Again, for the story, It took me a while , worse when you have family about an hour from the city. But often said, living and visiting are two different things . When in the area stay with family and this time again,however, did it in reverse order, when to see Lille and its sights, and then went to see family. Therefore, let me tell you about the Porte de Paris of Lille !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
Let me tell you about the Porte de Paris or Paris Gate or Sick Gate, is a city gate in the walls of Lille partly built at the end of the 17C as a triumph arch to celebrate the victories of Louis XIV. Completed at the end of the 19C, At this location initially stood the sick gate located on the part of the Lille wall established during an expansion of the city in the 13C encompassing the Saint-Sauveur and Saint-Maurice parishes (see posts). This gate was the southern exit from the city as an extension of the Rue des Maladres, so named because it led to a leprosarium reserved for the bourgeoisie of Lille, founded around 1233 outside the city on the site of the current ones. School of Arts-et-Métiers and Saint-Sauveur station. This leprosarium was removed around 1670 during the construction of Fort Saint-Sauveur. Rue des Malades, the main axis of the Saint-Sauveur district, renamed Rue de Paris after the conquest of Lille by Louis XIV, is the current Rue Pierre-Mauroy.
The guardhouse building was demolished around 1860, during the dismantling of the fortifications following the expansion of Lille in 1858 and a round square was created around the porte Simon Vollant gate, which remained the only one in place. This monument, the removal of which had initially been considered, was saved from demolition thanks to the intervention of a commission chaired by the architect Charles Garnier, (opera Garnier Paris etc ) who also recommended “conserving this building, by means of constructions which will complete it”. recommendation followed from the redevelopment undertaken in 1888, The gate was then redeveloped, the whole being inaugurated in June 1895. Its structure has two different facades, the town entrance (south side, boulevard Denis-Papin) which is the gate created at the end of the 17C and the town exit, on the rue Pierre-Mauroy side, built between 1888 and 1892., A vaulted corridor at the ground floor level of the gate with its drawbridge allowed access to the town during the time of the fortifications.
In the central part, above the vaulted corridor, we can observe the carved coat of arms of the city of Lille and just above the royal crest; but 32 meters higher, the baroque figures of its peak including two angels, two allegories of “Fame” ringing the victory of Louis XIV suggest the splendor of the court. In the center of the ridge, the allegory of “Victory” is represented among trophies of weapons and flags, his right arm raised, ready to place a crown on the head of the Sun King, Louis XIV ; a medallion, to the left of the central part, is represented Mars, the god of war; on the right, Hercules, symbol of strength. The Paris Gate is surrounded by a stone parapet on which cast iron grenades (or bombs) are set. The 24 renovated grenades were installed in March 2018 on the restored stone railing which surrounds the monument to celebrate 350 years of the city of Lille becoming French. The square where the monument is located now bears the name of its architect Simon Vollant.
The ramparts that surrounded it from the Middle Ages until the beginning of the 20C remain: the Noble Tower, which now houses the deportation memorial, the last trace of the 65 medieval towers that surrounded the city (early 15C); the Ghent Gate and the Roubaix Gate, vestiges of the old Spanish enclosure built from 1621 (early 17C); the Paris Gate, built in honor of Louis XIV after the conquest of the city (end of the 17C); sections of fortifications buried in greenery at the end of Avenue du Peuple-Belge; and the Dunkerque Gate, built following the last expansion of the fortified city in 1858 (second half of the 19C).
The City of Lille on the Porte de Paris : https://www.lille.fr/Nos-equipements/Porte-de-Paris
The Lille tourist office on the Porte de Paris : https://en.lilletourism.com/historic-sites-and-monuments-lille/porte-de-paris.html
There you go folks, a dandy city of the Nord that is North of France. I was finally back to Lille and it was great with many family memories flashing but glad I did it now. Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Porte de Paris of Lille as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 