Paris1972-Versailles2003

One of my favorite cities, region,and one of the first cities that I visit in France way back in 1990. It has become a fixture ever since with many family trips and even weekend getaways. It is a tender family story as my dear late wife Martine used to work picking grapes here to save for schooling together with her other sisters and brothers who followed. We came early invited by the maternal grandmother Fourré and tour the city and the region. We have come back with my parents and later my boys I have found me again a couple pictures that feel needs to be in my blog, Therefore, here is again the curiosities of Reims, part III !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I

For reference, Reims is in the Department of the Marne No 51 in the region now of Grand Est, old Champagne-Ardenne. The City is made for walks to see feel the marvelous architecture and history it has. Let’s move on,,,

This is the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Reims (Notre Dame Cathedral), its construction began in the early 13C.  Consecrated to the Virgin Mary, the cathedral was completed in the 14C.  This is one of the major achievements of Gothic art in France, both for its architecture and for its statuary, which has 2 303 statues. See my full post on it for more info.

The Place du Châpitre or chapter square is a secret courtyard nestled between the cathedral and Place Royale. A small, discreet square still bearing vestiges of the history of Reims. The chapter gate is a Roman monument in Reims, from the 16C which closed the courtyard of the Chapter of the cathedral to the outside ,of which it was one of the two entrances. It opens today at 15 rue Carnot.

The chapter district formed a town in Reims with its St-Michel church, its prison, its cathedral school of theology and canon law, its shops, butcher’s, bakery and a library, the Preciosa room which gave direct access to the cathedral. Greatly damaged during the Great War or WWI it was rebuilt moving forward with the beam supports decorated with grotesques were removed and are today in the municipal museum. In the Middle Ages, the Cathedral of Reims like all its peers was part of a group of buildings constituting the cathedral enclosure: in addition to the religious building, a hospital, the Hôtel-Dieu, located on the site from the courthouse, the archbishop’s palace, currently the Tau palace, and on the left side and behind the church is the chapter housing the canons’ houses inside a fence. The main access on the city side is via a gate which logically takes the name of the Porte du Châpitre. The gate that we can still see today is one of the rare remains of this chapter. It dates from 1531. During the war of 1914-1918 the building, returned to civilian life since the French revolution, was destroyed in its interior parts but the facade remained.

The Rue Camot, or N 51 road, had to be widened on both sides, the chosen work was to have the facade moved back 4 meters; it was dismantled and reassembled. Each stone was numbered and placed (we can still see these numbers on the back of the gate) then the building was reassembled, pepper pots which had long disappeared were added to the turrets and a small building was rebuilt behind this facade and to the right of that.

The Reims tourist office on the Porte du Châpitre : https://www.reims-tourisme.com/en/activite/porte-du-chapitre/

The city of Reims on the Notre Dame Cathedral : https://www.reims.fr/la-ville-de-reims/reims-et-son-patrimoine/cathedrale-notre-dame-de-reims-et-le-palais-du-tau

The Reims tourist office on the Notre Dame Cathedral : https://www.reims-tourisme.com/en/activite/cathedrale-notre-dame-de-reims/

There you go folks, a dandy set of beautiful sights and lovely history of my France, in sublime Reims, Again, hope you enjoy the post on the curiosities of Reims, part III as I.

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