Comme vous le savez, je ne suis pas très "british", donc je m'excuse pour les fautes que vous pourriez, ou plutôt, que vous trouverez dans ma visite ! J'espère qu'elle reste claire... et si vous comprenez pas certaines choses, n'hésitez pas !
Hello everybody and welcome to Le Mans !
With Vanessa and Philippine, we are going to show you the old town through a visit of about 2 hours. We don’t have a lot of time so we are going to join the old heart right now, more exactly the cathedral, where I will quickly talk about the city before starting the visit. This way please.
We stop here.
As you can see, we are walking for a few minutes on paved roads. We are in the old town of Le Mans, also called the Plantagenet City. Why this name ? Because it’s a reference to the birth of the Plantagenet dynasty, but Philippine will tell you more about it later.
Today, the city of Le Mans is famous for its race circuit that Julie introduced us in this morning, yes, but also for this beautiful Plantagenet City.
Indeed, it houses a very rich and varied heritage, which is appreciated by tourists, but also... by the french cinema ! And so, few years ago, Gerard Depardieu, or Daniel Auteuil went all over the roads that we are going to follow, for the needs of their films Cyrano de Bergerac, Le Bossu, or L”homme au masque de fer. Inhabitants are often extras for the films.
Well, today you haven’t brought costumes, so we will not make our film “The GIN’sss in Le Mans”, but, with Vanessa and Philippine, we are going to try to make you discover the Plantagenet City with its heritage of all times, through a chronological visit.
Thus we are going to make a real journey in the time and in order to not lose you during this long walk (and also to be sure that you listen us), we will suggest you regularly some quizzes during the visit.. and if you find the answers, you will have a reward...maybe some of these candies ! (you loved these candies !!!)
So before to go on, have you any questions ? (Yes it’s true that if I don’t really start the visit, you can’t have questions !).
Let’s go, follow me please !
Stop ! What, we already stop ? But why ? Just because of this little stone...maybe I should say because of this HUGE standing stone.
Indeed, during a long time, this stone was considered by the inhabitants as the navel of Le Mans (like “Nombril” in french). For some people, it was even the centre of the universe. Yes, it’s a little crazy...!
Howewer, if this theory is a little cranky, the presence of this stone indicate us that this place was considered, since the prehistory, like a sacred place.
This stone has seen more than 7 000 years of history of this city, of this place... a story that we are going to find out right now so follow me please !
As you were able to notice it, we went down many steps to leave the Plantagenet City and join the Sarthe, just here.
It’s because the city is over-hanging the river from a rock? It is said that the site would have welcomed a Gallic fortified city, an oppidum of Aulerques Cenomans, but we are not sure.
But we are sure that Romans conquered the region in 20 before Christ, and built on this strategic place, the city of Vindinium, which quickly developed.
It remains important traces of that time, like for example the layout of its roads, with the “cardo”, which is called today the Grande Rue, the main street of the Plantagenêt City that Vanessa will show you later.
We have also find some vestiges of the Roman thermae, which were destroyed during the rampart construction in 280. Yes you are in front of a Roman wall which is 1730 years old!
But why build a wall?
You need to know that in the 3rd century, the first barbarian invasion caused a serious crisis in the Roman Empire. It provoked a deep transformation of the urban landscapes, with the fortification of numerous cities which were open before.
The Vindinium fortification resulted from this imperial policy. Moreover, here, the strategic position on the hill overhanging the Sarthe, is an additional reason to the construction of a rampart.
It was a monumental project at that time. Indeed, the wall was originally 1300m long, and 4m thick. We don’t know exactly the original height of the rampart, but its remainings were 7.80m high.
As you can observe, the towers give rythm to the wall. 40 were built but they are only 10 left today.
Reinforcing the wall, the towers improve its protection, favouring the watching of the wall. They offer good firing stations and increase the range of the projectiles, in front of the wall, thanks to the openings that you see.
As you can notice, here, the towers can have three different forms : hexagonal, half-circular, or circular (nearly unlied of the wall), maybe for different defensive reasons.
Relating to their top, we don’t know if there was a plateform or a tile roof.
To built this impressive wall, Romans used local limestones and sandstones. Thus, we habe big cut stones for bases, and little random rubbles and bricks for the walls.
Sometimes, they used materials that they recovered of the buildings destroyed by the line of fortification (But NOT where we were).
The pink material which binds stones and bricks is mortar.
Besides, the predominance of red or pink materials on the rampart, has made of Le Mans, in the XVIIth century, one of the 4 Red City of the French Kingdom, with Bourges, Lyon, and Limoges.
Lastly, the lines of small holes, they were putloghole, for the beams of the scaffoldings which were necessary to build a wall and towers so high!
Well, if you don’t have question, I think we can continue...just here, you have modern gardens which respect the fountains of the medieval Gourdaine district, which is today disappeared.
We stop here for a very few time. You see here, a little door, this is a postern, reserved to the pedestrians. Two others have been conserved, but we don’t know where were the main doors.
Now, because I think about you, to keep warm and because it’s important to do sport regularly to be healthy, we are going to do a little jogging and clim these stairs ! Even if Mme Overlaet didn’t liked it !!! Hop hop let’s go !
[Elsa won ! ... Natalia too, but for being the last ! And Mme Overlaet was unhappy with these stairs to climb...but happy for the candies!]
[QUIZZ]
More seriously, if I wanted you to climb here, it was in order to show you better this huge tunnel which crosses the Plantagenet City.
It was built by Eugene Caillaux in the end of the XIXth century to allow the crossing of the old town and its hill, without skirt round it, and preserving the rampart which was subjected to only one opening on the Sarthe part.
During a long time, inhabitants hate it, but today the tunnel is more appreciated, thanks to the lights, and thanks to all these lowers.
Now, I think you will be happy to know that... we already get down to continue the visit, so follow me please...
[Oh Dogs !!! So cuuute...]
We are walking in front of two towers ans a part of the rampart, which was totally integrated in the houses.
Here, without a doubt, you have the tower most preserved of the rampart of Le Mans (Tower of Vivier).
We see very clearly the three identical openings, excellently preserved, which allowed to the defenders to protect better the wall and the city.
If I’ve chosen to show you this tower, it’s also to allow you to observe its decorations. Maybe you’ve already noticed it on the towers and on the part of the rampart that we have seen before, but here wee see clearly the horizontal stripes alternating different geometric disigns. There are some triangles, some circles which look like to flowers, there are also some hourglasses representations (sabliers)
The contrasts were obtained thanks to three types of material : stones of roussard, which covers the background, whereas bright stones and bricks draw the designs.
If I speak to you about the decoration of this impressive rampart, it’s to make you understand that if it had a defensive vocation, it should also improve the power and the prestige of the Empire, and of the local power.
So to sum up, defensive and ostentatious vocations for this rampart, which is remarkable by its state of preservation and the originality of its facings. Thus it’s the example most preserved of the Roman World, with the ramparts of the two imperial capitals : Roma and Constantinople.
It’s because it’s only in the ninth century that the rampart has known its first attacks, lead by Vikings and Bretons, but it was immediately restored.
In the Xith century, William the Conqueror reinforced the fortification with some modifications.
The presence of this impressive wall don’t prevent the city to develop. Thus, all around its rampart, suburbs appeared during the Middle Ages.
But against the english threats of the One Hundred Years War, the Roman rampart was reinforced, then a new wall was built on the Sarthe bank and in the south, to protect the suburbs and to have a better defense for the city.
Today it doesn’t remain a lot of vestiges of this medieval rampart, and unfortunately, we don’t have time to see them.
Just a last thing, after the construction of this medieval rampart, the Roman wall will lose its defensive vocation, but will find a new fonction, which has secured its preservation until today : the wall indeed maintain the eath of the hill, but also the houses which lean on it, as we have seen earlier.
Before to continue with Vanessa, have you any questions ?
[QUIZZ]
Thank you for you attention! ;)
