Curiosities of Saumur, part II !!!

Posted in Europe, France

 I will like to show you a bit more of Saumur and its impressive collection of monuments often overlook in visits of my belle France, The City has plenty of things to see right in the old valley of the kings. For reference, Saumur in the dept 49 of the Maine-et-Loire, in the region of Pays de la Loire,and in my belle France. I, again, found me new older pictures in my vault that should be in my blog. Therefore, here are my curiosities of Saumur, part II !!!   Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The Hôtel de ville or city hall; it was here since 1508; with buildings from the 16-19-20C and the main house is from the 16C. The new façade facing the Loire river is from around 1860 with a neo gothic architecture and taste of the 19C.

The Reformist Temple is an emblematic building of a part of the history of the city of Saumur. Of Greek inspiration, it was built at the beginning of the 19C, Saumur was considered at the beginning of the 17C as the political capital of Protestantism, the city became an international university, cultural and economic pole thanks to the Protestant Academy. If the city of Saumur became from 1589 a strong place in Protestantism following the rapprochement between King Henri III and Henri de Navarre, the place dedicated to worship experienced many torments. First celebrated almost confidentially in the house of the city governor, Philippe Duplessis-Mornay, the cult is then practiced in a building near the priory of Saint-Florent-du-Château. In 1590, this building was destroyed during the development of the citadel. A temple is then built with the personal funds of the Duplessis-Mornay couple, on land near the city center. Inaugurated in March 1593 by King Henri IV, he was demolished in 1685 following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. In 1802, the Concordat again authorized Protestant worship in France. The facade adjoins the place William Penn, a student at the Protestant Academy of Saumur in 1662 and 1663, whose acts and the pacifist ideal will inspire all modern democracies and in particular in France the Declaration of Human and Citizen’s Rights. Since 2012, the United Protestant Church of France has brought together the Reformed Church of France and the Lutheran Evangelical Church in France. These two churches were born in the 16C in the movement of reform. They are founding members of the Protestant Federation of France (1905).

The castle of Saumur was in the possession of the Counts of Anjou, then the Plantagenêts and change into a royal fortress early in the 13C in the times of king Louis IX (Saint Louis). During the second half of the 14C the duke Louis Ier d’Anjou (brother of king Charles V) change it into a castle-palace of great beauty. The miniature of it is represented in the famous play of the three rich hours of the duke of Berry or the Très riches heures du duc de Berry that will give it a precise image. King René, last of the dukes of Anjou lived here periodically, after his death in 1480 the castle comes back to the royal domaine.

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In 1906, the castle was bought by the City of Saumur to house the municipal museum, now labeled Museum of France. A rich collection of decorative arts currently occupies the first floor of the North and East wings. Part of the horse collection, collecting objects from antiquity to the early 20C is exhibited in the former abbey. In 1912, the collections of the municipal museum will be installed there. In 1919, the donation by Count Charles Lair of his collection allows the museum to present one of the most beautiful sets of decorative arts of France, from the end of antiquity until the beginning of the 19C. A Horse Museum, also presents visitors with more than 1,500 pieces retracing the history of horse riding across ages and continents.

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The official castle/museum of Saumur:  http://www.chateau-saumur.fr/en/

The City of Saumur on the castle/museum : https://www.ville-saumur.fr/chateau

The Saumur tourist office on the castle/museum : https://www.ot-saumur.fr/en/fiches/chateau-de-saumur-5261718/

There you go folks, a short and sassy additional info on nice Saumur and its main monuments.  Do fully enjoy these marvels of the off the beaten path routine, and spread out your horizons of my belle France.  Again, hope you enjoy the post on curiosities of Saumur, part II !!! as I.

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

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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