A Day in Angers Fall 2018

Gentle Friends... we drove to Angers (pronounced Awn-jay) to see the Cathedral, Fortress, and the wonderful medieval Apocolypse Tapestry.  This is a very picture heavy post, enjoy!!

 Angers is a collegiate city and an old city with lots of medieval half-timbered buildings all over the place....  one of the more famous of the half-timbered houses in the City is the "Maison d'Adam" a burgher house built in about  1491, it could be dated by looking at the wood used in construction... the house was named after the figures of Adam and Eve, that once flanked the Tree of Life under the corner tower.  These figures stood there until the French Revolution when the house was vandalized by revolutionaries and the figures removed.  This house is also outstanding for its diamond-shaped timbered fronts, gables and abundant carved decoration of secular and Biblical figures.

____________________

We were headed to the Cathedral of Saint Maurice...

 ... a 17th-century image of the Cathedral showing the 13th-century gallery across the front...

... the church is under restoration so parts of the front are a work site and boarded over...

... I thought this was just a lovely picture...

 ... looking down the nave towards the high altar...

 ...above the front door is the choir loft which is really impressive.  

The loft surrounds and supporting figures were carved between 1742-48.

... the highly carved pulpit - 1853-55...

 ... this is the high altar and it's really big, it also does double duty...

... this is the back side and shows how it is also a reliquary holding the remains of Saint Maurilius who was the Bishop of Angers between 423-453 and played an early role in the Christianization of Gaul.  In 873 his body was moved to the Cathedral of Angers and in August 1239 his remains were placed in a new urn.  In 1791 during the French Revolution, these remains were scattered when the Cathedral was vandalized... on a few small parts were recovered and are now kept here in the alter.

.... the 13th-century apse with the stained glass windows ...

... a really wonderful statue of St Cecilia c. 1837

... the Cathedral is full of lovely stained glass...

... romanesque carved doorway with a medieval oak door covered in decorative ironwork...

 ... here you can see the remains of the gothic gallery in the ghost marks left the walls of the pointed arches... now on to lunch and the fort...

______________________

...although much taller the fort was strengthened by Catherine d'Medici.... the low profile it has now was created by reducing the towers, walls, and embattlements by Henry III who used the stones from the fort for roadwork and the development of the city of Angers.  The Fortress or Chateau Angers is huge and really worth visit!!  

Founded and begun in the 9th century by the Counts of Anjou on early Roman structures, the Fort was expanded to its current size in the 13th century.  Located on the Maine river it has been listed as a historical monument since 1875 and is home to the Apocalypse Tapestry... more of that later on...

... it has a deep dry moat...

.... that has lots of gardens scattered around ... before we toured the fortress we needed to have some lunch........ so... directly across from the front gate is Pont-Pont Restaurant...

... as you can see it was a gloriously bright, sunny day and we sat outside in view of the ancient fort...

... and although there is a menu I chose my lunch from the daily specials...

... but first, a bottle of rose...and the ice bucket was a great plastic bag that could be frozen...

to keep the wine cool...

... I started off with "fromage roti au aumoriere" - which was a crispy wrapped melty cheese on a salad...

.... followed by "Supreme de volaille, sauce moutarde a l'ancienne, ecrase de potate douce" - I wasn't too sure what was coming, but I knew it would probably be chicken in, mustard sauce and some kind of potato.... and it turned out to be roasted chicken with a really super mustard sauce and mashed sweet potato - yummy!

... by this time we needed some more wine and order another bottle of wine and went with a house wine...

... and with my three-course lunch I had a dessert, so I order the apple thing, I really do love apples and the French do them so well!!  It was a "Tarte aux-pommes normande glace canelle"- and this turned out to be a custardy apple tarte with some cinnamon ice cream and decorative caramel swirls.....

______________________

... a great dry moat shot...

... the very impressive gate and the drawbridge... 

... the drawbridge mechanism...

... the interior royal court yards are now planted gardens...

... this map shows how very extensive the tower system is and how the fort is open to the river Maine...

... the Fort's chapel was built by Louis II and Yolande of Aragon around 1410.  It has a single nave with three bays, each roofed with an Angevin vault.  The chapel, which was bombed in the Second World War, served as a prison in the 18th century when over 500 English soldiers were held here.

The Seigniorial Oratory - with its three gothic bays opening onto the choir, this small room, accessible from the seigniorial court and heated by a fireplace, provided a place for the Counts of Anjou, when in residence,  to be alone during chapel services.  The sculpted decorations on the facade were all hacked away when the chapel was used as a prison.

____________________

... this is the fortified gateway leading to the Tapestry Museum...  the gateway was built by King Rene between 1450-55, the two-story residence has an amazing off-center gable creating a curious asymmetrical effect.  

... looking from the fort out over the river Maine...

__________________

Now, let's look at the 14th-century Apocolypse tapestry... 

... this loom at the entrance shows how a tapestry is woven on a very small scale.   Here are some fun facts about the tapestry... Name: "Tapestry of the Apocalypse" Made: c. 1375 in Paris, Commisioned by: Louis I, Duke of Anjou, Produced: Nicolas Bataille, merchant, Artist: Jean of Bruges, a painter for the King, Creator: Robert Poincon, tapestry weaver.
It was given to the Cathedral of Angers in the 15th century by King Rene who was born in Angers.  The tapestry has gone through lots of trails through the centuries and it is a miracle that it has survived at all....  you can click HERE  read more about this magnificent treasure....  there are lots of pictures to flip through .... enjoy!!... 

...the long gallery is kept in low light and a constant temperature to protect and conserve the tapestries...

... there is still lots of excavating going on at the Fort ...

... and this is the last picture just to show you how big just this small section of the tapestry is in comparison to the people in the gallery...

______________

There you go sports fans, thanks again for stopping by do stop again!!  More to come...

Take care,

edgar