This is Tarascon !!!

Posted in Europe, France
Several years back while visiting my belle France, took a ride into this area. Not aware had some older paper picture in my vault and glad to found them! Not back since but left a nice impression ,and hope to be back, eventually. Not the best quality pictures but is all I have for the memories of always,  I like to tell you a bit about this town taking advantage of these much older pictures. Therefore, here is my take on this is Tarascon !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I. The town of Tarascon or more exactly Tarascon-sur-Rhône is located in the Bouches-du-Rhône dept no 13 in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of my belle France. Located near the left bank of the Rhône, bordering on the city of Beaucaire in the Gard with which it forms an agglomeration , but no bank on the Rhône the left bank also belonging to Beaucaire, It is  24 km from Avignon; 31 km from Nîmes, 50 km from Orange, 18 km from Arles, 87 from Montpellier, 103 km from Marseille, 712 km from Versailles, and 1049 km from my current house,  The A6 ,A7, A9 highways, then the N100 by Avignon short D2, and then the D35 took us here from Versailles. The Château du Roi René ; tell us that the current castle succeeded a fortress, built on the site of the Roman castrum in order to monitor the border of Provence. After its baging in 1399 by the bands of Raimond de Turenne, the family of Anjou decided to rebuild it entirely. Between 1447 and 1449, René d’Anjou, who had made him his favorite residence, had a refined interior decoration made with unsuspected elegance of its interior architecture and its exceptional state of conservation made it one of the most beautiful medieval castles in France. It consists of two independent parts: to the south, the stately house, confined to round towers on the city side and square towers on the river side with walls rising up to 48 meters in height; To the north, the low courtyard defended by rectangular constructions. The castle is well preserved. We enter the castle by a bridge that spans the moats The commons house today the apothecary of the old Tarascon hospital, you can admire an exceptional collection of cannons, goats and urns, in a library in the 18C. The lordship house is equipped with a wall 4 meters thick, flanked by two round towers to the east and two square towers to the west on the Rhône side. It welcomes the elegant architecture in its center,which contrasts with the austere facade of the castle. The spiral stairs, including one integrated into a protruding turret, serve the three floors of the castle. Since the courtyard of honor can be accessed the large vaulted gallery of ogives, at the Tour des Chapelles, composed of the chapelle basse (lower chapel) and Chapelle des Chantres, and the salle des Féstins on the Rhône side. The southern wing is the most exposed in the event of an attack, its windows overlook the court of honor. The western wing, on the edge of the Rhône, has large windows overlooking the river (see pic). There is only one upstairs room intended for receptions and banquets. The construction began in 1400 under Louis II of Anjou and was completed in 1449 by his son, King René, with an impressive defensive system, the castle, also houses a princely residence. It was used as a prison in the 16C, as evidenced by many graffiti left by prisoners, including in the rooms of ceremonies and the commons. The graffiti left by sailors of Spanish or British origin are testimonies of the wars of the 17C and 18C. below weird shot from across the Rhône river in Beaucaire to back of castle and the Salle des Féstins (festive hall) inside. Tarascon château du Roi Réne across river c2007 Tarascon château du Roi Réne salle des audiences c2007 Other things to see here, me think are : The Sainte-Marthe Collegiate Church consecrated in 1197, then enlarged in the 14-15C. The crypt houses the relics of Saint Marthe in a sarcophagus of the 4C. The Saint-Jacques Church, built, between 1740 and 1745 ;  the city hall, built in 1648 in the Baroque style. The statue of Sainte Marthe terraging the Tarasque was produced by the sculptor Louis Le Mâle. The Saint-Gabriel Chapel ,a Romanesque chapel of the third quarter of the 12C, it constitutes one of the most beautiful examples of Provencal Romanesque art inspired by Antiquity, In Tarascon is also the Museum of Souleïado fabrics, installed in a 14C mansion in the city center. The Charles Demery manufacture continues to maintain this ancestral tradition inspired by Provençal folklore. A bit of history tell us that on the death of Queen Jeanne Ire opens a succession crisis at the head of the county of Provence, the cities of the Union of Aix (1382-1387) supporting Charles de Duras against Louis I of Anjou. Tarascon hesitates before joining the Union of Aix, the community deciding in 1383, without engaging very firmly.  When Louis I dies, Tarascon is also one of the first cities to receive the ambassador of his widow Marie de Blois, regent of Louis II of Anjou, in the summer of 1385, the locals are favorable to the Angevin dynasty exiled in 1385  By 1386 by letters patent, King Louis XI ordered the foundation of a collegiate church in the city of Tarascon in May 1482, During the French revolution, the castle was used to imprison the opponents of democracy while waiting to be guillotined. After the fall of Robespierre, supporters of the mountain convention are imprisoned there. On May 25, 1795, a hundred masked men entered the prison and precipitated Jacobin prisoners into the Rhône from the top of the windows, In 1797 it was royalists who were again thrown into prison, then massacred by a band of republicans revolutionaries, The town inspired other tales, in particular that of Tartarin de Tarascon, an illustrious character born under the pen of Alphonse Daudet in 1872. A house, located in the city center, was dedicated to him. A statue of Tartarin de Tarascon, in bronze, was inaugurated in November 2013, The Kilmaine district of  barracks constructed between. 1718 and 1757, around a large courtyard was reserved for the cavalry, the small district was divided into two courses, one for the infantry, the another for stage stores. The buildings are on two levels, flanked by pavilions. The ground floor consists of vaulted pieces in a lowered cradle, reserved for the stables, the floor being reserved for soldiers’ chambers. The administration occupies the wing between the two districts. Passages are arranged to access the various courses. The district took the name of Kilmaine in tribute to Charles Édouard Saul Jennings of Kilmaine, general of the French revolution and Baron, born in Dublin in 1751 and died in 1799. From 1818 to the beginning of the 20C, the district was occupied by the dragons, then replaced by the 11th Hussars regiment until 1914. On June 30, 2006, it definitively closed its doors, ending the military history of Tarascon.  The town of Tarascon on its heritage : https://tarascon.fr/monuments-et-sites.html The official Château de Tarascon : https://chateau.tarascon.fr/le-ch%C3%A2teau.html There you go folks, another spot in my world map or rather France’s map. Glad to have found the old pictures to give credit to Tarascon in my blog; good for the memories of always. Again, hope you enjoy the post on this is Tarascon 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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