Rheims and the Battles for its PossessionPneu Michelin (Firm)
History
Rheims and the Battles for its Possession
Pneu Michelin (Firm)
Reims (France) -- Guidebooks; World War, 1914-1918 -- Battlefields -- Guidebooks
_The Rue des Deux Anges, which continues the Rue de la Clef, leads to
the_ Place du Palais, destroyed during the bombardments of April, 1918.
_In this square stands the_ =Palais de Justice=. The _Palais_ replaced
the old Hôtel-Dieu, but has been almost entirely rebuilt. It is a
building of little note, the principal entrance in particular being
stiff to excess.
[Illustration: RUE CARNOT
_The Place Royale is seen in the background._]
Its only interest is provided by two relics of the past: the vast
cellars or subterranean vaults with pointed arches supported by columns
with Gothic capitals; and the façade of the Audience-Chamber, formerly
the principal ward of the old Hôtel Dieu, the exterior of which has
retained its venerable appearance and the interior, vestiges of its
lofty timber-work and wainscoted vaulting.
The ground-floor of the _Palais_ alone escaped damage from fire and the
shells, thanks to a terrace of reinforced concrete.
_On the left of the Palais take the Rue Carnot_, destroyed by the
bombardments of April, 1918.
The Rue Carnot communicates with the courtyard of the Chapter-House,
also burnt, by a great gate and passage which pass right through a
house.
This entrance was built about 1530, in the transition style between the
Gothic and Renaissance. Its elliptical arch bears a scutcheon with the
arms of the Chapter. Consoles, decorated with grotesque figures, support
the beams. The points of the turrets have disappeared, a supporting
shaft has been mutilated, and the carved wooden leaves of the door have
been removed to the Lycée, yet the gate is still imposing.
It is the last remaining vestige of the Chapter buildings which, with
their gates closing at the same time as those of the city, at the sound
of the bell, formed a "city within a city." In point of fact, the
Chapter was once lord of that part of the city which lies around the
Cathedral, and which it administered. The canons, jealous of their
prerogatives, were often in conflict with the archbishops.
[Illustration: DOOR OF THE CHAPTER-HOUSE COURTYARD
_The Northern Transept of the Cathedral is seen in the background._]
A few capitals and shafts of the ancient cloister of the Chapter,
adjoining the Cathedral, were recently discovered and placed under one
of the penthouses built between the buttresses of Nôtre-Dame.
_Go through the gate, cross the Place du Chapitre, follow the Rue du
Préau towards the Cathedral, then turn to the right into the Rue Robert
de Coucy, which leads back to the Place du Parvis Nôtre-Dame._
=SECOND ITINERARY FOR VISITING RHEIMS=
[Illustration (Map)]
_Starting from the Place du Parvis-Nôtre-Dame, take the Rue Libergier,
opposite the Cathedral. Turn to the left into the_ Rue Chanzy, which was
destroyed by the bombardments of April-August, 1918.
[Illustration: RUE CHANZY]
[Illustration: DOOR AND BALCONY OF THE HÔTEL DE COURTAGNON, (_18th
Century_), _at No. 71 Rue Chanzy_]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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