Tag: Nantes

Trentemoult – Rezé, an old fishing village in Nantes Métropole

 

 

 

Redécouvrir le village de Trentemoult à Rezé

Translated from https://www.ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/nantes-44000/redecouvrir-le-village-de-trentemoult-reze-5166297 retrieved 25/04/2018

In Rezé, the small village of Trentemoult denoted by its architecture and atmosphere, contrasts with the rest of the city of Nantes.

A peaceful neighborhood where time seems to slip more slowly. ” Located on the south bank of the Loire, Trentemoult was once an island separated from the land, to the south, by an arm of the river, the Seil. It was filled, like other islands of Rezé, in the middle of the twentieth century, “says Florian Riffet, heritage mediator, the mayor of Rezé.

The patrimony

Trentemoult is divided into two parts. On one side, we find the small fishermen’s houses which constituted the bulk of the village until the middle of the 19th century.

“ The alleys are tortuous and winding, but this disposition is not anarchic. The houses were tightened to protect themselves from the wind, many having their backs turned to the Loire. Some also have the characteristic of communicating granaries, thus facilitating the circulation in case of flood. At that time, very few houses were colorful. “

On the other side, from the second half of the nineteenth century, houses of captains and cap-horniers appeared as a result of the growth of maritime trade in Nantes. ” The houses of the Cape Horners are larger, more bourgeois, and situated in more distant and straight streets. The roof of these dwellings is in slate, while the fishermens’ houses are covered with tiles. “

Recent history

After the Second World War, the village experienced a difficult period. The decline of the Nantes shipyards was a blow as many Trentemousins ​​worked on these sites.

“ The population was aging and the primary school faced closure but the construction of the marina in 1979 helped to revitalize the village“said Riffet.

The film La Reine Blanche (with Catherine Deneuve, Richard Bohringer and Jean Carmet) in Trentemoult, in the summer of 1990, also took part in the village’s new fame. Vestige of this shoot, the mosaic storefront of the modern comfort store is always visible.

A tourist district

Strollers are not mistaken: walking around Trentemoult is a very enjoyable activity. On weekends and in summer, the village’s bean shops are always busy, and many tourists come to visit its narrow streets. ” The connection by Navibus from the Nantes ferry terminal created in 2005 makes it easier for visitors to get around Trentemoult. The recent coloring of the houses over the last fifteen years has also given a new charm to the village. “

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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My secret garden

This rear garden sees a few visitors. Beatrix Potter would like it here.

Many residential gardens in France are hidden behind austere facades and this is particularly true in Paris apparently.

 

 

 

 

 

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Nantes Parks – Parc de la Morinière en hiver

This week we experienced the “Moscow” winter, a cold front coming from Russia bringing the temperature down to -10 overnight for a week. It’s not cold enough on the north ice cap. In Paris, public transport was brought to a halt but the days weren’t all grey here near the Atlantique coast. Gloves, hat and coat and camera and one of the best walks ever.  A full display of new winter flowering plants was a surprise. A small but lovely consolation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nantes Parks – Parc de la Morinière en Hiver

 

 

 

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Models

I will write more about models later. Suffice to say that I am captivated by them and models made many years ago can be seen at some chateaux. See

 

 

 

  • Paris Opera
  • Gare de Orsay
  • Pompidou Centre cardboard fold out.
  • Le Louvre - displayed in rooms within the old foundations
  • Le Louvre - displayed in rooms within the old foundations
  • Le Louvre showing Les Tuileries jardins and L'Orangerie building which houses Monet's magnificent Water Lily installation.
  • Le Louvre - displayed in rooms within the old foundations
  • Gare Montparnasse, Paris
  • Chronographe - Digital representation of Gallo-Roman settlement in Rezé
  • Château de Villandry
  • Centre for Contemporary Art -Tours- with new addition
  • Château de Versailles
  • Musée d’Arts de Nantes with new "cube" addition
  • Musée d’Arts de Nantes
  • Château de Chenonceau
  • Château de Saumur - riverside
  • Château de Saumur - riverside
  • Château de Montsoreau - riverside
  • Château de Montsoreau - riverside
  • Château de Montsoreau - rear entrance
  • Château de Montsoreau - rear entrance

 

The Abbey of Fontevraud transformed into an Ideal City by artists

 

 

Nantes Parks – Parc de la Beaujoire – Roseraie in Spring

Grand old gardens seem to assert the outer borders of Nantes in each direction but it is to the North that is located a roseraie for all seasons with ample flowering year round, old roses in their delicate majesty in the warmer months aside hardy new roses which still flower in the cold months.

 

Roseraie roses and perfume …

Rosa gallica ‘Officinalis’ or Rose de Provins

Using its flowers, as raw material, the apothecaries of Provins specialized, in the sixteenth century, in the preparation of powder, water, perfume, oil, jam. This commerce flourished to the extent that around the year 1600 the main street of this city was only open to apothecaries.

 

Rosa damascena ‘Trigintipetala’ or Rose of Kasanlik

Bulgaria has cultivated this rose for several centuries for perfumery. Other countries (Turkey, Morocco, India, China) also exploit this flower for its fragrance.

 

Rosa x centifolia or Rose hundred leaves (Rose with a hundred petals)

Cultivated in France in the Alpes Maritimes, this rose provides the most esteemed fragrance. The French production in 1990 amounting to nearly 320 tons of flowers.

 

The perfumes
Roses exhale fragrances of varying quality and intensity that sometimes influence the soil and climate. If Kasanlik’s rose and the rose of the painters smell pink, Golden Sun has a spicy smell. Other roses release bouquets of scents: apple and clove (Souvenir de la Malmaison), iris and violet (Maréchal Niel), rose and parsley (Mrs John Laing), anise (Paul Ricard).

 

Award of Garden Excellence
During the inauguration of the 10th Biennial of Fragrant Rose, on June 18, 2010, Mr. Maurice Jay, President of the French Rose Society, presents to the public the plaque of the Award of Garden Excellence, awarded by the World Federation of Societies de Roses in 2009, designating the International Rose Garden of Nantes as one of the 4 most beautiful in France (after the Haÿe les Roses in 1995, the Golden Head in 2006 and Bagatelle in 2007) and among the 35 remarkable rose gardens in the world.

 

To discover in the rose garden …

The alveoli
To accentuate the privileged contact with the roses, the designer drew paths symbolizing a branch of rose with its ramifications, its thorns and its flowers.

This route allows two complementary approaches:
– by taking the gravel circulations, the visitor perceives all the massifs with their modeling and their colors,
– using paved alleys, he enters the world of roses. The enthusiast has the leisure to seize the beauty, to capture the perfume, to know the name of each of them and to photograph his favorites.

 

The Ellipse of the medalists
Within this ellipse exposed to the South and sheltered from the wind are gathered the roses that constitute the ‘Top 50’ of the new varieties.

The belvedere
From this high point of the Roseraie, the view extends to the city center and, it is easy to appreciate the privileged site that occupies the park on the banks of the Erdre. This beautiful river, punctuated with castles, ranked ‘great national site’, promotes river tourism and water activities.

The Alley of Fragrances
This showcases rosebushes from the Nantaise Rose fragrance, whether award-winning or not, but always remarkable for their scent.

The Clos des Roses Parfumées
This forms an elliptical arena where the sweetest scents are confronted. Le Clos has been specially designed for the International Rose Perfume Contest using the model of this former artisanal quarry sheltered from the East winds.

 

The architecture takes up the theme of the Rose Garden.

The materials are of the same nature:
– Pontchâteau stone for the pavement of the Rose Garden (work done by the gardeners of the SEVE) which covers an area of ​​about 4,000 m2
– Pont Aven stone for the walls
– ironwork
– wood.

The Fan
The geometric design, inspired by an arabesque, consists of three varieties of roses. By their arrangement in ‘rainbow’, they create a variation of colors from yellow to dark red.

The Alley of ‘Old Glories’
Here are grouped the most deserving old roses, called for the occasion ‘the Old Glories’. Many of them offer a unique and generous bloom in May-June. The roses producing a second bloom at the end of summer (so-called ‘rising roses’) did not enter the gardens until the end of the 19th century.

 

 

 

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Google Maps – Parc Floral Roseraie

Loire-Atlantique 44

Loire-Atlantique is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. Originally, it was named Loire-Inférieure, but its name was changed in 1957 to Loire-Atlantique.

The area is part of the historical Duchy of Brittany, and contains what many people still consider to be Brittany’s capital, Nantes. However, when the system of French Regions was reviewed by the Vichy Government, the department was excluded from the Region of Brittany and included in the newly created Pays de la Loire Region.

While these administrative changes were reversed after the war, they were re-implemented in the 1955 boundary changes intended to optimise the management of the regions. There has since been a series of campaigns reflecting a strong local mood to have the department reintegrated with Brittany.

Nantes is nestled on the Loire estuary, the longest river in France and last wild river in Europe. Here, the river is still influenced by the tides, and flows in both directions! The giant cranes still bear witness to the intense port activity which the city experienced up until the mid-20th century. Nowadays, the Loire acts as a backdrop for cultural activities, provides a haven for protected animals and plants and beckons people to enjoy the nearby beaches and coastline for relaxing or water sports.

As a city that was once home to the Dukes of Brittany, Nantes – a city which is Breton at heart – embodies the history of an area of transition between the countryside and the sea, between Brittany and the Loire, and between the roots of identity and the openness to discovery.

Google Maps – Loire Atlantique

Nantes – Château – Château de Bretagne

 

From the official website of Château de Bretagne

The monument

Set in the historic heart of Nantes, the Château des ducs de Bretagne is the city’s most important historic building, along with the Cathedral St. Pierre. When looking at it from the city, it is a fortress with 500 metres of curtain walls punctuated by seven towers, all linked by a sentry walkway. The inner courtyard reveals an elegant 15th century ducal residence made of tufa stone, in flamboyant gothic style and bearing the first traces of Renaissance inspiration, as well as other buildings dating back from the 16th and the 18th centuries. With their elegant white stone walls and sophisticated sculpted façades, they contrast strikingly with the rough textures of the exterior fortifications, made of granite blocks and separated by layers of schist.

History

The first ducal castle was built in the 13th century on top of the (still visible) Gallo-Roman wall of the town, where the Namnetes settled. It was demolished in the 15th century to make way for the present building. The current castle was the work of Francis II, the last Duke of an independent Brittany, who wanted to make the Château des ducs de Bretagne both a military fortress, which could act as a defence against the King, and the principal residence of the ducal court. Work was continued by Duchess Anne of Brittany, twice Queen of France through her marriages to Charles VIII and Louis XII. Her influence can be seen in the sculptural décor (dormer windows overlooking the main residence, as well as the coat of arms and loggias on the “Golden Crown” tower), marked by the first signs of the Italian Renaissance.

Following the integration of Brittany into France in 1532, during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Château des ducs de Bretagne became the residence of the kings of France when they visited Brittany, and later a military barracks, an arsenal, and a prison. For three centuries, it endured countless transformations and considerable damage: fortifications, a fire in 1670, construction of the Military Saddlery (Bâtiment du Harnachement) for storing artillery equipment, an explosion in 1800, and so on.

Listed as a historical monument in 1862, it was sold by the government to the City of Nantes in 1915 before also becoming, in 1924, a municipal museum. During World War II, the occupying German forces built a bunker there.

The renovation

The 1990s focussed on restoring the Jacobins’ Tower (Tour des Jacobins), the façades of the Principal Governor’s Palace (Grand Gouvernement – 15c/17c) and the 15th century Golden Crown Tower (Tour de la Couronne d’Or). The Military Saddlery (Harnachement – 18c) refurbished in 1997, was used for temporary exhibitions.

In 2000 work began on restoring the white tufa façades of the main ducal residence (Grand Logis – 15c) to their full glory. These are the oldest and most impressive sections of the building, providing a link between the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany and the Loire Châteaux. The bell tower has been rebuilt and the spires have been replaced on the Golden Crown Tower (Tour de la Couronne d’Or). The interior of the ducal residence has also been completely restored and redeveloped to house the museum.

The restoration has brought out the full power of the Breton feudal fortress and the elegance of the Renaissance ducal palace.

The castle reopened in 2007.

 

 

 

 

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Google Maps – Chateau de Bretagne