We have driven in the area and would like to have an imprint in my blog on the wonderful towns of my belle France, There is so much to see , doing my best, now transposing in my blog for you and me, memories are forever, Of course, this one will be in my black and white series, no pictures, Therefore, here is my take on this is Limoges !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The city of Limoges is in the department of Haute-Vienne no 87, of the Nouvelle Aquitaine region of my belle France, It was the capital of the historic province of Limousin, and capital of the old administrative region of the same name before 2016. It is located 142 km from Clermont-Ferrand , 346 km from Paris, 88 km from Angoulême, 130 km from Poitiers, 181 km from Bordeaux, 248 km from Toulouse, 387 km from Versailles and 448 km from my current home.
The best way here was to take the A20 autoroute or highway, the Occitane, which connects it to the south in Toulouse via Brive-la-Gaillarde , Cahors and Montauban, and north in Paris via Châteauroux , Vierzon ,and Orléans . The RN 141 fast road makes it possible to link Limoges to the Atlantic coast, in Bordeaux and to the South West. Limoges has two SNCF stations, both built in the 19C, the most beautiful Limoges-Bénédictines on the Paris line, and Limoges-Montjovis,
Some of the things to see here, plenty and little time always in my road warrior ways north south are: The Saint-Etienne Cathedral (see post) , the Saint-Michel-des-Lions Church, with the characteristic architecture of the Halles churches of the Plantagenêt, which has preserved, since the French revolution, the relics of Saint Martial, and Saint Loup, The Saint-Pierre-du-Queyroix Church, rebuilt from the 13-14C. The Saint-Aurélien Chapel, built between the 14C and the 17C,containing the relics of the second bishop of Limoges, Aurélien, patron saint of the corporation,-and the brotherhood of butchers, TheCrypt Saint-Martial from the 5C, located at Place de la République and can be visited from July 1 to September 30. It retains the tombs of Saint Martial, the first bishop and patron of the city, of his two companions Alpinian and Austriclinian, and the legendary Saint Valérie. Discovered during the 1960s when creating the parking lot of the Place de la République, it only remained at the beginning of the 21C a small part.
Beautiful mansions, such as the Hôtel d’Estienne de la Rivière built in 1812; Or the Hôtel Maledent in Savignac de Feytiat, built in 1639 on bases of the 15C, Le Four des Casseaux ovens, attached to the Royal Limoges factory and remained in activity until 1955, is today one of the last representatives Porcelain ovens from the 19C, In Limoges, from the 12C, its enamels were exported throughout the Christian world. In 1768, the discovery of a kaolin deposit in the Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche region allowed the development of the Limoges porcelain industry which will make the city world famous, The Adrien-Dubouchy National Museum, which houses several collections of porcelain, earthenware, sandstone, glass and pottery and the Museum of Fine Arts of Limoges-Palais de l’Évêchée houses among other collections of the painter Auguste Renoir as well as one of the most important collections of enamels in the world,
The former college of Jesuits, the central halls, drawn in the workshops of Gustave Eiffel, the city/town hall and its porcelain fountain, the greenhouse pavilion, which is now used as an exhibition place, after having been, originally , refrigeration pavilion, or the Benedictine train station, magnificent dome building and high campanile on stilts above the tracks. The Place Denis-Dussoubs, 17C ,circular and made up of buildings in red brick, or the Place Fontaine des Barres more intimate with its mansions from the 17-18C. The Court of the Temple 17C is bordered by mansions, with half -timbered facades, including one with colonnade and wooden sides, connected to each other by galleries open to Italian and stairs of Renaissance style The neighborhood of Abbessailles extends with narrow sloping alleys between the Vienne river, the cathedral, and the boulevard des Petit-Carmes which runs along the river. This medieval neighborhood was marked by the port activity of the naveteaux and the presence of washerwomen, but also of the wooden rafts which arrived by the river to fuel the many porcelain ovens of the city. The Gallo-Roman amphitheater, which is one of the main monuments of Augustoritum and was one of the largest amphitheater in Gaul, cannot be visited: its vestiges, an exhumed and highlighted time, are again buried under the Garden of Orsay to avoid degradation. The close presence of the rue de l’Amphitheater, connecting Place Winston Churchill in place des Carmes, is the only visible testimony to the existence of this monument of the same, the Gallo-Roman villa of Brachaud which seems to date from the 3C, remains unknown to the public , The garden of Orsay was created by the Intendant Boucher of Orsay in the 18C, on the archaeological vestiges of the Roman amphitheater of Augustoritum, it covers an area of 1.8 ha. The Bishop’s garden, built from 1777, is the old pleasure park of the episcopal palace. It brings together, near the bishopric museum, on approximately four hectares, a botanical garden, a French garden and a playground.
A bit of history I like condense,tell us that it was founded ex nihilo around the year 10 BC by the Roman Empire as a new capital for the Lemovices, under the name of Augustoritum, it became one of the most important Gallo-Roman cities at that time. At the decline of the Empire, in the Middle Ages, it takes the name of the Gallic people who constituted its region, Limousin; It is a big city, strongly marked by the cultural influence of the Saint-Martial Abbey, within the Duchy of Aquitaine whose dukes are invested and crowned in this city. In the first half of the 8C, Limoges and Limousin were part of the Duchy of Aquitaine successively held by the Dukes Eudes, Hunald and Waïffre, having acquired a large autonomy within the Kingdom of the Franks. In 781, Charlemagne founded the kingdom of Aquitaine which he entrusted to his young son Louis, future Louis Le Pieux. Limoges welcomes the third of the Lemovicensia concilia, the Christmas Council 1095. It was during this Christmas council that after its call from Clermont, Urbain II preaches for the first time for the first crusade for the liberation of the Holy Land, From the 12C, Limoges is a traditional crowning place of the Dukes of Aquitaine, one of the main cities of the Dot of Aliénor d’Aquitaine. Most of its medieval history is modeled on that of wars between Plantagenêts and Capetians. Richard Coeur de Lion (Lionhearted) is crowned Duke of Aquitaine during two ceremonies successively held in Poitiers, then, in the great tradition of the monarchs of Aquitaine, in Limoges in 1172. The same year, seventeen years before becoming king, the Duke and his mother receive Sanche VI from Navarre and Alphonse II d’Aragon in Limoges. At the head of the Plantagenêt Empire, the King-Halvier died in April 1199 in Châlus, place-habit defending the southwest access of Limoges, during a punitive expedition against his viscount, Adémar V of Limoges. In the 14C, the clashes between kings of France and kings of England, holders of the Duchy of Aquitaine, of which Limoges belongs, culminated during the Hundred Years War. In 1463, King Louis XI passed to Limoges on Friday July 1, and confirms, by letters patent, the privileges granted by his predecessors to the city
In the 16C, Limoges with the end of the Middle Ages, to one of the richest pages of its history and definitively joined the kingdom of France under Henri IV, during the attachment in 1589, to the crown of France of its viscount, passed by inheritance at the Maison d’Albret. In the 17C, the counter-reform was of great importance in the city. Six penitent companies are created (black, red or purple, and white, which have left their names to city streets, but also gray, blue and dead leaf, according to the color of their outfit). Many convents are founded (visitation, ursulines, etc.), other reformed (Benedictines, Saint-Martin des Feuillants, etc.). The Jesuit college guides the formation of the Limoge’s elites, while ostensions and processions with great spectacle are experiencing an important renewal. The French revolution generates tragic events in Limoges. A brief episode of the great fear is reported there. As everywhere, the goods of the Church are sold as national properties, and the policy of dechristianization makes most of the churches close as well as all of the monasteries. One of the major effects of the revolution in Limoges will be territorial since in 1792, the city of Limoges and the Château de Limoges are finally united. Legally, the castle absorbs the city and the whole officially forms a single city, In 1851, Limoges tried to oppose the coup d’etat of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoléon III) , In 1914, Limoges is the city of 63rd and 263rd barracks infantry regiments. After the first military setbacks of France at the start of the Great War or WWI, Joseph Joffre believes that many officers show incompetence or apathy. He decides to dismiss them from the front and assign them under house arrest in the 12th military region, whose capital is Limoges. A new term appears: limogeage which literally translated means dismissal.
On June 22, 1940, the nazis army was 30 km from Limoges when the government of Marshal Pétain asked for the armistice. In May 1941, the municipal council was dismissed by the Vichy regime: Limoges and its region, in free zone until 1942, welcomed many children withdrawn from the fighting zones by their families, then entire families thrown on the roads of the exodus traumatized by the Massacre of Oradour-sur-Glane and called “capital of the maquis” by General de Gaulle during his speech of March 4, 1945, Limoges left WWWII on August 21, 1944, liberated by the Resistant of the maquis F.F.I. without any fight, However, the city sometimes nicknamed “the Red City” or “the Rome of Socialism” because of its tradition of voting on the left and the workers’ events that it knew from the 19C to the beginning of the 20C.
The city of Limoges on its heritage: https://www.limoges.fr/musees-et-patrimoine
The Limoges tourist office on its heritage: https://www.destination-limoges.com/la-destination/incontournables/
The Limousin area tourist office on Limoges: https://en.visitlimousin.com/get-inspired/landmarks/limoges/
There you go folks, a dandy area to explore and enjoy with the family, Memorable moments in my belle France, driving all over in my road warrior trails brings out sublime awesome spots with nice memorable family visits of yesteryear always remember and always looking forward to be back, eventually. Again hope you enjoy the post on this is Limoges as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 