A Visit to L’Abbaye de Cluny

Once upon a time, around 910, William the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Macon and Bourges, asked  Bernon, abbot of Baume-les Messieurs and Gigny, to found a house of prayer on one of his estates.  On September 11, 910, William signed the foundation act in his hometown of Bourges, and twelve monks took up residence in the rural Cluny villa. 

The monks followed Saint Benedict’s rules, which included electing their own abbot and the renunciation of one's own will and arming oneself "with the strong and noble weapon of obedience."  Their day would begin at midnight with the service, or "office", of Matins, followed by Lauds at 3 AM, Prime at 6 AM, then they gathered in Chapter to receive instructions for the day and to attend to any judicial business, then came private Mass or spiritual reading or work until Terce was said at 9 AM, then High Mass, the office of Sext and the midday meal at noon,  the office of None at 3 PM, the evening prayer of Vespers at 6 PM , and, finally, Compline at 9 PM. In between services there was farming, housekeeping and other work.  They were pretty busy.

What is extraordinary is that from this humble beginning, Cluny grew to become the largest, wealthiest, most powerful monastery in the world.  Its church, completed in 1130 AD, was 600 feet long, with a barrel-vaulted ceiling 98 feet high and a central tower 119 feet high.  It was the largest church, monastic or otherwise, until St. Peter’s in Rome was completed in the 17^th century.  The monastery, which managed to remain independent, answering only to the Pope, grew to 10,000 monks and controlled over 1,450 satellite abbeys and priories throughout Europe.  The abbey was able to start crusades and punish offenders with excommunication.   Among its abbots were Pope Urban II, Cardinal Richelieu, Cardinal Mazarin, and Armand de Bourbon (Prince de Conti).  Some of the abbots commissioned the building of various edifices, including some impressive palaces.  Quite a change from its humble beginnings!

Today, thanks to the religious wars of the 16^th century and the French Revolution, only about a tenth of the great monastery remains. Most of the magnificent abbey was demolished for building materials in the early 19^th century. Nevertheless, and thanks in part to computer generated images, one can still get an idea of its wealth and power, and also a glimpse of its amazing Romanesque architecture. And, excavations and reconstruction of some of the buildings continues. Just walking through the remains of the monastery was impressive!

The colored areas in the drawing are all that remains (the monastery at its grandest is shown in gray).

This model will give you an idea of what the main structure once looked like.

Here are some pictures we took as we walked through the remaining pieces of the abbey.  As you can see, the grand scale of the it remains breathtaking!

The following two pictures will give you an idea of the scale and elegance:

Exterior of center entrance to Monastic Buildings.

Part of the exterior of Monastic Buildings from a distance.  (They are installing lights along the walk.)

One of the four sides of the cloister - each side has eleven arches.

The apse of the chapel that Abbot Jean de Bourbon had built for use as a private and funerary chapel.  (He also built a rather impressive palace.)

The village of Cluny grew up around the abbey and remains a charming, though somewhat "touristy", village. Here are some pictures we took as we walked around:

The Grand Arches (you can see part of the Abbey through the right arch).

A typical street scene.

Walking through what remains of the abbey and  through this quiet, quaint little village, we found it hard to envision this as once  being one of the most powerful spritual and political centers in the world.  Maybe there's a lesson for us all there.

Art and Architecture – a Different Approach

Our friend Reid, who has commented occasionally on the blog, sent us a picture the other day of an interesting new building in Lyon. It is located on the Saône River in an industrial part of town that is currently being redeveloped, so it is not an area that previously held much appeal for us. But the building was certainly striking in its design, and painted bright orange. We decided therefore to go take a look.



What we found was an illustration of the French approach to art [architecture rightly being considered an art form]. Not only did we get a personal look at the building in Reid’s picture, we also observed that many of the buildings in the redevelopment area were of a highly original design. And, as you will see, they were across the river from an older area, somewhat depressed, but with older buildings in what we Americans would consider typical western European architecture. Most Americans probably consider that the US is much more open to change and evolution than Europe, France in particular. Yet, here was a project incorporating daring designs and colors, ‘out of character’ with the surrounding areas; the kind of thing that would seldom be done in the US. The end result will be a striking new urban business center for one of the biggest cities in France.

Here's a direct shot of the Orange Building from the other side of the Saône.

Showing the setting.

Other distinctive buildings in the redevelopment project.

And, almost directly across the river we see the gates and dual stairways of an old Marist Sisters' convent.

This example should give us pause when we start to think about how much more open and progressive our society is in the US. We are different, but then so is France – much more open to change than we are in some areas.

After our excursion, we walked the mile or so back to Vieux Lyon for a leisurely lunch at one of our favorite sidewalk cafes.  The weather was mid 70s with bright blue skies and a gentle breeze.   (Tough to think about coming back to Kirkland drizzle!)

Visit to Arles

Anna has been a Van Gogh fan ever since 8th grade.  (It was then that a very kind teacher allowed her compensate for her total lack of artistic ability by researching and writing papers on some of the different styles of painting and some of the artists.)  We ran out of time when we went south to Avignon and never made it to Arles so a make-up trip was in order.

We had lunch at a little bistro in the small town of Roquemaure on the way to Arles.

Like so many places we’ve been to, Arles has its share of Roman sites.  In fact it became a UNESCO site in 1981 because of its Roman monuments.  There are three main ruins, and we checked out all three.

The amphitheater, is said to be one of the best preserved Roman monuments in Provence.  It was built around 90 AD and modeled on the Coliseum in Rome.  It held 20,000 spectators and was used mostly for gladiator combats and bull races.  It is still in use today for various events, but Russell Crowe and his competitors were nowhere in sight.

The Amphitheater.

The Antique Theater  was built around 100 AD and featured tragedies and pantomimes.  It held around 10,000 spectators.  There are excavations and restoration work going on today.

Antique Theater.

Constantine’s Baths were particularly interesting.  They were once part of Constantine’s grand, imperial palace – all that’s left today is remnants of the baths.  They date back to 300-400 AD.  As you can see in the pictures below, they are surprisingly well preserved and restored, and it was quite easy to determine where the baths with the various levels of heat were, where the heat sources were, etc.

Pictures taken inside the baths:

Hot air to heat the baths circulated under false floors like the one in the back of this picture.

House built right next to the baths!

If you look closely you can see detail of designs in tiles in the floor.

But, on to Van Gogh!  Van Gogh arrived in Arles on February 21, 1888, and left May 3, 1889.  In that short time he produced over 200 paintings and 100 sketches.   He was enamored with the sunshine, light, and warmth of the place.  His idea was to start a sort of artists’ community, but he couldn’t talk anyone else into joining him.  We were able to visit (aka make a pilgrimage to) some of the places he painted.  His yellow house didn’t survive the war, but we were able to eat at “Le Café le Soir,” walk around inside Espace Van Gogh (the former hospital where he was a patient after cutting off his ear), and even managed to track down “Le Vieux Moulin.” 

Here are pictures of Van Gogh's paintings followed by our photos of the same places...

Le Café le Soir (taken during the day)

 Hospital courtyard and garden.

The Old Mill.

We also wanted to wade in the Mediterranean Sea while we were in the southern part of Provence, and Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer seemed to be the best place to do it.  As so often happens on our trips, we accidently arrived at the right place at the right time to enjoy a very unique celebration.  We happened to arrive just in time for a festival that included a parade celebrating VE Day (the end of WWII in Europe), traditional dances, and the running of the bulls!  (BTW-the bulls here are not injured during the bull fights.  They have a small bow suspended between their horns and the matador must try to remove it.)  Anyway, here are some pictures we took of the festivities and other fun at the beach.

Dancers in costume.

 The dancers' one-man band.

Escorting the bulls (as you can see they have them pretty well surrounded).

Statue of a bull that reached legendary status through the years. (His offspring are definding the family honor these days.)  You can just barely see the little bow between his horns.

Another lunch in a lovely, outdoor cafe. (We take seriously our responsibility in supporting the local economy - especially the wine industry.)

The Med! Not sure how we managed to get a picture with so few people in it - seemed like there were folks everywhere.

 Anna gets her toes wet.

Now, it's David's turn.

The Beautiful, Medieval Village of Annecy (and a little French history)

If it weren’t for Calvinism, Annecy might not be the lovely town it is today. Yes, that is an odd thing to say about a place that has been resolutely Catholic for centuries, but it’s true. In fact Annecy became such an important religious center, that some historians called it “The Rome of Savoie.” But, we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves. Let’s back up and give a little history of the place.



Here’s a “Readers’ Digest condensed version” …


• Annecy is located on a rather picturesque lake, fittingly called “Lake Annecy” and the Thiou River.

Lakeside park - packed with people. (Roller blading, biking, strolling, or paddling around in small boats, and children digging in sand, playing at the playground or riding the Merry-Go-Round.

Another view of the park and lake - note the mountain backdrop in the picture. Beautiful - isn't it?

 • Remnants of a lakeside village dating back to around 3,000BC have been found in Annecy-le-Vieux (Old Annecy).

• The Romans moved in and soon trading routes to Faverges, Aix Les Bains, and Geneva converged at Annecy. It became a village (named Boutae) of about 2,000 people and had its own Forum, Temple, and Thermal Baths. Most of the inhabitants of Boutae left in the 6th century.


• There were a number of occupations of the site from the 12th century on. (“New Annecy” in mentioned in a text dated 1107.) Because of its location on the banks of the Thiou at the lake mouth, the site was recognized as being in an advantageous position controlling the north-south axis for traders, armies, various other friendly and unfriendly folks. From this point on, the medieval town of Annecy was built on both sides of the river. The town was protected by fortifications that would eventually become a castle.


• The town got a big boost when the Count of Geneva fled Geneva (disputes with the Bishops) and established his residence in Annecy and started building a castle. The Geneva family died out in 1394 with the death of Robert of Geneva (also “anti-Pope” Clement VII for those of you keeping track of that stuff).

Here are two views inside the castle.

• Then came the Dukes of Savoy. In 1401, Amadeus VIII (there will be a quiz at the end!) established the Savoyard state that included the County of Geneva and Annecy. The Savoy family became influential and powerful, which gave Annecy a boost.


• So, back to Annecy and the Catholic Church…. The Bishop of Geneva decided to leave town after the Protestant Reformation in 1535 and moved to Annecy. Several religious communities followed him and Annecy became an important religious center, “The Rome of Savoy.” This led to a “golden age” and the construction of many of the lovely, historic buildings we enjoy today.

Some of the lovely, old houses still in use today.

Two views of the river going through town and some of the picturesque bridges.

Today Annecy is recognized as one of the most beautiful and charming cities in France. We were told by the owners of our favorite boulangerie that we definitely should go there, and all the other French people we have mentioned it to get dreamy smiles on their faces and talk about how lovely it is. And so…we took a “day trip” to Annecy. We had lunch, walked along the lake and around the old part of town, and made a quick tour of the castle. But, we have much, much more to see, and hope to return to continue our exploration of the lovely city.

River with old buildings and bridges - and LOTS of people!

Street scene in the old town.

Where we had lunch.

L’Île Barbe

We took a 30 minute bus ride (two buses actually) and visited L’Île Barbe, a little island with a big history in the middle of the Saône River.  During the construction of Metro line D in 1984-5, the workers found evidence that the area nearby has been occupied since the Neolithic period (5,000 – 2,500 BC). Maybe that explains the name of the island: “Barbarian Island.” In any case Charlemagne is said to have been “captivated” by this lovely, little island. It’s easy to see why - even today; it is a peaceful oasis covered with dense foliage and a few, rather stately, buildings and just minutes away from one of the biggest cities in France.

Map of island - notice that the north end of the island is private.

Narrow bridges on either side of the island provide the only pedestrian and vehicle access.

The island with the Saône.

The island became the site of a powerful abbey from Merovingian times (about 475 – 750 AD) with about 100 monks living there during the Carolingian period (about 750–1100 AD). It passed into secular management in the mid-16th century, was seriously damaged during the Wars of Religion (later in the 16th century), and fell into oblivion after the French Revolution.

To give you an idea of what it used to look like.

Still looks pretty formidable.  The Bell Tower is about all that's left of the abbey now.

You have to look hard to find architectural evidence of the abbey today although the guide books say it can be found in the walls of private houses and under some of the dense foliage. We took a lot of pictures of existing buildings, as you can see, and hope that they can convey a bit of the charm of the island.

Residences on the private end of the island.

The Chateau de Valeville - dates back to 16th century and still in use.

We saw a lovely looking lady go in and out of this home.

This auberge is right across from the lady's house.  Looks like a nice place to stay - don't you agree?

 We also walked through a park area where a man was practicing boules, children were playing in the playground, a family was enjoying their barbecued lunch, and people were just sitting on benches and enjoying the surroundings. It is a little humbling to know that we may have walked in Charlemagne’s footsteps and most certainly walked along paths used by monks hundreds of years ago.

Looking towards the bridge from the park.  The man practicing boules is out of the picture on the right.

David in the park.  Pretty peaceful, as you can see.

After spending a couple of hours wandering around, we went off the island and had lunch at a boulangerie in the central place across from the 9th Arrondissement Marie (town hall for the 9th district in Lyon). We walked over to the Marie building and noticed the plaque saying that Charles IX (reigned from 1560 to 1574) and his mother once spent the night in the building. Then we walked down a narrow little street and saw a plaque explaining the inscription next to it; it seems that the remains of a Roman soldier and his wife are buried there. There is history everywhere around here!

King Charles slept here.