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the perpendicular or English style of cathedral the fire at the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris Stone tracery in church and
cathedral construction stained glass and cathedrals in Normandy fortified churches, mostly in Les Landes cathedral labyrinths and mazes in France Germans in France on first arriving in France - driving
Transbordeur bridges in France and the world 2: focus on Portugalete, Chicago,
Rochefort-Martrou France’s western isles: Ile de Ré Ile de France, Paris: in the context of Abelard and of French cathedrals Marianne - a French national symbol, with French definitive stamps la Belle Epoque
Pic du Midi - observing stars clearly, A64 Futuroscope the French umbrella & Aurillac 50 years old:
Citroën DS the forest as seen by Francois Mauriac, and today bastide towns |
The tower was built to imitate the tower on the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. It was originally intended to be balanced by a matching tower on the west facade, but that was never built.
Further extensive damage occured during the First World War, from German bombardments over several years. The tower’s upper section and the nave’s first three bays were completely destroyed. Many windows were also broken, though the rich north transept windows and choir windows escaped the blast of the bombing and rested undamaged. 1928: Émile Brunet, architect of Historic Monuments, supervised a very successful restoration of both the tower and nave.
Abbaye Saint-Jean-des-VignesFounded in 1076, Saint-Jean-des-Vignes Abbey was one of the richest and most powerful monasteries of the Middle Ages. The generosity of kings, nobility and middle classes paid for the erection of a large abbey-church and monastery buildings. The monastery lands included 30 hectares of vineyards, whence the monastery’s name. Although despoiled during the Hundred Years War, and later during the Wars of Religion, the abbey continued to flourish until the French Revolution. Then, the monks were expelled, the furniture sold and silverware sent to Paris for melting down. The abbey-church was used as a bakery and garrison. Statues beheaded, stained glass broken were amongst the ruination of this once fine abbey where Thomas à Becket once stayed.
In 1805, an imperial decree ordered the abbey-church be dismantled so the stones could be used to repair Soissons cathedral, also ravaged by the Revolutionaries. Local priests induced the Bishop of Soissons to preserved the main front, the West facade, of the abbey-church. Its doorways were damaged by fire in 1870, during the war with Germany. German shells set fire to a store of hay housed under the porches.
In 1914, both spires were stuck by German shells, truncating both to different degrees, while the whole facades was pitted by shell splinters. The damage in 1918 was considerably greater. Much stonework, including fine and delicate carvings on the towers, was smashed. A breach in the north tower caused the upper part of its spire to crash to the ground.
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© abelard, 2010, 17 May the address for this document is https://www.abelard.org/france/germans_in_france-soissons.php |
