The Americans in the Great War; v. 2. The Battle of Saint Mihiel: (St. Mihiel, Pont-à-Mousson, Metz)
History
The Americans in the Great War; v. 2. The Battle of Saint Mihiel: (St. Mihiel, Pont-à-Mousson, Metz)
France -- Guidebooks; Saint-Mihiel, Battle of, Saint-Mihiel, France, 1918
_At the end of the square, take Rue Saulnerie to the right (continued on
the left by Rue du Paradis), which leads to Rue des Capucins. At the end
of the latter is Place des Maréchaux, in which stands the_ Church of St.
Ségolène, built on the site of an oratory founded by St. Ségolène in the
8th century. The present church, built at two different periods (the
choirs, nave and portal are earlier than the aisles), dates from about
the 13th century. Long, narrow windows, mostly double, end in
stanchions. The two side chapels contain fine stained-glass. Note the
curious open-work gallery of the organ loft, and several interesting
paintings.
_Turn to the left and take the Rue des Trinitaires. Skirt an old
building with a square turret, beside a doorway_—“Hostel St.
Ligier”—_then turn to the right into Rue de la Bibliothèque_.
_In this street, at the corner of Rue Chèvremont, there is_ a large
building (formerly the Church of the Petits-Carmes), _the work of
Sébastian Leclerc_, in which are housed both the library (80,000 volumes
and 1,987 manuscripts) and the Museum (local archæology, natural
history, objects of art and three rooms of pictures).
_Besides the museum, take Rue Chèvremont, which runs into Rue de la
Boucherie, in which turn to the left to St. Georges Bridge over the
Moselle._
_Cross this bridge, from which there is a lovely view, and take the Rue
du Pont St. Georges. Rue Chambière opens at once on the right, and leads
to_ =Chambière Cemetery=, in which are the graves of the French soldiers
who fell in the siege of 1870.
_The road passes between the large slaughter house and cattle market,
and huts serving as an army stores._ _Cross an_ old cemetery, in the
middle of which are several monumental tombs. _Skirt the Jewish cemetery
and the Moselle, as far as the_ =Military Cemetery=: numerous graves under
the trees. In the centre stands a pyramid thirty-seven feet high, with a
great number of piled up coffins carved on the base. Here lie the
soldiers who died in the Metz hospitals of wounds received in the
battles of Borny, Gravelotte, St. Privat, Servigny, Peltre and
Ladonchamps—7,203 in number.
[Illustration: MOSELLE RIVER _Seen from St. George’s Bridge._]
[Illustration: MOSELLE RIVER AND ST. GEORGE’S BRIDGE]
On the principal façade is a bas-relief in white marble representing
religion, taken from a disused vault belonging to the _de Salse_ family.
On the other side are inscriptions. At the base of the pyramid is the
inscription: “_The Women of Metz to those whom they nursed._”
Beside the pyramid there is a monument to the memory of the fallen
French officers.
For forty-eight years wreaths, tri-colour cockades and ribbons were
piously placed on these graves, and on each anniversary day the women of
Metz covered them with flowers.
_Take Rue du Pont St. Georges to Rue St. Vincent_ (_on the left_), which
follow, _then turn to the right into Rue des Bénédictins_.
_Apply at No. 7 to visit the_ =Church of St. Clément.=
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account