered to  General Wellington, and a few days later king Louis XVIII and the Tzar Alexander I passes by the town on their way to Paris.   By August 28 1914, the Germans come to Péronne and the city is abandoned by September 15 after the first Battle of the Marne. They come back to occupied in September 23 and hold on until March 1917 after the German retreat on the Hindenburg line. The city is again occupied by the Germans in August 1918 and practically destroyed the city. During WWII the city is occupied for most and finally liberated in September 1 1944 by the US Army; while the city is destroyed in 36% of its buildings.

Things to see in Péronne

The wonderful gate or Porte de Bretagne with interior and exterior building done in brick and stone linking the two rectangular buildings and a bridge still there today. This gate is an extention of those built between 1647 and 1652. You can still see the Royal bastion and a serie of defenses of the 17C; in the castle you still have the ruins of three towers.  By the end of the 12C king Philippe Auguste ordered built the four towers that you see today. It is inside the Castle that house King Louis XI for the meeting with Duke Charles the Fearless of Burgundy in 1468. The Donjon was destroyed during a siege in 1536; the castle was partially destroyed during WWI and then rebuilt.

St John the Baptist Church almost totally destroyed between 1914-1918 conflict and then partially during 1944 with a flamboyant gothic façade stay up during these periods. It has a portrait of the 17C entitled La bonne mort or the good death.  The city hall dates from 1293 with an original today bell tower; rebuilt in 1509 and repaired in 1536, the façade is decorated with salamanders sculpture with the symbol of the king François I dating from 1583. It has been renovated in the 18C.  The bailiff was on the side of the city hall on the Grand Place with a Renaissance façade. The main building has a gallery on the upper level that today houses the municipal library. The façade felled in 1701 and king Louis XIV had it renovated in 1704. In his honor there is a plaque announcing Nec pluribus impar in latin meaning not unequal to many, this is in the roof, destroyed during WWI and the building rebuilt to the identical details afterward. There are cemeteries for the British and Indians soldiers of WWI.

The Alfred Danicourt museum was initially located in the city hall founded in 1872 by the mayor Alfred Danicourt that had one of the best collection of gaulles moneys, antique jewelry, merovigian funeral furniture, weapons accessories and pre historic arms as well as beautiful paintings of the region from the 19C and 20C. It was the only museum destroyed and looted during the Wars,which lost 95% of its collection. The museum was reconstituted in 1955.  The Historial de la Grande Guerre (see post) or the historical of the First World War is located next to the old medieval castle, and even taken some parts of it. It is dedicated to the story of WWI, the new extentions were built in 1992 with a nice museographic display of the war from three points of view German, French ,and British. There are white stone on the building with arrows representing the military tombs. One room is dedicated to the strong waters or eaux-fortes of painter Otto Dix. Very much a must to visit, we love it.

The Haute Somme tourist office on things to see around and in Péronne: http://www.hautesomme-tourisme.com/en/plan-your-trip/what-to-do-/discover.html

An overall webpage to see the impact of WWI in Picardie 14-18, both in Albert and Péronne: http://www.picardie1418.com/

There you go folks , a bit on both,but all worth it for these wonderful towns of history, architecture, and beauty, pleasant trip by car is best me think but you know I am the road warrior lol! Hope you enjoy the introduction of Albert and Pérone, worth the detour indeed!

And remember, happy travels, good health ,and many cheers to all !!!

So let me take you back to Germany and the wonderful city of Koblenz. As said , I took the family to Germany and we had a blast in our road warrior campaign on its western part. Let me update for you and me, an introductory post on this nice city. I have several posts on the city in my blog, worth taking a look at them too. Hope you enjoy it as I.

Ok so, I am all nostalgic about my wonderful trips with my dear late wife , Martine. I do runs to Germany several times in the past, but business trips.  Then, once on a trip to Luxembourg city we went into Trier , great that is Germany. Then , we came back again to do the same trip. And finally, the family decided that we should go just to Germany and see more of it. So off we went renting a house in a little wine town just south of Trier. We use this as a base to visit several towns there. One that took us by surprise and we like it a lot (other than Trier) was Koblenz. And this town has so much history even combining both France and Germany we were pleasantly surprise and love it.

Koblenz or Coblence ( in French) is a town in the state of Rhineland Palatine , the name come from the confluence of two rivers the Rhine and the Moselle in the German corner or Deutsches Eck, the closest big city are Bonn at 60 km and Mayence at 90 km.  My visit here has been by car from Trier so the 602 ,then A1, B48 and finally the 9 roads or about 3 hrs.were the roads chosen. There is a train station of course,and close airports at Frankfort and Koln; as well as easy navigation by river. However, to us ,car is king and queen!

A bit of history I like (or rather lots of history I like).

The Mérovingian period after the end of the Western Roman Empire in the 5C, the city is taken by the Franks (same guys as France) that established a kingdom. Here comes the Carolingian period  When in 806 Charlemagne divides the empire between his sons and Koblenz is taken by Charles but he died soon after and by 814 is share by the sons of Louis the Fair. A dispute amongst his sons come to be that Charles the Bold inherits the city in 837. By 1018, emperor Henry II offers the kingdom to the archbishop of Trier and so Koblenz is part of the Prince States one of the seven that founded the Holy Roman Empire.  The maternal Uncle of king Louis XVI and his brothers host the Count of Artois and the city becomes the center of counter revolution to the French , they sent troops here and the coalition of Prince Wencelas is force to run and leave the territory ,two weeks later the city is taken by the French revolutionaries. The fortress of Ehrenbreitstein held longer until 1799 before surrendering. This event meant the end of the Prince States of Trier.

Many immigrants from France comes here running from the French revolution such as the Count of Artois (Charles X) and Count of Provence (Louis XVIII) , brothers of king Louis XVI . They planned from here a counter revolution with the help of neighboring kingdoms. A war starts and the French invade over the Rhine river in 1794. By 1795 Frederick William II of Prussia signed the treaty of Basel where he recognized the occupation of the left bank of the Rhine by the French, and name an administrator of the city into the French department of Rhin et Moselle. The treaty of Luneville in 1801 Koblenz is incorporating into the French Republic and becomes capital fo the department

The city received the visit of Napoleon I and his wife Josephine de Beauharnais in September 1804. The French becomes the language of the administration and the name of the town is Coblentz. The commander of the Russian army that took Koblenz in December 31 1813 was non other than Emmanuel Louis Marie Guignard de Saint Priest ,he had joined the Prince de Condé in 1792 and from 1793 was an officer in the Russian army; (opposing Napoleon) it is at this time that the name Schângel that means even today the persons born in Koblenz. According to the terms of the Congress of Vienna of 1815 the lands of the Prince State of Trier are integrated into the Province of the Rhine in the kingdom of Prussia.

At the end of the WWI in November 1918 the workers council and the soldiers come together at Koblenz but a month later the American troops conquered the town and  puts an end to the government of the Soviets . In 1923, the American military turn over the town to the French that on their turn leave the city in 1929.  In 1945 the Americans again occupied the city. Upon the accords of the Potsdam conference the occupation is transferred from the Americans to the French and in 1946 the new State of Rhineland Palatine is created. It is at the conference of Rittersturz held at Koblenz in 1948 that it was founded the Federal Republic of Germany or West Germany by decision of the three occupying forces, USA, UK, and France.

Walking the town is magical and we love it; the walks around the German Corner or Deutschez Eck are superb and well recommended at least do this.  Things to see in Koblenz are many ,my favorites are:

Museums of Koblenz, history and civilization and navigation, castle of Stolzenfels, and Louis. The castles of Electors Princes, Stolzenfels and old castle. Municipal theatre of Koblenz; Saint Castor Basilica, Notre Dame Church, Saint Joseph Church, Saint Florin Church , and the convent of Capuchins of Koblenz Also, the Fort Constantine, Fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, and the  Deutschez Eck confluence of the Moselle and Rhine river (very nice), the bridge Baudouin and the Fountain of Schângel located in the courtyard of the city hall and place on top a child smashing the water.

From the 13C there is a festival on the initiative of monk Caesarius on a carnival scale by the German corner or Deutsches Eck ; the costume was lost during the war of 30 years ; later after the retaking of the city from Napoleon I by the Prussians in 1815 the carnival was reborn in 1823 a new beginning and most important help by the influence of the one in Koln . To our days the principal organizer of the festival is the association  AKK.  The program now includes plays in rooms and promenade parade of Fat Monday, covering the entire city as well as the election of a Prince and his lady Confluentia, the occupation of the city hall and the police barrack of Falkenstein  by mask folks under the direction of the council of eleven and the regents of the crazy days groups  More on it at Koblenz tourist office in English: https://www.koblenz-tourism.com/events/events-in-koblenz/carnival-monday-procession.html

Some webpages to help plan your trip here are:

The City of Koblenz on its history/heritage in German: https://www.koblenz.de/leben-in-koblenz/kultur/region-um-koblenz/

The Koblenz tourist office in English: https://www.koblenz-tourism.com/

The Rhineland Palatine tourist office on the Koblenz ludwig museum as picture above: https://www.tourenplaner-rheinland-pfalz.de/en/point/museum/ludwig-museum/2955355/

The Rhineland Palatine tourist office on the Koblenz Schaengel fountain as picture above: https://www.tourenplaner-rheinland-pfalz.de/en/point/well/schaengelbrunnen/41498518/

The Germany tourist board on Koblenz in English: https://www.germany.travel/en/cities-culture/koblenz.html

There you go folks, something to expand our horizons and lucky to be at the crossroad of Europe and all these wonderful places to see easy. Enjoy the introduction post on Koblenz.  And remember, happy travels , good health, and many cheers to all!!