From Gothic to WWI in the Picardie Region

[French Mystique Tours]

For some reason I have been interested in exploring the area east of Paris between Château-Thierry and Laon recently so the Mrs. And I decided to get away for a couple of days and see what there was to see in this area. Our overnight destination was Laon (which I have visited before but she hasn't) but the exploration started at exit 20 on the A4 autoroute heading north on the D1. As usual, there was no particular plan other than to do some exploration of the WWI sites along the Chemin des Dames. Prior to arriving at the Chemin des Dames the plan was to look at the Michelin map and stop where I would notice icons on the map for interesting things to visit. Near the town of La Croix-sur-Ourcq I noticed an icon for a château just off the D1 so we pulled into town to have a look.








Here's our first glimpse of the château.




A ferocious goose tried to prevent us from entering the grounds but we were not to be deterred.




Often when I am exploring small out of the way country towns I have an encounter with either the village lunatic or a local plouc, which is the derogatory French term for a redneck. If you're not familiar with this term a more polite way of referring to such a person would be a simple peasant. Whatever you want to call them, this person was here to greet us as we pulled into the grounds of the château. Although there were signs inviting the public to park on the grounds we were probably the only members of the general public to have ever paid this place a visit. After stepping out of the car Mr. Plouc emerged from the adjacent building to marvel at the strange outsiders who must surely be lost. ''Are you looking for somebody?'', he asked. ''Um, no. Is this a public place?'', we asked. ''Yes, do you want me to call someone?'', he said. We weren't sure what person he might call for us, probably someone as bewildered as he seemed to be. ''No, we just want to take some photos'', was our response. ''Oh'', he replied. Then we stared at each other for a moment in awkward silence before he reentered the building and left us to meet our destiny.

The only info I could find about this place was that it was originally called the Château de Montigny but is being used as a priory now and is presently called The Prieuré Saint-Pierre Saint-Paul. There must be some kind of religious community residing there since we saw some signs that said ''Communauté Religieuse, Silence'' (Religious Community, Silence). We remained quiet and went about discreetly taking some photos.








Okay, so the Château de Montigny wasn't so great but we didn't care. We were sure we'd have better luck elsewhere. My map showed that just a few kilometers away was a château ruin and this one was rated as a historic monument so off we went to see it.




Here we are approaching the ruin of the Château d'Armentières.



The castle was built in 1297 for the Knights of Armentières and passed through many owners over the centuries whose names don't interest me. Although it managed to survive The Revolution unscathed it didn't fare so well shortly after when around 1825 it was converted to a farm for the next 150 years. Bombings during WWI did further damage. The present owner is doing their best to preserve what remains. At present, there is a sign stating the castle is not open to the public so we settled for a photo from the street.

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Trying to decide what to see next I noticed there was an icon on the map for a place nearby labelled as Butte de Chalmont. Guess that's where we'll head next.




The area in which we were traveling saw extensive heavy fighting in WWI as it was right along the front lines. Turns out the Butte de Chalmont had a WWI war memorial comprised of a group of 7 enormous granite statues known as Les Fantômes (The Phantoms, or The Ghosts). Each statue is 8 meters in height and the assemblage is the work of Paul Landowki, more famously known for his statue of Christ the Redeemer situated atop Mount Corcovado overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro. He also was responsible for 35 statues in Paris, among them the statue of Sainte-Geneviève on the Pont de la Tournelle. There's also the Musée-Jardin Paul Landowksi in Boulogne-Billancourt, situated on the site of his former studio.

The site of the Butte de Chalmont was chosen as it was the scene of an Allied victory over the Germans on July 28, 1918, during the Second Battle of the Marne, which changed the course of the war. The monument is composed of two separate statues. At the base is a statue of La France, symbolising victory and hope, carrying only a defensive shield engraved with three deities representing the motto of the French Republic: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Leading to the upper statues are 4 sets of stairs representing the four years (and three months) of the war. The upper monument consists of a group of 7 soldiers surrounding a nude figure representing a martyr protected by his elders who have come back from the dead. The statues lean slightly forward and have closed eyes as though they have just raised themselves from their death shrouds.







I don't think photos adequately convey the sense of being overwhelmed by the sheer size and presence of this monument when one stands in front of it. It was no less than awe inspiring. The looks on the faces captured perfectly the image of eternal sleep and the stiff, slightly inclined pose with arms hung lifeless at their sides lent the figures that ghostly, lifeless quality from which the sculpture takes its name. On the left you can see the young recruit with his boyish haircut and he just looks too youthful to be sent to die a grown man's death. On the right you see the battle worn soldier looking weary and drained of his humanity. I've stood before no other statue that haunted me the way this one did.












An explanation of the battles which led to the monument's construction is provided in French.




The horrors that occurred on this site stand in sharp contrast to the peaceful scene of tranquil countryside the visitor finds here today. The brilliant yellow of blooming rapeseed, fresh green sprouts of wheat and the soft brown of newly tilled soil seem to represent the new life that springs forth from the red stains of sacrifice that once soaked the land.

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We left the ghostly statues behind and moved on through the countryside, passing through anonymous villages and hamlets along the way.






The rapeseed was in full bloom and not even the gloomy gray skies could mute the shimmering carpet of yellow that blanketed the landscape.






We wanted to have time to explore the Chemin des Dames so we picked up the main road heading north. However, I noticed another ruin designated a historic monument on the map so we made one last detour along the way to see the town of Septmonts and its magnificent donjon and château ruin. Never having been here and knowing nothing about the place we were surprised at what a lovely little village it was when we arrived.






Septmonts is best known for its 13th to 16th century donjon/château ruin, which was originally a country residence for the bishops of Soissons from the 12th century to the end of the 17th century. It fell into ruin after this time and was purchased in 1864 by the painter Jacques Edmond Leman, with renovation work commencing under and his and successive ownership. In the 19th century the château was a favorite of the Romantic writers, among them Victor Hugo who according to legend wished to acquire the château. There is much engraved graffiti on the walls and behind one of the doors are engraved the words <<Victor Hugo, Juliette, 29 juillet 1835>>. Juliette Drouet was the mistress of Hugo. The château was damaged during bombing in 1918 but between the wars it was purchased by the daughter of a wealthy American industrialist called Kate Gleason, she being a leader in the women's suffragette movement in America at the time. She moved into a building adjacent to the grounds and created a foundation dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the château with continual work ongoing.

The grounds and the buildings are open to visitors for free and here is some info about visiting times if you are interested:

www.amisdeseptmonts.net/menus/cadre.php?lang=fr&page=acu_horaires

We were here on a weekday and didn't get to climb the donjon or enter the other buildings, which were only open on weekends at the time of our visit. But just admiring the remains from the exterior was quite impressive and being that the site is surrounded by a park and arboretum the setting is indeed picturesque.






Here's an artists rendering of what the château used to look like.

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After our visit of the donjon and park we made our way to a café across the street to have a drink and use the restroom. We sat on the terrace to admire the view while having a drink and the Mrs. went inside to inquire of the bartender where the restrooms were located. She returned to the table with a smile on her face and said "You've gotta love redneck humor". On asking the bartender where the bathroom was located he replied ''Behind you, just follow the flies''.

We finished our cafés and put the comedy behind us to have a stroll through the village.

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We finally arrived at the Chemin des Dames, which means the ladies road. It acquired this name as it was a route often taken by two daughters of Louis XV, who used to visit Louis' former mistress at a château in the area. It was little more than a dirt carriage road at the time and was resurfaced by the count of the château to accommodate Louis' daughters. This road is steeped in military history starting with Julius Caesar, who used this route when conquering Gaul. Napoléon defeated the Prussians and the Russians here during the Battle of Craonne but it is most commonly associated with the fighting that occurred here during WWI.

Here's a brief summary of the WWI history of the Chemin des Dames. The Chemin des Dames is a 25km-30km long road that runs along the spine of a high plateau offering commanding views of the surrounding terrain, making it a very strategic position to hold from a military standpoint. Three important battles were fought here from 1914 to 1918 (The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battles of the Aisne) with the Germans controlling the ridge until October of 1917 when it was captured after the second battle, only to be retaken after the third battle.

During the start of the first battle the French had been creeping towards the ridge during the night in heavy fog. The bright morning sun burned off the fog leaving the French, who were in wide open fields with no cover, exposed to intense machine gunfire and mortars. A stalemate ensued with each side digging in and so began trench warfare. For the next 3+- years the Germans and French looked at each other from a distance of several meters.

The best known battle is the second one. It was supposed to be a massive offensive by the French but delays and information leaks gave the Germans time to prepare and combined with poor decision making by the French the number of casualties was astounding. The French suffered 40,000 casualties on the first day of fighting and after the 12 day battle concluded they had amassed 120,000 casualties. The French did capture the ridge by the battles end but the German position only moved 7 kilometers.

The third battle marked the German recapture of the ridge for a short time until the tides of war turned against them a short while later. No need to detail all the atrocities. I think you get it.

Our first stop along the Chemin des Dames was the Fort de la Malmaison. The fort was built as a result of the French military defeat in 1871, whereby Alsace and part of Lorraine were lost to Germany. It was part of a new series of fortifications known as the Séré de Rivières, meant to protect against any further German invasions and to prevent a second siege of Paris. The fort was built between 1878 and 1882 but within a few years of its completion it was already outdated due to advances in artillery.

With the invention in 1884 of the new explosive chemical melinite, 10 times more explosive than gun powder and also more stable, the French sought out a fort to test the new discovery in a field experiment. In 1886, over a period of three months, 171 missiles of various caliber were fired at the fort. The observers were dismayed to discover the extent of damage caused to the fort by the shelling. The fort was used as a testing ground again in 1894 and it was in such bad condition in 1912 that it was partially demolished and put up for sale.

After the outbreak of WWI the second line forts like Malmaison had neither arms nor a garrison and the French were quick to abandon them. The Germans then occupied them and used them to their advantage throughout the course of the war. We thought we might be able to go into the fort but there was a sign out front saying it was closed due to safety reasons. I don't know if there is a reopening planned.

However, adjacent to the fort is a large and somber German cemetery for the combatants of WWII. It was established in 1941 but the final interments weren't made until 1954 with the creation of the German-French War Graves Treaty, after which time 6,800 bodies were relocated here from various other battle sites in the area. The new cemetery was officially inaugurated on August 21, 1965 and the remains of 11,861 (or 11,850 or 11,808 depending on which source you cite) German soldiers now lie at rest here. It was sobering to see the exact same date of death on row after row of gray iron crosses.








Moving along from the Fort de la Malmaison.






I've visited the Chemin des Dames and the surrounding area on a prior trip and wrote a report about. I'm going to take some photos from that report since the weather was better. You'll notice the difference in the bright blue skies. Next we entered the town of Cerny en Laonnois.






At the start of the war the original village was located somewhere on the plateau near church in the last photo. It was completely destroyed during the war and rebuilt afterwards.You know all that peaceful countryside along the plateau you've seen in the last few photos? Here's what it looked like during the war.



Pretty grim.There are numerous cemeteries in the area and one is located in Cerny en Laonnois. During the fighting soldiers were often buried where they fell. After the fighting efforts were made to relocate the bodies to cemeteries. Here is a French cemetery.



And here is the adjacent German cemetery.




Here is a statue of Napoleon in commemoration of the Battle of Craonne in which the French fought the Russians and Prussians in 1814. Napoleon used a tower in a mill building as a look-out and the statue stands where the mill once stood.




Here are some views from the statue.

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Moving along the road we came to La Caverne du Dragon, a museum is housed in old stone quarries that were part of a farm at the start of the war. Beneath the ridge is a large system of old quarry tunnels some 20-40 meters underground, most of which were occupied by the Germans during the war. At times both the French and Germans were occupying portions of the quarry, using them as field hospitals and command centers. The walls between tunnels were so thin in places that the opposing troops could hear one another.




Adjacent to the museum is the Constellation de la Douleur, an artisitc work that commemorates the contribution of Senegalese soldiers to the French cause.








Next we came to the Plateau de Californie (California Plateau). Its name comes from a ''maison de plaisir'' (brothel) called La Californie that was once located nearby and which sought its inspiration in the American saloons of the old west.




This spot figured prominently during the Second Battle of the Aisne, from mid April to early May 1917. During this offensive action the French commander Nivelle planned a massive assault on the German positions along the Chemin des Dames that he predicted would be complete in 48 hours. It was poorly planned with several delays and the Germans were well aware of what was coming. Further, little was known about the terrain or the fact that Germans were hidden deep inside the quarries along the ridge and were relatively unaffected by the massive bomardment of their positions which preceeded the Allied assault. The operation was a massive disaster and after a few weeks French casualties mounted to 120,000, with 40,000 of those occuring on the first day of the asault. This led to mutinies among the French troops who refused orders from their superiors and Nivelle was sacked and sent to North Africa, replaced by Pétain who had opposed the assault in the first place. By the end of the assault The Plateau de Californie, a mere 4km stretch of land on an 80km long ridge, and the nearby town of Craonne were the only places where German occupied positions had been recaptured.

You can go for a walk in the adjacent woods and see the craters and trenches left over from the fighting.




There is a memorial on the site created by the French sculptor Haim Kern which was inaugurated in 1998 on the 80th anniversary of the Armistice treaty.






Moving down the road we passed by a British cemetery.




Our final stop of the day was to see the National Tank Memorial. The memorial was built on the site from where the first French tanks had been deployed during the assault of April 16, 1917. At all the various commemorative battle sites there are excellent and informative signs to aid the visitor in understanding the significance and importance of each site visited. The signs are in English, French and German. Instead of me droning on telling you all about the tank memorial I took photos of the signs so I'll let them do the talking.



















There were a couple of tanks on display at the memorial but they date from after WWII.

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Our destination for the day was the hilltop medieval town of Laon, noted for its great gothic cathedral, where we would spend the night. I'm going to use photos from my last trip to Laon since I took those on a day with bright blue skies. Here is a view looking up at my first glimpse of the cathedral.




Once you reach the top of the hill you are rewarded by panoramic views of the surrounding countryside in all directions.




The history of Laon pre-dates the arrival of the Romans when it was a Gallic village. Fortified by the Romans, it resisted invasions by various barbarian tribes and its control and possession was oft times disputed through the Merovingian, Carolingian and Capetian dynasties. The oldest remnants of what exist today date from the 12th and 13th centuries and can be found in the cité médiévale area near the cathedral, which itself dates to the 12th century with some later additions and modifications. Laon is classified as a city of art and history and has 68 classified historic monuments. Many of the buildings lining the main streets date from the 16th to 18th century. Put it all together and it adds up to a great place to spend a few hours. Let's have a look around town.












All throughout the town there are informative signs erected in front of historic monuments.






The cathedral at Laon is noted noted for the animal statues that adorn its towers, specifically the oxen and horses. Their presence can be traced to an ancient tale relating to the construction of the cathedral known as the legend of The Ox That Helped. I could sum up the legend in a few brief sentences but I think tales like this are best told when heard from the perspective of a grandfather recounting a legend to his grandson, as you'll find if you click on the following link:

www.sacred-texts.com/etc/tl/tl09.htm

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My Mrs. was taking a little nap at the hotel while I was wandering around town exploring. I went into the cathedral and had the whole place to myself at the same time as the church organist was practicing. I made a little video to capture the organ music, which I thought was particularly nice.




After my walk around town I went to get the Mrs. for dinner. If anyone is interested we stayed at the Hôtel les Chevaliers, an 18th century hôtel particulier in the medieval part of town. While it wasn't luxurious it was reasonably priced, clean and comfortable and several of the rooms have recently been renovated. We were shown three rooms we could choose from and all were pleasant.

www.tourisme-paysdelaon.com/Hebergements/Hotel-Les-Chevaliers


We ate dinner at a nice little restaurant called Le Pêché Mignon. It seemed to be the nicest place in town and the menu was reasonably priced.

www.tourisme-paysdelaon.com/Restaurants/Le-Peche-Mignon

The food was nothing extraordinary but it was well prepared and flavorful and the service was friendly and efficient. We got a nice bottle of champagne for 28€.




After dinner I took another stroll around town to get some night time photos.























As I moved a few blocks away from the old town I heard some rock music coming from a bar so I went to check it out. There was a punk/rockabilly band playing so I went into the bar to hang out with the local rockers and kick back a few cold ones.

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We continued strolling around town the next morning and learned more about Laon from the really excellent informative signs they have posted all throughout town. In additional to the historical background every sign always seemed to have one tale/legend/fact recounted and they were always interesting and/or sometimes humorous.




The Kinghts Templar founded one of their first Commanderies in Laon and here is what remains and is open to visitors.






More signs.






After our visit of Laon the plan for the rest of the day was just to meander through the countryside on our way back home and stop at any place that might be interesting. There is some really pretty countryside south of Laon and since I've got photos of this area from a sunny day I'll use those to present the area in its best conditions.

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Okay, so not much is happening here and that's just the way I like it. No history to describe. I can just sit back and relax and let the pictures do the talking.






















Back to a few photos from today. I saw a château icon on the map near a little hamlet called Arrancy so we headed in that direction.







We pulled up to the front of the château and a nearby herd of cattle came marching from the far end of their pasture to inspect us.



I feel like someone is staring at us.

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Here are some photos of Arrancy. We parked the car to take some photos and a few old ladies opened their shutters and stuck there heads out the window to make sure we outsiders weren't up to no good.
















Our next destination was to see one of my favorite art deco churches that I had told the Mrs. about. Many of the village churches in the area were destroyed during WWI and in between wars a program of reconstruction was undertaken with several art deco churches taking the place of the 12th century churches which preceeded them. The Eglise Saint-Martin de Martigny-Courpierre is among the finest of these churches so we went off to see it. Remember all those great informative historical signs in Laon? Well, similar such signs have been erected all over the region during this past winter (because they didn't exist last year) by the regional tourism council. Just about any monument we visited during our mini-vacation had one of these signs.

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One of the noted architects in this region was Albert Paul Müller. From 1928 to 1933 he oversaw the building of this church, which is considered a masterpiece of the Art Deco style, as well as several others in the area. In addition to utilizing the aesthetics of the style the church incorporates new building techniques through the use of cement in its construction, replacing the traditional lime mortar. Personally I'm not so sure that was a great idea as there are bits and pieces on the exterior of the church that are already eroding away. But that was in vogue at the time so that's what was done. Here are some shots of the exterior of the church.










The exterior certainly is classic Art Deco in style but it is the interior of the church that will freeze you in your tracks once you enter. I've seen the famous Matisse chapel in Vence, and, while it certainly is lovely, in terms of artistic craftsmanship it doesn't hold a candle to this church. I'm not saying the two churches have common ground for comparison but it does raise an interesting point. Some monuments are famous due to their association with a historic person, place or event and their ''tourist worthiness'' is more attributable to said history rather than any intrinsic self generating interest.

Admittedly, this church sits in the middle of nowhere with no nearby attractions (with the notable exception of WWI sites) and no public transport system to assist the visitor so the necessary infrastructure to create a ''tourist worthy'' destination is lacking. But hopefully, by giving exposure to such little known precious gems as this, those with a car and a taste for discovering the unknown might be inspired to search for their own undiscovered gem. Let's go inside.

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On second thought maybe you shouldn't seek out undiscovered gems, otherwise, I might not have such places all to myself when I visit.

Before leaving the church behind I feel obligated to mention the name of the artist responsible for the numerous frescoes, works of mosaic tiling and other decorative details exhibited in the church. Eugène Chapleau was known as one of the greatest fresco painters of his time. His style was influenced by post impressionism and inspired by the fauviste movement popular just after the turn of the 20th century.

Here are a few photos of the landscapes one encounters as viewed from just outside the church.






Feeling we had totally gotten our moneys worth out of our church visit (absolutely free) it was time to continue on to new adventures.

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Passing through the town of Monthenault we noticed they also had an art deco church.












The church was closed while we were here but if the same happens to you then you can contact one of the local residents to obtain the key.




We continued on from the church through the countryside and small villages.

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Moving further south towards the A4 autoroute the map showed an icon for a ruin called Le Château de Fère-en-Tardenois so we went to have a look.




The château was constructed from 1206 to 1260 when Robert, the brother of Louis VII, obtained control of a local fiefdom and built a fortress in the motte and bailey style typical of the epoque. In 1528 Francis I granted the fortress to Anne de Montmorency, commander of the king's armies, as a wedding present. It was he who modified completely and sumptuously the fortress to make it a comfortable residence. The king and his entourage were frequent visitors. Anne de Montmorency is better known as the builder of the exquisite châteaux at Chantilly and Ecouen. The château passed through several hands and slowly fell into ruin. During the Revolution Philippe Egalité, bankrupt from expenses, had the castle demolished to get money for its materials.






I've seen several motte and bailey type fortresses and this was probably the largest motte I have seen to date, not to mention the huge dry moat surrounding it. One of the most notable features is the Renaissance gallery bridge, built from 1555 to 1560. It may have been inspired by a similar gallery built at the famous Château de Chenonceau. It featured two floors, the lower one for pedestrians and the upper one used as gaming rooms and gallery proper.




Here is the Renaissance extension of the château, which was renovated in 1863 and converted to a hotel in 1955. If you're in the area and want to spend the night here is the website:

chateaudefere.com/blog/














Leaving the château behind we passed through the town of Fère-en-Tardenois, which is famous as the hometown of Camille Claudel, noted for her romantic involvement with Rodin, and her brother Paul, a noted writer. The tourist office has some maps/brochures for themed itineraries if you want to follow the Claudel trail through town and the area. We didn't so we kept on driving.

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We arrived next at the American Cemetery at Seringes-et-Nesles, known as the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery.



The cemetery is built on the spot where the 42nd American Division fought, nicknamed The Rainbow Division supposedly after a comment made by General Douglas MacArthur. On July 26, 1918 the 42nd overran formidable German defenses in a bold attack that took place without artillery preparation. It was noted as one of few battles where the bayonet played a decisive role so the fighting was obviously up close and personal. General MacArthur said of the fighting:

''We took Meurcy Farm in a hand to hand fight but the center at Seringes-et-Nesles still held. Their artillery was concentrated; their machine guns east and west of town raked us fore and aft; but nothing could stop the impetus of that mad charge. We forded the river; we ascended the slopes; we killed the garrison in the town to a man. At dusk on July 29th we were in sole possession''.

The Oise-Aisne American Cemetery is the second largest of eight American WWI cemeteries located on foreign soil. The majority of the 6,012 War Dead were killed during the Aisne-Marne Offensive and the Oise-Aisne Offensive.








In looking at the map we noticed that a few kilometers away from the cemetery was an icon for a château ruin so we went to have a look at the Château de Nesles.






The Château de Nesles was a château-fort built by the seigneurs of the Château de Fère-en-Tardenois. It possesses a rectangular wall flanked at each corner by round towers with a round donjon tower in the center. It was built in 1226 and is a rare and perfect example of the Philippe Auguste style of military architecture. It consists mostly of its original plan with minimal modification or restoration through the centuries. Although it is designated a historic monument a sign said that it was temporarily closed to the public so we coudn't go in for a visit.








And so came to an end of our 2 days of exploring the southeastern Picardie region. There was loads more we didn't see so I'll be returning many times in the future. I picked up dozens of brochures and maps from the various tourist offices in the region and the on-line ressources offered by the local tourist offices are packed with info about the area. No doubt anyone wishing to visit this region could easily spend a couple of weeks exploring without running out of things to see and do. The area we were exploring was not far off from Reims and champagne country so you could certainly include that as part of your explorations if you wished. Although Reims and Epernay get all the attention as the most well known champagne houses are in these towns, what people don't know is that along the Marne river near Château-Thierry are several champagne vineyards and there are loads of smaller, independent producers in several small towns and villages here where you can taste and buy. So if you're a little bit different and are looking to explore some pretty countryside and an interesting area not far from Paris you should remember that you don't have to go to the Loire or Normandy or Burgundy to find such places.