My trip to the states and Keeley's stomach bug kept us off the exploration circuit for a few weeks, but as soon as we could, we jumped back on. It started with a day trip to Provins, a small town about an hour outside of Paris. An an independent city and religious center, Provins thrived from about 1000 to 1300, actually claiming the title of France's third largest town. Following the rise of Paris, though, as the country's capital, nearby Provins was quickly eclipsed and began its decline. Occupied by the English twice during the 1400's (the Hundred Years War), this town managed to stay afloat and still maintains much of its medieval architecture and charm in its old section, the Ville Haute. In addition, an adorable small-town feel is captured in the (only slightly) newer section, the Ville Basse, which includes two small rivers and a man-made canal. The Ville Basse had a particularly charming atmosphere with many exposed timber buildings and intriguing (in my opion) shabby-chic exteriors:
The Ville Basse is also home to several ancient churches, including Tour Notre Dame, built in 1544 (the church which used to be attached to it has been gone for some time) and nestled among homes and other buildings:
And Eglise St. Croix, named after a fragment of the cross brought back in the 1200's. This church was especially interesting due to its lack of uniformity. Notice the completely different architecture in the two side doors on the main facade and the differing stones and elements visible on the side (the picture containing the steeple):
There was also a lovely garden with a cute little water mill and one of the most unique trees I've ever seen:
After wandering the Ville Basse for some time and having lunch in the square, we headed uphill to the Ville Haute (by the way, Ville Basse and Ville Haute mean lower and upper town, respectively). Quite a trek for my pregnant little body (is that an oxymoron?), but Keeley was patient with me! The Ville Haute contains much more medieval architecture and boasts some of the most impressive ramparts (old city defense walls) in all of France. The ramparts stretch around most of the old city, in various states of decay:
Also impressive are the city gates stationed in the ramparts. Porte de Jouy seems to allow passage into life centuries ago:
Porte Saint Jean, on the other hand, although also an original 12th century gateway, felt more to me like being in Austin, TX, since it had recently been pressure-washed (I guess)... And although I realize this is NOT a flattering angle for a pregnant woman, don't you agree about the Austin-stone look?
Within the ramparts of the Ville Haute were two particularly impressive structures; one, the Eglise St. Quiriace, was a very odd church. It was started in the 1100's, and not completely until the 1500's. Then, due to a fire in the 1600's, it was given a rather odd dome in the 1700's. The result is a very unfamiliar style:
Interestingly enough, though, the church inside is one of the lightest, airiest, most pleasant atmospheres I've found, despite the dreary day and the rain falling outside:
The second impressive structure is known as Tour Cesar, though its connection to Roman occupation is questionable at best:
Just as good, though, was the quaint feeling of the mostly stone buildings in the Ville Haute. I love the old-school Mini Cooper with its small stone home, and the old man just looking out his window at the square below him.
Overall, I think the best thing was that we probably only saw two or three other tourists the whole day! I hear this place is crawling with them during the summer, when they hold medieval tournament festivals, but this day we had the quaint, quiet, lazy town of Provins all to ourselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment