Paderborn in a small town on the way to Hanover. It’s known for its beautiful Catholic cathedral – The High Cathedral of St Mary, St Liborious and St Kilian belonging to the archdiocese of Paderborn. The church is built in the late Romanesque and Gothic styles and is at the centre of the town above some springs, called the Pader Springs.. and well, you gotta stop for lunch somewhere! So why not choose a town with a famous medeival cathedral!
The cathedral is dedicated to three saints – namely, the Vigin Mary, St Kilian and St Liborious of Le Mans. Liborious is also the first patron of the city and his bones were brought from France to Paderborn in 836 by Emperor Louis the Pious – as part of what was a traditional relic dispersion. Relics were sent to various regional diocese to provide places/things for parishioners to pay homage and tribute to, and to make pilgrimages to see. I find it rather interesting that the remains of revered saints and religious personages were taken and scattered all over the countryside; the only other group of people who had their remains separated and sent to the four corners of any given kingdom in the medieval period were traitors and high criminals. Figure that one out!
Paradise Portal, done in the Romanesque style, c.1160.
The Paradise vestibule and Paradise portal are in the southern extension of the church. Built in the second half of the 12thC it is now twice as large today as it was in the 1860s. It has been used as a resting space for pilgrims on their way to the Santiago de Compostela, and there are many similar porches on French churches and cathedrals at other pilgrimage churches en route to Santiago.
The Cathedral was rebuilt from the 11thC, along with the Ottonian Imperal place in the region with large vaulted ceilings. The vaults of the Paderborn Cathedral are surprisingly uniform, given its window configuration doesn’t appear to possess the same symmetry… there’s some architectural trickery going on here.
Sadly, there wasn’t a lot of information around the church to explain objects to visitors. But on the other hand, it’s possibly because it’s more of a working cathedral and not a heavily toursited area, so that’s a bonus for the locals.
A decidedly non-medieval looking pulpit. Fair guess to say it was a later addition.
A Bishop Badurad had a crypt built into Paderborn Cathedral, which dates back the 1100AD. Although it was redesigned in the 13thC it remains on of the largest hall crypts in Germany – which is surprising because it doesn’t seem overly large compared to the sorts of crypts you see in France and Italy?
Under the altar of the crypt is an ebony shrine containing the relics of Saint Liborious (in the small box above – we couldn’t access that area).
On the opposite side of the crypt is an anteroom to the Bishop’s Crypt, which is decorated with mosaics from 1935. Though modern, the mosaics create a beautiful space around a gravestone which contains the replics of a Bishop Meinwerk; past the anteroom is the actual crypt of all the Paderborn Bishops. It is this unusually mosaic’d crypt that attracts most visitors to Paderbornerdom. It is actually quite beautiful, and has a decidedly art deco style to it.
At the centre of the Bishops’ Crypt is a Pieta, which is flanked left and right with two enormous bronze plates listing all the names of the Paderborn bishops right up to the 20thC. The bronze plates start with names of Bishops all the way back to the 900s, and the bones of all the previous bishops rest in a collective grave in the floor. It’s incredible to see this historical record going so far back.
The Chapel of St Joseph dates to the 14thC and was initially dedicated to the Three Magi.
The town of Paderborn is really quite cute and very sleepy. The centre of the Marktplaz has a fountain called the Neptunebrunnen Fountain, reminiscent of the Neptune fountain in the centre of Gdańsk. This fountain was originally built in 1730 by Johann Theordor Axer and reconstructed in 1979 by Joseph Rokis.
I love the details in medieval buildings surrounding the Marktplaz… very cool medieval rainbow mosaic.
Onward to Hanover…
Checked into our hotel and immediately went looking for a beer hall… we had decided to skip lunch as we spent too much time in the Cathedral, which put us on the hunt for Hanover’s best currywurst and jagerschnitzel!
Angus was very happy with his wash – my schnitzel was nice, the mushroom sauce was good, but not Heidelberg good… I am going to get mightily sick of the piles of fried potato that comes with every meal (I don’t eat them). Thankfully, we are here smack dab in the middle of erdbereen season – so there’s fresh strawberries everywhere for very cheap! They tasted even better than they looked if that is possible.
Cologne Cathedral is enormous! Like most important cathedrals and churches in Europe, it was built on very early Christian sites. In this case, on the site where early Roman Christians met in Cologne around 300AD. The building as it exists today wasn’t started until the high gothic era – around 1248, and unlike many other cathedrals that took hundreds of years to complete, the build plans never changed.
It’s hard to imagine that everyone who worked on the construction of this magnificent cathedral all knew that they would never live to see the endeavour completed. The plan to build the cathedral was started in 1164, when there was an agreed upon transfer of some relics to the town. In 1225, the planning for a bishop’s residence and pilgrimage church were established, and the prior building (from the 9thC) was demolished. In 1248 the foundation stone was laid.
In the 1360s building work slowed down, as the foundations were completed and some areas of the cathedral were already consecrated and put to use as a church. It wasn’t until the 15thC that the south steeple was completed at a massive height of 58m tall. Around 1530, work on the cathedral came to a halt all together as most of the ground floor, the nave, the choir, transepts and two lower storeys became usable.
And it pretty much stayed in that condition until 1794 when the French Revolution troops invaded and the archdiocese of Cologne was abolished. The cathedral was temporarily used as a fodder storage room and also as a makeshift prisoner of war camp! It wasn’t used as a church again until 1801, and the archdiocese wasn’t reestablished until 1821.
Construction eventually resumed on the cathedral in 1842 to be finally completed in 1880 – and all still to the exact same plans that were laid out in 1225! Which is just unbelievable when you think about how difficult it is to get a committee of five people to agree on how a fucking bus shelter should be built these days… let alone be able to keep an enormously intricate build of this calibre, going to the original plans and specifications for over 600 years and generation upon generation of architects, stonemasons, builders and who knows how many other masters and craftsmen, involved. It’s simply amazing.
In WWII, Cologne was reduced to rubble, and the cathedral was severely damaged by numerous bombs. Entire bays of the vaulted ceilings were collapsed and various windows were blasted out. One bomb tore an enormous hole in the western facade and destroyed a supporting buttress which was hastily stored up with makeshift bricks. Due to the construction techniques though, the bulk of the cathedral was able to withstand the shock of the blasts and vibrations. At the end of the war, it stuck out of a massive field of debris and destruction, looking largely undamaged compared to the rest of the city.
These windows were created in 1884, and based on a designed by Johannes Klein. Six of the eight windows were destroyed in WWII and remade in the 1990s.
This picture does not come close to conveying the sense of enormity and proportion this cathedral has. It feels as big as the Hagia Sofia, or the Florence Cathedral, the only other medieval cathedral that I remember feeling this overwhelming sense ginormity is possibly St Peter’s in the Vatican.
Altarpiece of St Claire, c.1350-1360. Oldest existing retable that contains a tabernacle for holding the sacraments. Originally came from the former Franciscan convent of St Clare and has resided in Cologne cathedral since 1811.
The ‘swallows nest’ organ was built in 1998 to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the Cathedral.
Crucifix of Gero (because… donated by some Bishop Gero c.976). At over 1000 years old, and considered one of the first larger than life size sculptures of the midlands, it represents Christ in the moment of death, through which mankind was redeemed. The Baroque altar was added in 1683 by Canon Heinrich von Mering. The Crucifix was said to be miraculous, and has been especially venerated over the centuries.
Statue of Grace depicting Our Lady, decorated with jewellery – also known as the Schmuckmadonna (great name!).
I just can’t get over the scale of this place.
Altarpiece of St Agilolph carved timber and painted. Antwerp c.1520. From the former collegiate church of Our Lady at the Steps (St Maria ad Gradus).
St Heribert’s Shrine, c.970. Heriberto was born in Worms to Count Hugo and Tietwista – his maternal half brother was Heinrich, Bishop of Wurzburg. Silver, gilded, gold, precious gems and enamel, Cologne. It is under glass and has a rope around it so it ws difficult to photograph – but stunning enamel work!
St Christoper statue, Tilman van der Burch, c.1470.
Intricate mosaics cover 1,350sqm of the cathedral floor and are based on designs by August Essenwein – and created and laid 1885-1892 by Villeroy and Boch in Mettlach (believe it or not!). Villeroy and Boch… not just overpriced crystal! 😉
The Altarpiece of the City’s Patron Saints – originally created c.1445 the triptych is attributed to Stephan Lochner, Cologne. The central panel portrays Adoration of the Magi flanked by St Ursula and her companion, St Gereon, partron saints of Cologne.
Altapeice of the Magi, Wilhelm Mengelberg, c.1892.
From the crypt below the cathedral:
Visitors are able to climb the 533 steps into the south steeple for amazing views over the city of Cologne. It brings you to 100m above the ground…needless to say, me and my bung knee didn’t make the climb, but Angus did.
The Cologne Cathedral is truly impressive; it’s no wonder it was included in the original 1978 listings of World UNESCO Heritage sites. It was declared endangered in 2004 as there were plans in place to build several high rise buildings close to the Cathedral, but it was delisted from being endangered in 2006 when city planners thankfully came to their senses and put a limit on the height of modern buildings near the cathedral. It would have drastically altered the city skyline had they built up right beside it.
Some clever fundraising… hearts with the flags of all nations. For some reason, people can’t help themselves but pop some coins onto their own flags. The American heart even had a bunch of USD$1 notes plonked on it.
The Cologne Cathedral also has a rather impressive collection in their Domskammer / Treasury, which was an amazing labyrinth of tunnels underground at the back of the cathedral.
Reliquary monstrance. Cologne, c.1500. Silver, copper, gilded, rock crystal and glass.
Reliquary of the Cross from St Mary ad Gradus. Constantinople, mid-end of the 12thC. Figures, wings and ornaments, Cologne, c.1240. This reliquary was reset in the late Romanesque times with pieces of a Byzantine relic casket containing pieces of The Cross.
Shrine of St Engelbert. Goldsmith: Conrad Dulsbergh. Casket Designer: Jeremiah’s Geisselbruhn. Relief Designer: Augustin Braun Cologne, 1633, silver, partly gilded.
Reliquary of St Vincent de Paul, c.1800, silver, gilded.
Reliquary of the Cross with spectacle-glass. Workshop of Hans von Reutlingen, Aachen, 16thC. Silver, gilded, spectacle-glass.
Statue of a deacon holding a reliquary of King Melchior. 16thC, Cologne. Silver, gilded, glass reliquary, bronze, partly gilded, silver plated, precious stones.
Hammer and trowel, Wilhelm Pullack, Cologne, c.1842. Silver and ebony. These tools were used by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussi when he laid the foundation stone for the completion of Cologne Cathedral on 4th Sept 1842.
Shrine of the Magi, Cologne, late 12thC. inner wooden construction of the sharing, oak, glass, copper, gilded.
Reliquary Monstrance with links from St Peter’s Chains. Cologne, c.1500, Silver, copper, gilded, rock crystal and glass.
Necklaces/Collars of the Mayors of the city of Koln Cologn, 1954-1955. Gold, niello gold and silver gilded on bronze and garnet.
The Domskammer really feels like you’re walking around in a medieval vault.
Left: Crosier of Philippus Cardinal Krementz, Archbishop of Cologne (1885-1899) – Unknown artist, Rhineland, 1868, silver, gilded and enameled. Centre: Crosier of Herman Jospeh Schmitz, Auxiliary Bishop of Cologne (1893-1988), – Peter Oediger, Krefeld, 1893, silver, partly gilded and enameled. Right: Crosier of Hubertus Theophilus Samar, Archbishop of Cologne (1900-1902) – Gabriel Hermeling, Cologne 1892, silver, gilded, enamel, precious stones.
Left: Chalice Franz Christoph Mederle. Augsburg. c. 1750. Silver, gilded. Right: Chalice, Augsburg, late 18thC. Silver, gilded.
The Lamb of the Apocalypse. Johann Heinrich Rohr, Cologne, c.1774-1780. Silver, brass, partly gilded.
Monstrance. Franz Christoph Mederle, Augsburg, 1749/51. Pendants: c1516. Gold, silver, gilded, and precious stones.
Necklace c.1657. Donated by Archbishop Maximilian Heinrich as jewellrey for the Schmuckmadonna. Christian Schweling, Cologne, gold, enamel, previous stones
Matching bracelet – also by Christian Schweling, Cologne, c.1657.
The Sumptuous Monstrance. Christian Schweling, Cologne, c.1657/58. Destroyed in 1975 when theives broke into the Treasury and reconstructed by Peter Bolg 1978-1987 using original pieces. Gold, silver, gilded, enamel, rock crystal, precious stones, pearls.
Epitaph of Jakob von Crzny, Brussels, c.1518. Bronze, gilt, brass and enamel.
Bust Reliquary of St Gregory of Spoleto. Cologne, c. 1500. Silver party gilded, gold ring with precious stone.
Bust Reliquary of St Sebastian. Franz Wusten, Cologne, c.1875. Silver, partly gilded, enamel, precious stones.
Reliquary of St Walburga. Wilhelm Sittmann, Cologne, c.1765. Silver Gilded.
Reliquary. Johann Heinrich Rohr, Cologne, c.1766. Silver, gilded.
Two Angels as Candleholders. Cologne, c.1500, Brass, silver, partly gilded.
Left: Censer, Rhineland, c.1500, silver. Right: Censer, Cologne, late 16thC lid, 20thC charcoal holder and foot. Silver.
Chalices all from Cologne. Left: 15thC silver/gilded. Centre: early 14thC, silver/gilded. Right: late 15thC, silver/gilded, enamel.
Monstance, Cologne, c.1400. Silver, gilded, enamel, mother of pearl. Donated to the Cathedral by Maria Theresia Schaefhaueun in 1846.
Electoral Sword: c.1480-90. Sheath: c.1515-1547. Cologne, Silver, partly gilded, enamel, steel, velvet. Gothic Bishop’s Crosier: Cologne, c.1322. Silver, partly gilded, enamel. The bishop’s crosier and the electoral sword are the symbols of spiritual and secular authority of the archbishops of Cologne. The Crosier is from the consecration of the Gothic Cathedral Choir in 1322. The sword from the reign of Archbishop Hermann von Hessen (1480-1508).
Details of above:
Chalice with paten and spoon. Heinrich J Wilma. Düsseldorf, c. 1893. Silver, gilded, enamel, precious stones and pearls.
Chalice with paten and spoon, Franz Wusten, Cologne, c.1888. Silver, gilded and enamel.
Altar braid from the High Altar of Cologne Cathedral. Cologne, completed prior to 1518. Silk, and gold threads. The altar braid was believed to have been bestowed by Dean of the Cathedral, Friedrich von Simmen-Sponheim. The coats of arms of his parents are appliquéd onto both ends of the braid.
Fragment of the canopy of the Madonna of Milan, Cologne, c.1280/90. Limestone with traces of colouration.
Four apostles of the jamb of the portal of Cologne Cathedral, c.1375. Limestone Behind: Saints Andrew, Peter, Paul and John. Front: Angel with a bell, St Catherine, a Prophet.
Detail: the Prophet.
Prophet from the reading desk in the choir of the cathedral. Cologne, c.1300. Tuff with colouration.
Grave goods from a Frankish woman’s tomb. Located under the inner choir during renovations in 1959 were these objects belonging to a young woman of approximately 28 years old. Personal objects were burning with noble perons at that time and included these lavish jewellery items.
Rosette brooches. Gold, garnets. Frankish.
Strap tags from cross garterings. Gold and garnets.
Bow brooches, gold, garnets.
Spherical pendant. Gold, rock crystal or moonstone. Frankish.
Six Capitals – Master of the Laacher Samson, Cologne, c.1200. Limestone.
Dalmatic and stole from the Capella Clementina. Paris, c.1742. Silver fabrics, gold embroidery.
Pluvial and five mitres of the Capella Clementina, Paris, c.1742. A forty-four piece trousseau of silver fabrics and gold embroidery. These splendid vestments were ordered in Paris by Clemens August von Wittelsbach, Archbishop of Cologne on the occasion of the coronation of his brother, the Emperor Karl VII – 12th February 1742.
Chasuble and mantle of the Capela Clementina, Paris, c.1742. Silver fabrics and gold embroidery.
Pectoral Cross and ring. Johann Bernhardt Clausius, Frankfurt AM, c.1769. Silver, precious stone.
Burse with the Virgin on the Crescent. Germany, late 19thC. Silk, gold and silver threads.
Cope of the Angels Vestements. Germany, c.1713. Silk, gold and silver threads.
Book Cover, Johann Franz Weissweiler, Cologne, early 18thC. Silver.
Book of Hours, Early 17thC. Leather, silver, gilded, iron.
St Peter’s Banner, Wilhelm Mengelberg (design), Minna Peters (worked), Neuss, c.1899. Cotton, silk, gold and silver metal threads, glass stones and pearls.
Magi’s Banner. Wilhelm Mengelberg (design), Minna Peters (worked), Neuss, c.1899. Cotton, silk, gold and silver metal threads, glass stones, pearls.
Chasuble with coat of arms of the Hirzelin Family, Cologne, c.1480 (appliqué work). Ground cloth replaced in 1963. Silk, linen, gold and silver metal threads.
Pluvial brooch with a figure of St Hubert. Gabriel Hermeling, Cologne, c.1892. Silver, gilded, enamel.
Crosier: Belonging to Johannes Cardinal Geissel (Archbishop of Cologne 1842-1864). – Made by Gabriel Hermeling, Cologne, c.1862. Silver, gilded, enamel. Mitre: Belonging to Johannes Cardinal Geissel (Archbishop of Cologne 1842-1964). – Unknown artist, Lyon, c.1850. Silk, gold, glass stones .
Magi’s Chasuble. Joseph Grossé, Bruges, c.1901. Silk, gold and silver thread.
1) Mitre of Joseph Hammels, Auxiliary Bishop of Cologne, 1924-1944. Germany, c.194. Silk, gold threads, glass stones. 2) Bishop’s ring of Antiochus Cardinal Fischer (Archbishop of Cologne 1903-1912), made by August Witte, Aachen, c.1904. Gold and precious stones. 3) Crosier of Peter Josef Lausberg (Auxiliary Bishop in Cologne 1914-1922), made by Leo Moldrickx, Cologne, c.1914. Silver, enamel, precious stones, ivory, pearls.
Large Plate, Friedrich Toussaint, Aachen, c.1900. Silver, gilded, enamel.
Dalmatic, Peter Hecker (design) Cologne, c.1922. Erica Freund (embroidery), Cologne, c.1927. Silk, gold, threads, steel, pearls and glass pearls.
Pluvial accessories. Peter Heckler (designer of the cope) Cologne, c.1922. Erika Freund (embroidery), Cologne, c.1927. silk, gold threads, steel pearls, glass pearls.
After the cathedral and the amazing Domskammer – we made sure to take a break and visit the famous Peter’s Brauhaus for pork knuckles and schnitzels! Of course. It was a really cool place, great facade on the building and they have a massive overflow dining area across the road, up the street a little and in the square – which was packed at the moment due to all the football fans that are here for the 2024 EuroCup but aren’t using the Fan Zones.
We managed to get a table inside.
I wanted to see the stained glass ceiling, and I did, but it was packed with people and it was impossible to get a photo of it without snapping all these folks mid-forkful, so, below is a pic I unscrupulously stole off the internet.
Naturally I went for a schnitzel, which was such a polite portion of food compared to Angus’ enormous pork knuckle dinner! So much potato though – didn’t eat any of it. I’m going to look like a schnitzel by the time we leave Germny… the cuisine here is not ideal for someone who doesn’t like sausages and refuses to eat bread or potatoes. 😛
Totally forgot to take an ‘after’ picture – he demolished that thing!
We chose to go to Luxembourg today via Metz. Two reasons really, 1) I wanted to see the Metz Cathedral which is supposed to be quite something and 2), Angus has never been to France, so he wanted to stick his toes onto the other side of the border.
Metz Cathedral is the main seat of the bishopric of Metz, Catholic, and is dedicated to Saint Stephen. The Catholic Church in this area dates back to the 4thC, but the current cathedral was *only* built in the early 14thC – *only*? Like that is a short time ago! Hello?! Australians here, buildings, architecture and artworks are never more than 200 years old where we come from! Six hundred year old cathedrals aren’t *only* anything, in our minds.
It has a gorgeous stone facade.
The Portal of Christ entrance, which was the main entrance to the Cathedral until the 18thC. This was originally a Gothic designed entrance, but over time it languished unmaintained, until the 1700s when it was completely redesigned and rebuilt in a later style.
Metz Cathedral has a distinctive yellow coloured stone, that is mined locally. It is called Jaumont stone and is rich in iron oxide, which gives the stone a glorious golden hue. It is said that even in foul weather, the Cathedral photographs well due to the warm yellow limestone used in its construction.
The Portal of the Virgin is an entrance facing the Place d’Artmes and was used as the main entrance of the cathedral until the 18thC. It was built in 1225, and had become quite dilapidated and covered over (presumably by vegetation… the brochure didn’t make it very clear what had covered it over?). The sculptures were created by Augusta Dujardin and were restored in 1885; apparently recent research has found pigments in trace amounts that show the sculptures were painted in red and green, orange and blue hues. It sounds like it was extremely colourful and would probably have been really garish to our modern sensibilities.
Just above head height are these delightful details in the stone work… love them! The pelican looks more like an eagle, but c’est la vie. 🙂
The Nave of Metz Cathedral one of the tallest in France (3rd tallest or something), and it is all done in a fabulous Gothic style – finished between 1486 and 1520. The cathedral has long been nicknamed “The Good Lord’s Lantern”, (La Lanterne du Bon Dieu) due to it’s simply enormous square footage of stained glass which comes in at a whopping 69,920square feet of glass! Or 6,498sqm for those not using ‘Murican Freedom units.
It’s hard to make it out – but the entire walls leading up to this stunning vaulted ceiling appear about 50% stained glass.
The bulk of the glass is done in Gothic and Renaissance styles by master glass makers Hermann von Munster, Valentin Bousch and Theobald of Lixheim… or no doubt, designed by them dudes and actually executed by a bunch of their forever nameless apprentices.
A Roman 3rdC bath holds pride of place just inside the main doors and it is primarily used for baptisms.
So much glass!
The walls of the church are lined with these discreet, heavily carved timber confessionals.
In keeping with the Good Lord’s Lantern theme of the church – there is also more modern artistic glass work here done by Charles Laurent Marechal (Romantics period), Roger Bissier (a Tashist), Jacques Villon (Cubist… yuk!) and Marc Chagall and Kimsooja. It’s truly spectacular how they’ve tied in all this beautiful old work with these creations with modern artist.
It’s weird to see such modern decorative art techniques side by side with obviously medieval design elements, but the overall atmosphere of the cathedral is really stunning. The construction itself was a huge and very long undertaking…
Sadly, the famous Metz covered markets were closed today. Mondays in Europe, suck.
After the Cathedral, we wanted to see some of La Cour D’Or Museum, which is supposed to house some of Metz’s most interesting local Merovingian artefacts. We ran into some immediate hiccoughs; the museum is created in an old monastery and the curators/designers decided that the medieval collections belonged in the medieval cellars under the buildings (at least four floors down and back up again – not in the least bit accessible and my bung knee hated so many flights of stairs). And we also had a lot of info lost-in-translation… mainly because there were none. Translations that is. I’ve tried to record what I could, but a lot of this is just going to remain vague.
The Gallo-Roman galleries were particularly poorly labelled, nothing that wasn’t in French and many objects with no placard at all! From what I could read these objects ranged from 1stC BC to 3rdC AD… which looks about right to my exisiting knowledge base.
House gravestones, all found locally from Roman periods.
House Gravestone, limestone, c.3rdC BCE, local origin.
No idea, not a sign, plaque or info sheet in this room.
From what I could gather this room was curated to centre on representations of various Roman gods, but given the eroded state of the pieces, it was difficult to make out which gods were being depicted.
Altar to Mogontia, Gallic goddess and healer of springs, limestone 1st-3rdC AD.
Mithra’s Relief, Gallo-Roman period, limestone. The large Mithraism relief was designed as an architectural decoration in which the framing of small layered scenes plays a key role around the central scene. Gods and a sacrifice scene in the centre.
Below: Metalworking has existed in Lorraine (the region Metz is located in), since the Iron Age. While the Gauls worshipped Belisama, the goddess of metal craftsmanship, in Rome, the cult of Vulcan, god of fire and patron of blacksmiths, was growing in this area. Some metal deposits were found in the Vosges, north of Lorraine and the southern Sarre region. Minerals were extracted and processed in workshops from ingots. There were around a a dozen of these workshops in Gallo-Roman times in the Mediomatrici region.
Remains
Merovingian beads, most of the of indeterminate provenance. 🙁
Round Cloisonnee fibula. 6thC, silver and garnet. Houdreville.
Merovingian Belt buckle.
Merovingian belt buckles.
Bucket, Merovingian style. Modern reproduction.
Merovingian beads.
Reliquary box, lid lost. 10th-11thC, cetacean bone.
Saint-Arnoul Elk Horn, c.1000AD (possibly older).
Reputed to have come from the ancient Saint-Arnoul Abbey in Metz, (subsequently owned by a Metz collector, a Parisian antique dealer, a Russian Prince, Tsar Alexander III, then a Dutch Banker), the elk is carved with a frieze incorporating lions, snakes, dragons and hybrid vcreatures in intricate scrollwork. According to Metz historians, the elk horn was believed to have been suspended from the vault of the funeral chapel of Emperor Louis the Pious (814-840), and believed to have been a symbol of power for the son and successor of Charlemagne.
The museum is built into a sprawling old monastery, it is enormous to get around.
Relief map of the city of Metz, c.1829-1850.
Underground cellar space housing GalleoRoman sculpture, sarcophagi and carvings.
After our wander through the museum, we had to find some lunch – at a French cafe of course.
Angus choosing a Poulet Cordon Bleu, and I went for the Steak Tartare! And of course, when in France, champagne with lunch. ❤️
The Cathedral dominates the town here, every direction you turn, you get another amazing view of it’s beautiful yellow limestone facades.
Stopped for a baguette (so Angus could make himself a proper jambon beurre later) and saw these cute chocolates – didn’t buy any, because chocolate, but thought they were cute.
Fort de Queuleu
Memorial to the Resistance and Deportation, inaugurated on 20 November 1977, when the fort became the property of the city of Metz.
Fort de Queuleu was built in 1868 when Lorraine was still under French rule, as part of a fortification system southeast of Metz. While construction was interrupted during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), it was continued and improved by the German Empire between 1872-1875 after they conquered the area and renamed it, Fort Goeben. It was then part of the first line of ring defence in the fortifications of Metz. It wasn’t operational during WWI as it had no strategic purpose and saw no military action at that time, but it was repurposed as a detention centre during WWII to house, detain and interrogate members of the French Resistance.
When the local Moselle valley was under German control during WWII the fort was being used by German occupiers as an internment camp (S Slonderlager) to house members of the French Resistance. The fort was called the “Hell of Queuleu” and while it wasn’t a concentration camp per se, it was used as an interrogation/torture centre for captures and arrested members of the Resistance.
Between 1500 and 1800 people were detained at Queuleu, and put under the command of one, Schutzstaffel Hauptscharfuhrer Georg Friedrich Hempen. 36 people died at the fort, and only four managed to escape via a ventilation shaft. Many well known resistance prisoners were held there – Joseph Derhan, Jean Burger and company. Almost all of the prisoners that were held there were transferred to concentration camps as the American forces approached Metz in 1944, and the fort was evacuated entirely by 17 August 1944, with people moved to Ravensbruck, Struthoh or Schirmeck.
This appeared to be a (rather disturbing) art project from a local school. It’s a Jewish child cuddling a teddy bear made entirely out of bullet casings.
Outside, Fort Queuleu now seems primarily repurposed as, dare I say it, some sort of summer camp where school kids come to recreate and get a bit of uncomfortable history smashed into them. There are accomodations here, hiking trials, playgrounds and all sorts.
Thus endeth out day in Metz, and onwards to Luxembourg we went.
