Persistency's Promise: Spring break trip 2023 (D4: Verdun Pt1)

My wife and daughter weren't feeling well, so my son and I did a walking tour of the city. We started at the tourism office, where I got a list of sites.

1. Monuments aux morts et aux enfants de Verdun. War Memorial of the citizens of Verdun who died in both world wars.

"Erected in 1928, the War Memorial dedicated to the Citizens of Verdun is built inside La Chausée demi-lune, part of the fortifications constructed by Marshal Vauban in the 17th Century. The memorial occupies the site of the former military slaughterhouse destroyed in 1916. The statues represent the five arms of the serivce of the French Army engages in the battle of 1916. From left to right we can make out: a cavalryman, an Engineer sapper, an infantryman (also known as a “poilu,” an artilleryman, and a reservist. These five soldiers form a human wall symbolising the mottoe of the city: “They will not pass.” On the base of the monument are inscribed the names of the soldiers of Verdun who died in the First and Second World Wars."

The statue is of General Maurice Serrail; he served as the commander of the French forces near Verdun early in the war.

2. Porte Chaussée / Tour Chausée

"This fortified gatehouse served as the official entry to the city ever since its construction in the 14th Century, as part of the Grand Rampart which surrouned Verdun in the Middle Ages. The gatehouse was offered to the city by Wautrec, a rich citizen who was an alderman. It symbolised the new status of Verdun which was made an “imperial free city” in 1374. By this the city was obliged to maintain its own ramparts and to look to its own defence in the case of an attack."

3. Défense de Rhodin

"Representing a wounded warrior supported by a winged Victory, this figure group by the sculptor Rodin was proposed in 1879 as an entry in a competition organised by the Conseil Général of the Seine, to commemorate the resistance of the Parisians against the Prussians in 1870. Felt to be too violent for the time, the statue was not adopted. In 1916, the Netherlands government asked for permission to have a bronze copy cast, to offer it to the city of Verdun. The order was completed in 1920 and the statue installed at Verdun, firstly in De la Roche Square at the Saint Paul Gate, and later, and Frères Boulhaut Promenade."

4. Porte St-Paul / Saint Paul Gate

"Added to the ramparts in the 19th Century, it is composed of two arched passages (entry and exit), each one protected by a drawbridge. The Gate allowed he Army conscripts arriving at the Station to enter the city centre, and reach the Jeanne d’Arc Barracks. In the 1920s, the ramparts around he lower city, weakened by the bombardments of 1916, were pulled down. The only surviving remnants are the Saint-Paul Gate along with the Tour Chaussée. The former has been decorated with commemorative plaques dedicated to victory in the Battle of Verdun and to the reconstruction of the city."

5. Palais de justice (formerly St Paul’s Abbey).

"The first abbey dedicated to Saint Paul was built in the 10th Century outisde the city ramparts, on the spot where the 6th Bishop of Verdun, Paul, was buried. It was attacked by the citizens of Verdun in the 13th Century during a dispute with the current Bishop, then demolished in 1552 on the orders of the King of France. It was rebuilt on the present site in around 1560, then remodelled for the thired time in the 18th Century. The buildings of the former Abbey are shared by the sub-prefecture government and the Court of Justice."

6. Chapelle St-Nicolas / Buvignier Chapel

"This chapel was built in the 18th Cedntury, and was formerly the chapel of the Jesuit college, established in Verdun in 1570. It was dedicated to Saint Nicolas because it was built on the former site of the medieval Saint Nicolas de Gravière Hospital. It also bears the name of an adjoining college, in memory of the Buvignier family, notable citizens of Verdun. See also: the marks left by the impact of shells and shrapnel which damaged the building in the course of two World Wars. The attractive night-time illumination of the façade."

7. Monument à la Victoire / Monument to Victory and to the citizens of Verdun

"The monument commemorating “the victory and the citizens of Verdun” was inaugerated on 23rd June 1929 in the presence of the President of the Republic Gaston Doumerge. The work of architect Léon Chesnay, it consists of 73 steps leading to a commemorative crypt, dominated by a Frankish warrior leaning on his sword, his gaze fixed on the Eastern frontier. It symbolises the French victories of 1916 (the Battle of Verdun) and of 1918 (the Armistice ending the First World War), as well as the rebuilding of the city, of which 85 percent had been destroyed."

The guns are Russian. They were captured first by the Germans, and later by the French.

8. Musée de la Princerie

"The Princier was an important officer in the Verdun Bishopric. In the 13th Century the then Princier built a residence near the Cathedral. The bulding fell into disrepair in the 16th Century and was bought by two Canons of the Cathedral, the de Musson Brothers. Rebuilding of the residence was completed by 1525. Since 1932, the building has housed the Princerie Museum, which displays the art and history of the city of Verdun."

It was closed at the time we visited (until 1 April), so this picture is all I have.

9. Porte Châtel (Châtel Gate)

"This is the oldest gateway in Verdun. Built in the 12th Century, the Châtel Gate was part of the former ramparts which enlosed the upper part of the city. It controlled access to the city from Mont Saint Vanne, on which was built the famous Benedictine Abbey of Saint Vanne. This gate and a remnant of the old rampart still show medieval defensive features such as battlements and loopholes."

I thought the building in the lower right picture was something special, but it seems to just be someone's residence.

10. Palais épiscopal. (The Bishop’s church)

"Sited next to Nôtre Dame Cathedral, the Bishop’s Palace was built in the 18th Century. The work of Robert de Cotte, architect to the King of France Louis XV, it was sealed off during the French Revolution but still suffered damage. In the 19th Century, it was used as a Courtroom, and also housed the Verdun Museum. Bombarded during the First World War, it was once more used as the Bishop’s residence during the 1920s. Since 1993 it has housed the World Peace Centre."

11. Cathédrale Notre-Dame

"The Cathedral of Verdun has been dedicated to the Virgin Mary since the 5th Century. Construction of the present building began in the 10th Century, and the Cathedral celebrated its millennium in 1990. It remains the largest Romanesque building in Lorraine despite being rebuilt during the Middle Ages and the modern period. Seriously damaged by fire in the 18th Century, it suffered several bombardments during the First World War because of its dominant position in the city."