Journées du Patrimoine

 Last weekend, France was sponsoring a weekend called "Journees du Patrimoine," what we would call "Hertiage Days," I believe. So there were lots of special events going on, reduced admissions to museums and cultural attractions etc.

I decided to go ahead a get a Covid test so that I could have a valid Passe Sanitaire and be able to multiple activities.

First, we went to a stained glass window workshop. They showed us the different areas and steps in the production of stained glass windows. We could see the sketches and mock-ups; they demonstrated how they cut each piece of glass (nothing is poured, for example); how they bend and shape the frames around each piece of glass; how they contstruct chain-link grates to protect stained glass windows from the outside of the building. My family knows that I really like glass as an artistic medium, and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the workshop.

Naturally they use hunks of glass as paper weights!

"Swatches" of stained glass.

The kids appreciated the fractal design of this one. (Is "fractal" the word I'm looking for? Or is it an infnite/infinity design?)

This one is by Marc Chagall. I think they were in the process of restoring some windows he had made. They had several there, including a presentation binder explaining it all, but I did not get or take the time to read it.

Next, we went to Limoges train station called "Gare des Benedictins." It gets its name from a medieval benedictine monastery that used to be on that site. Specially for this heritage weekend, they brought visitors down to the underground passages under the station. It is normally closed off to the public. It used to be a cart and pedestrian thoroughfare. There is also an old German safe room/hide out. 

The guide made an interesting comment about how train stations during the industral age were the "New Cathedrals." With its high vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows, and ornate scultped exterior, the station certainly is evocative of the large Gothic cathedrals found throughout France. 

On a walkway with the skyline of Limoges in the background.

Panorama of the interior

Inside the station with art deco style stained glass windows in the background.

The underground passage.

After going home for lunch, we went back out to visit a castle which lies about 40 minutes south of Limoges. Chateau Bonneval is privately owned and has been occupied by the Bonneval family for almost 1000 years! We had a delightful tourguide who spoke perfect British English (as well as perfect French) and after we returned home, more than one of us was wondering if he wasn't actually a member of the Bonneval family himself. We didn't think about it while we were still there, so we didn't ask. They don't allow photos inside the chateau. 

It's a little difficult to see, but the castle actually has a (empty) moat all the way around it, as well as a draw bridge!

Good old-fashioned draw bridge! 

Lucy admiring some old fashioned dresses on display.

The clock tower, which doesn't keep time very well according to our guide, so they don't bother setting it.

View of the town and the church over the property wall.

Panorama view. On the right is a rear terrace that stretches over the moat.

A fascinating fungus that we spotted in the parking area.

That was Saturday. On Sunday morning we went first thing to "Le Four des Casseaux" which is a porcelain factory that has been around in Limoges for 250 years. This rather long guided visit was only in French, so it was pretty boring for the kids unfortunately, but I found it interesting. The guide described how Limoges became known for its porcelain because of the purity of the clay (or other ingredients that go into making porcelain;  I'm not familiar with them in French or English so I don't how they would translate exactly) which makes a more beautiful finished product. It is interesting to note that porcelain shrinks 12-14% during the firing, so that has to be taken into consideration when designing pieces. Porcelain has to be fired twice. The first firing is up to 900 degrees, and the second firing is up to 1400 degrees (...it must be celsius, which I hadn't considered the conversion until just now - Wow!) At the Four de Casseaux, they have gigantic walk-in two storey ovens (no longer in use) which they would use to do those two firings simultaneously. The workers were the poorest of the poor, uneducated because it was such an undesireable job. Without the use of any special instruments, the oven workers learned to recognize the temperature by the color of the bricks. Incidentally, the door of the ovens had to be completely rebricked for every firing, and completely knocked out at the end. It takes 7-8 days to  complete the firing. About 3 or 4 days to get the oven up to the proper temperature (which it only needs to be at 1400 for a few seconds, and then then they let it begin to cool down) and then let it cool back down to a temperature where the workers could go into the oven and retreive the porcelain. Each piece of porcelain that is baked has to be placed inside a clay vessel which protects it from discoloration. The ovens had to be designed, and the stacks of porcelain-containing clay vessels positioned, in such a way, that the flames and heat were distributed evenly around everything. They have holes in the floor and special vents on the side for the flames that caused the flames to circulate around inside. 

The kids asked me to take a picture of the "suspicious" looking trash can.

Samuel looking into the doorway of the oven. There is a type of exhibit in there of porcelain figures that look like rappers, and those figures are on top of stacks of those clay vessels I was talking about. The walls of the oven are a little shiny because the enameling substance evaporated out of the clay vessels during firing and now coats the walls. You can see how thick the walls of the oven are, and those doorways would have to be completely bricked up and then destroyed for every firing. You can make out the small holes in the floor and one or two on the walls which is part of the fire-circulating technology of the oven.

There was a mini exhibition of some porcelain sculptures that were extremely detailed. For example, one was the bust of a female with an elaborate hairdo with curles and flowers and rippling fabric for her clothes... the point being that the artist was trying to make something extremely detailed out of the porcelain, and those pieces were not enameled because enamel mutes and softens all the lines and texture of the finished piece. And there was another piece that was an elaborate vase that had some parts enameled and some parts unenameled and the guide spoke briefly about the complexity of executing that, along with the shrinkage and the various temperatures for firing, etc. Considering that porcelain shrinks so much, I was very impressed by the detail on those finished pieces. (Sorry, I did not take pictures! However, if you are curious, you can go to the website linked above. There is a video about the current exposition and it features the case I am talking about here at about the 2 minute mark.)

After the tour of the four, we went to our parish for a reception that was being held in honor of the new priest who just came a couple of weeks ago. 

Then after that, we went an a little pilgrimage to Notre Dame d'Arliquet which is a church in Aixe-sur-Vienne, just about 10 minutes away from where we live. Our Lady of Sorrows in the patroness of that church, of which they have a beautiful statue, so in honor of the patronal feast on Sunday, they hosted a "Way of Our Lady of Sorrows" prayer in which the parish statue was processed through the grounds and we stopped to pray and reflect on Our Lady's Seven Sorrows. That was followed by Mass. The stations and the Mass were led by the Bishop! 

We were fortunate to have *mostly* sunny weather for the stations. Although Joseph did get recruited to hold an umbrella over the Bishop when it was raining and he and Simon also took turns holding the speaker for the portable sound system. 

The Mass however, was held outside (apparently a somewhat last minute decision to have the Mass outside) and it rained the entire time. 

After Mass, the Bishop kindly took interest in us and asked us where we from and our names and what we were doing during this time in France etc. He is very personable and also mingled and chatted with people at the light reception that followed the event. It was rather small compared to what I am used to seeing in the diocese of Charlotte...maybe about 100 people all together? and I felt very blessed and fortunate that we got to be a part of this devotion on Sunday. 

Interestingly enough, this small church also has four relics of saints from the catacombs in Rome. I was told that a certain point in history (I forget when), there was great concern about the catacombs being robbed and/or relics being desicrated, so the church in Rome sent relics away to other places for safe keeping. Anyways, each of these little known saints has his or her own wax effigy in a large display case built into the walls of the church. 

There's Joseph holding the speaker for the bishop.

Joseph holding the umbrella.

Praying the stations of Our Lady of Sorrows.

The very rainy end of Mass.

The bishop called all the children present to come forward to receive a blessing for the start of the new shchool year.

Notre Dame d'Arliquet. This is the patroness of the parish and their unique depiction of Our Lady of Sorrows. Her crown is very special because it is made from the doncated jewelry of parishioners. I was told that was the real one, but most of the time it is put away for safe keeping and she is only displayed with a replica of her crown. This church was designated something-I-am-drawing-a-blank by the Pope in 1850ish. The Basilica in Washington DC is also one of these. Tell me if you know what I'm talking about and I will update!)

One of the saint effigys on display  (built into the walls) in the Church. Someone told me they thought the bones might be underneath the effigy.)

Note the rain-soaked bottom of my cardigan that was not covered by my rain jacket.

Notre Dame of Arliquet (side view.) It reminds me of Belmont Abbey. I think it might have been built around the same time... mid 19th century? It's pretty small. 

That more or less concludes our busy weekend. The last thing I did on the coat tails of my valid Passe Sanitaire was to go to a café on Monday morning after I dropped the kids off at school and dine-in.