Reims

In planning our trip north to WWI country, we needed to find a place to stay in the Champagne/Ardenne area, and Reims seemed logical.  It is a fairly large city, definitely in the midst of WWI action, and, as a bonus, it is the “capital” of Champagne.


Mosaic mural illustrating the steps in making champagne
above the entrance to a former champage house
 

Where else can you find Champagne
 in a hotel vending machine?

Reims has a very long and rich history.  According to legend, the city was founded by Remus (as in Romulus and Remus of Rome).  A Celtic tribe lived here and actually built a circular stronghold in 80BC before being conquered by the Romans.  .At one time 30,000 people lived in this Gallo-Roman city.  Clovis, King of the Franks, was baptized here in 498 AD, establishing the “Divine Right of Kings.”  And, Reims became the place of coronation for a total of 33 kings.  During the Industrial Revolution, the population grew from 30,000 to 120,000 within a century.  Then came WWI.

On September 4, 1914, the German army entered Reims.  The Germans were pushed back out of town, but ended up shelling Reims for three and one-half years.  The siege ended with the destruction of more than 80% of the town and the deaths of more than 5,000 people.  The Cathedral alone received around 300 shells.  As you can see below, the city was a wreck. 

The city was rebuilt with care, and is quite attractive today although very few of the older, pre WWI, buildings remain.  It is nice to note that two wealthy Americans helped with the new construction.  The first, Andrew Carnegie, through his Carnegie Foundation for World Peace, financed the building of a beautiful library which opened in 1928.  It holds around 400,000 texts and is truly a magnificent structure.  It was constructed in unique, half-round shape, and boasts a magnificent art deco chandelier in the entry hall, and beautiful tile and glass throughout.  It is not only beautiful but also quite functional and remains in active use today.

Entrance to the library
(that's a bust of Carnegie on the pedestal)



View of the back of the building.
 

Entry hall.

Art Deco chandelier in the entry hall.

Rebuilding the Cathedral has involved funding from national, regional, and local governments, as well as an outpouring of donations from individuals, organizations, and businesses in France and all over the world – notably a sizeable donation from John D. Rockefeller, the second big American contributor.  As an emblematic monument and masterpiece of Gothic art, the Reims Cathedral, continues to attract donors for projects concerning restoration of the edifice, as well as the creation of contemporary art works. The stained glass windows created by Marc Chagall in 1971, for example.  Although it is definitely in current use, major restoration work continues today.

Showing WWI damage to the Cathedral



The Cathedral today
(note the scaffolding)

A few of the Marc Chagall windows

We stayed at The Grand Hôtel du Nord which turned out to be not only quite pleasant but also ideally located in the heart of the City.  It is on the Place d’Erlon, a wide, pedestrian-only area lined with restaurants, hotels, and shops.  We found we were easily able to leave our rental car parked from our arrival to our departure and to walk to the main “must-sees” as well as the numerous options for food and, of course, Champagne.

Views from our room.

The only problem with staying in Reims is that it proved to be quite a distance from the area where Anna’s Grandfather actually was during WWI.  So we consulted the trusty Guide Michelin and found the village of Sainte-Ménehould and Le Cheval Rouge Hôtel–Restaurant.  Which turned out to be ideally located for our exploration of battle sites.