Laon is an old hilltop town located 75 miles northeast of Paris and 30 miles northwest of the bigger city of Reims. Laon (pop. 25,000) is pronounced [lã] as one syllable with the French nasal A vowel. Reims (pop. 180,000), by the way, in French is pronounced like the French word prince but without the initial P. The cathedral in Laon, which you see in these photos, was built in the 12th and 13th centuries, replacing a much older church building that was destroyed by fire in the year 1112, when the bishop of Laon was put to death by a rioting mob. (More about Reims, the largest city in the old Champagne province, and its cathedral in a few days...)
1 
2
I took the photo on the left at Laon, and the one on the right, obviously, as well. I've only been to Laon twice —
once with Walt in 1994 and again in 2011 with CHM, when I took these pictures.
2I took the photo on the left at Laon, and the one on the right, obviously, as well. I've only been to Laon twice —
once with Walt in 1994 and again in 2011 with CHM, when I took these pictures.
3 
The cathedral and the old town at Laon are situated on a rocky butte that rises 100 meters (about 330 ft) above the surrounding plain. The cathedral's tallest tower rises to a height of 60 meters (about 200 fr).
The cathedral and the old town at Laon are situated on a rocky butte that rises 100 meters (about 330 ft) above the surrounding plain. The cathedral's tallest tower rises to a height of 60 meters (about 200 fr).4
5I can't take credit for these last two photos. I grabbed them off Wikipeda. The one on the left was taken by
a photographer named Pline and is posted on the English-language Wikipedia article about the
town of Laon. The one on the right was taken by a photographer named Rolf Kranz and is
a photographer named Pline and is posted on the English-language Wikipedia article about the
town of Laon. The one on the right was taken by a photographer named Rolf Kranz and is
posted on the French-language Wikipédia article about Laon cathedral. Thanks to both.
I visited Laon years ago and was surprised that this little town I'd never heard of (I was on a roadtrip and visited only by accident not by plan) had been capital of France longer than the US had been in existence.
ReplyDeleteNearby Guise is worth a visit, too.
I'll have to go back up that way when I can and make it a point to visit Guise.
DeleteIn addition to the duc de Guise and his demise, what is known about Guise is the Familistère and its founder Monsieur Godin, maker of the eponymous stove. Before central heating in France, if you didn’t have a Salamandre, you had a Godin or, possibly, a Choubersky to keep warm in winter.
DeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteYes, wow! It's an impressive place, Laon is.
DeleteThe cathedral in Laon is superb. what is interesting about it, among other things, is the towers on the transept. In Tournai, in Belgium’s Wallonia, the cathedral has four towers on the transept. There are also two towers on the transept of the church of the Morienval abbey. I wonder if the transept towers is a specialty of this region. The effect, especially in Tournai, is spectacular.
ReplyDeleteYour photos of these truly magnificent cathedrals is really eye-opening! And, thanks for the phonetic spelling for Reims! I had read that the locals pronounce it as one syllable and that it was different from how I thought it would be. Your 'prince' example is so easy to remember and to know the correct pronunciation. Merci! I will pass that on to all my classmates!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary. Glad to be of help. I'll be blogging about Reims next week.
Delete