29 September 2019

Blois, both dull and bright




The other major landmark in Blois — one of the two churches that dominate the town's skyline — is the Église Saint-Nicolas-Saint-Laumer. The original church on the site was dedicated to Saint-Laumer. When the current church was built, the name was changed to Saint-Nicolas. I did a series of posts about the Église Saint-Nicolas two months ago, including photos of its stained-glass windows.




It's hard to say whether the best views of Saint-Nicolas are to be had from across the river, 0n the left bank of the Loire, or from the terrace of the château de Blois, which sits on high ground just behind the church. Three of the photos here were taken (by me) in March 2006 (the gloomy ones) and two of them were taken in June 2009 (the sunny ones).




From the château terrace, you can see the houses of the riverside neighborhood surrounding the church. It's the quartier Saint-Nicolas, and it was badly bombed during the second war. It was rebuilt, as much of Blois was rebuilt, in the 1940s and 1950s. A man we know pretty well who lives in Blois — he has a summer house across the street from our house here in the Saint-Aignan area — has told me stories about his experiences during the war. He was a teenager, and his family lived in the house where he lives now, on the banks of the Loire down the hill from the cathedral. He remembers German soldiers shooting at his neighbors' windows from across the river, and he said one of his neighbors was killed that way.






Somehow, the wartime bombardments did little damage to the Saint-Nicolas church besides blow out the old stained-glass windows. New  brightly colored windows, which I've photographed and posted about, were installed in the old building 50 years ago.


Saint-Nicolas was built in the 12th century by monks fleeing the Viking invasions in Normandy in the early 10th century. Parts of the church weren't finished until the early 13th century. The church was badly damaged in the late 16th century during the wars of religion between Catholics and Protestants, and the old monastery attached to the church was razed. The monastery was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries, and later was used as the town's hospital.

19 comments:

  1. It's a beautiful church. Blois looks like it would be a nice, manageable city to live in.

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  2. I agree with Diogenes. This is a beautiful church, my favorite. The towers are so elegant. Their roofing makes me think of two Normandy chateaux [hijacking?!?;-)], chateau d'O, we visited together, Ken, several years ago, and chateau de Fontaine-Henry, near Caen.

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    1. For those who like this kind of data, O is the shortest French family surname.

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    2. I did not know that "O" was a surname. Interesting! I like the renaissance facade of that petit chateau. Also interesting the story about the Germans shooting from the other side of the river...Blois must have been near the demarcation line between free and occupied France? Maybe the Loire was that line?

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    3. The Cher at Saint-Aignan was the demarcation line. Noyers-sur-Cher, on the right bank, was occupied; Saint-Aignan, on the left bank, was not.

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    4. It was a real pleasure to read again your post on the chateau d'O. That was a great trip.

      La valise est bouclée!

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    5. It was a great trip. Médavy, Carrouges, and more and more. Walt aimerait savoir le numéro de ton vol et la compagnie parce qu'il aime suivre le déroulement des vols sur internet.

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    6. My flight is Air France 0055. It leaves CDG at 1:15 PM and lands at Dulles at 3:40 PM, local time.

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    7. Have a safe trip back, chm!

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  3. Blois and Château d'O-- very enjoyable!

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  4. Thanks for re posting Chateau d'O Ken. Great pictures of the place.

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  5. And isn't there a Chateau d'If near Marseilles? Wonder what other minimalist names there are.
    Hope chm has a smooth trip back.

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    1. emm, thank you for your good wishes.
      There is a village in Northern France, in the Somme département, which is called Y, pronounced ee.

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  6. I found another site where you can search for French family names, see how many people have that name, and where they were born. I found people named A, B, C, D, etc. There are people whose last name is U as well as O. For example, there was one person born in France named Broadhurst born in France between 1916 and 1940. The site is not easy to use.

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