The statue of Marshal of Rochambeau in Vendôme !!!

Posted in Americas, Europe, France

We have driven in the area and stop by finally, and a great surprise indeed, This is the nice City of Vendôme in the Loir et Cher dept 41 of the Centre Val de Loire region of my belle France, There is so much to see , and did see more for you and me, So close by it many times and finally in ,a great surprise, nice town indeed! Therefore, here is my take on the statue of Marshal of Rochambeau in Vendôme !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.

The City of Vendôme is located 36 km from Blois from where we were coming on the road D957,around City on the N10 to City center following signs for Rochembeau parking, The City is 89 km from Loches where we were first, and 359 km from our current home on the D357 short on the A28/A11 then on the A81 to N157 dir Rennes and past the rocade on the N24 going home on the D768.

The statue of Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Marshal of Rochambeau, erected in 1900 on the Place Saint Martin, testifies to one of the many feats of arms of this career soldier. Alongside George Washington, Rochambeau contributed to the victory of Yorktown in 1781, for the cause of American independence. Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur was born July 1, 1725 in Vendôme, His native house was at 41 rue de la Poterie see the commemorative plaque affixed to the facade of the Courtanvaux residence, his birthplace, Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur was born July 1, 1725 in Vendôme.

His family castle and residence later was at the Château de Rochambeau ,located in the village of Thoré-la-Rochette, on the banks of the Loir river built at the beginning of the 16C (around 1516), and enlarged by Marshal de Rochambeau in the 18C. He is buried in the Thoré-la-Rochette cemetery, not far from the family castle, and about 10 km from Vendôme.

The committee for the erection of a monument to Marshal Rochambeau was created in 1898 around Philippe Royau, a merchant in Vendôme, with other personalities which induced a certain mistrust of the prefecture in 1899 concerning the “clerical and reactionary character” of the project. The municipal council initially followed this point of view, before changing its mind in 1900 and the State granted a subsidy on March 1, 1901. It was covered by grants ,donations from French and Americans such as the City of Philadelphia. The execution of the statue is entrusted to Fernand Hamar, a deaf and mute sculptor from Vendôme and trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, who first makes the plaster model (shown in the museum of Vendôme) which bears the fine-tuning. The first stone was laid on March 27, 1900. The inauguration took place on June 4, 1900 during a grand celebration, coupled with Franco-American celebrations in Paris. The United States ambassador Porter traveled to Vendôme and it was on this occasion that the model was given for a monument to Rochambeau to be erected in Washington DC in 1902, as a counterpart to Falguière’s Lafayette of 1891, Two other statues based on the Vendôme model and of the same size were made in the early 1930s for Paris (Place d’Iéna) and Newport (Rhode Island), where Rochambeau landed in the United States.  The bronze was cast in January 1942 and the Cincinnati Society financed a new casting in 1974, taken by Blanchet from the bronze from Place d’Iéna spared during the nazis Occupation, which explains the date of 1933 visible on the plinth.

The City of Vendôme on its heritage : https://www.vendome.eu/dynamique/patrimoine/

The Vendôme tourist office on its heritage : https://www.vendome-tourisme.fr/en/what-to-see-what-to-do/visits-and-patrimony/chateaux-and-other-jewels-to-visit/

The local Val de Loire dept 41 tourist office on Vendôme : https://www.val-de-loire-41.com/sit/visite-de-la-ville-de-vendome-pcu41aasor100210/

There you go folks, a dandy area to explore and enjoy with the family, Memorable moments in my belle France, going 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 the statue of Marshal of Rochambeau in Vendôme !!! 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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