Rouen
Eglise Saint-Maximin à Mondelange (Moselle)
8 years ago
Showing posts with label Normandy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Normandy. Show all posts
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Rouen's Musée des Beaux Arts
As Susie blogged the other day, we visited the Musée des Beaux Arts of Rouen--in two stints, actually. With our first visit, we saw the new exhibition "A City for Impressionism: Monet, Pissarro and Gaugin in Rouen." The museum didn't permit photos of the exhibition, but I'll try to describe some of the highlights. In the late 19th Century Rouen was only about 2 hours from Paris by train, so it served as a convenient escape for Impressionist artists, especially those interested in plein-air painting. Rouen also had several city natives who played significant roles in the development of Impressionism; collectively they were known as, naturally, the Rouen School.
The exhibition covers paintings of Rouen by pre-Impressionists such as Turner and Corot, landscapes of the Seine as a transition from traditional to modern painting, early visits to Rouen by Pissarro, early (1884) works in and of Rouen by Gaugin when he first turned full-time to painting, the start of the Rouen School with its "Three Musketeers," Monet's famous series of paintings of the Rouen cathedral, Pissaro's response (in 1896 and 1898) with his great series of landscapes of Rouen's industrial docksides, related Impressionist paintings of Rouen's many churches, the paintings of the Rouen School through the turn of the 20th Century, and the subsequent development of painting in Rouen into post-Impressionism.
The works in the exhibition come from not only the Musée des Beaux Arts itself but also from private collections and from museums around the world, including many museums from the United States. The exhibition's clear highlights are the Monet cathedrals and the Pissaro industrial landscapes. In his stays in Rouen, Monet painted a total of 30 views of the cathedral, showing the cathedral at different times of day and in different weather. He would have multiple canvases in progress, moving from painting to painting as the light changed. And of these 30 paintings, an amazing 10 are grouped together in a single room in this exhibition. The Pissaro paintings are less famous, and perhaps less radical, but they reflect Pissarro's taking up Monet's initiative by painting the same view of the river and the adjacent industrial area in different light and in different weather. At the time, Pissarro suffered from acute conjuntivitis, was confined to his hotel, and thus painting what he could see from the hotel's window. These paintings, with their smokestacks and smoke, ships and sailors, and light and weather are truly masterworks.
In the afternoon, we returned to the museum to view its permanent collection, which is also outstanding. And, in addition to the collections, the museum itself is interesting. The museum's central atrium, from which visitors make their way into the exhibitions, is a luminous courtyard filled with large works.
Even the stairwells are works of art, in this case by Felice Varini, whose "Five Ellipses" was installed in the Place des Armes in Metz 
(and now has been removed after the opening of Metz's Pompidou Center). Varini's works in the stairwells consist of elements of circles, painted on the walls and ceiling, that are visible as circles only in convex mirrors affixed at the top of the stairwells. Some of Varini's work pays explicit homage to the work of Marcel Duchamp, who grew up and began his career in Rouen, and who is well-represented in the museum. Among Duchamp's creations exhibited here are three experiments in using a phonograph turntable to create kinetic art. Here's one of these "Studies of Rotating Discs."
The esplanade in front of the Museum is named for Duchamp. In France, signs for streets named after persons typically have the person's dates and a capsule biography, such as "French patriot" or "Mayor of Rouen." With Duchamp, in keeping with his iconoclastic outlook, the city has had fun with the street signs for the esplanade, which include varied descriptions of Duchamp such as "engineer of lost time" and "Anartist."
The works of Monet and Pissarro are also represented in the museum's permanent collection. Although they don't relate to the theme of the exhibition, I wanted to include at least a couple of these paintings to provide something of the exhibition's flavor. Monet painted this field of flowers near Giverny in 1885.
And Pissarro painted this view of Paris's Tuileries gardens, with snow effect, in 1900.
The museum also includes many works of the 18th and 19th Centuries, ranging from "Orientalist" paintings of Arabia to monumental religious paintings.
I especially enjoyed one painting in particular--a view of the interior of the Rouen museum in 1880, by the Rouenais painter Charles Angrand, who could be thought of as the "fourth musketeer." The coolest thing about this painting is it is displayed in the room in which it was painted, with some of the paintings it shows, such as Boulanger's 1827 "Le supplice de Mazzepa," a kind of disturbing work, actually, that made Boulanger famous.
The exhibition covers paintings of Rouen by pre-Impressionists such as Turner and Corot, landscapes of the Seine as a transition from traditional to modern painting, early visits to Rouen by Pissarro, early (1884) works in and of Rouen by Gaugin when he first turned full-time to painting, the start of the Rouen School with its "Three Musketeers," Monet's famous series of paintings of the Rouen cathedral, Pissaro's response (in 1896 and 1898) with his great series of landscapes of Rouen's industrial docksides, related Impressionist paintings of Rouen's many churches, the paintings of the Rouen School through the turn of the 20th Century, and the subsequent development of painting in Rouen into post-Impressionism.
The works in the exhibition come from not only the Musée des Beaux Arts itself but also from private collections and from museums around the world, including many museums from the United States. The exhibition's clear highlights are the Monet cathedrals and the Pissaro industrial landscapes. In his stays in Rouen, Monet painted a total of 30 views of the cathedral, showing the cathedral at different times of day and in different weather. He would have multiple canvases in progress, moving from painting to painting as the light changed. And of these 30 paintings, an amazing 10 are grouped together in a single room in this exhibition. The Pissaro paintings are less famous, and perhaps less radical, but they reflect Pissarro's taking up Monet's initiative by painting the same view of the river and the adjacent industrial area in different light and in different weather. At the time, Pissarro suffered from acute conjuntivitis, was confined to his hotel, and thus painting what he could see from the hotel's window. These paintings, with their smokestacks and smoke, ships and sailors, and light and weather are truly masterworks.
In the afternoon, we returned to the museum to view its permanent collection, which is also outstanding. And, in addition to the collections, the museum itself is interesting. The museum's central atrium, from which visitors make their way into the exhibitions, is a luminous courtyard filled with large works.
Even the stairwells are works of art, in this case by Felice Varini, whose "Five Ellipses" was installed in the Place des Armes in Metz 
(and now has been removed after the opening of Metz's Pompidou Center). Varini's works in the stairwells consist of elements of circles, painted on the walls and ceiling, that are visible as circles only in convex mirrors affixed at the top of the stairwells. Some of Varini's work pays explicit homage to the work of Marcel Duchamp, who grew up and began his career in Rouen, and who is well-represented in the museum. Among Duchamp's creations exhibited here are three experiments in using a phonograph turntable to create kinetic art. Here's one of these "Studies of Rotating Discs."
The esplanade in front of the Museum is named for Duchamp. In France, signs for streets named after persons typically have the person's dates and a capsule biography, such as "French patriot" or "Mayor of Rouen." With Duchamp, in keeping with his iconoclastic outlook, the city has had fun with the street signs for the esplanade, which include varied descriptions of Duchamp such as "engineer of lost time" and "Anartist."
The works of Monet and Pissarro are also represented in the museum's permanent collection. Although they don't relate to the theme of the exhibition, I wanted to include at least a couple of these paintings to provide something of the exhibition's flavor. Monet painted this field of flowers near Giverny in 1885.
And Pissarro painted this view of Paris's Tuileries gardens, with snow effect, in 1900.
The museum also includes many works of the 18th and 19th Centuries, ranging from "Orientalist" paintings of Arabia to monumental religious paintings.
I especially enjoyed one painting in particular--a view of the interior of the Rouen museum in 1880, by the Rouenais painter Charles Angrand, who could be thought of as the "fourth musketeer." The coolest thing about this painting is it is displayed in the room in which it was painted, with some of the paintings it shows, such as Boulanger's 1827 "Le supplice de Mazzepa," a kind of disturbing work, actually, that made Boulanger famous.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Rouen's Churches
Rouen's nickname is the city of a hundred steeples. Indeed, churches and towers seem to be around every corner, sometimes side-by-side. The city's two biggest churches are its cathedral and a former abbey church, which, although both high Gothic, present an interesting contrast.
The cathedral, Notre-Dame de Rouen, draws its fame not only from its own attributes but perhaps even more so from the Monet's celebrated series of paintings showing the cathedral's facade in different weather and at different times of day. But the cathedral is so original, so compelling that its facade, even with its familiarity and even with its lower part covered for restoration, leads you to ask "Is that really the Monet cathedral?"
Ironically, at least to me, this cathedral, so famous for its role in seeing light in its various characters, on the inside appears sort of gloomy. The cathedral, constructed from the 12th to the 16th Centuries, is vast, and its interior has the powerful vertical lines of high Gothic.
But for a Gothic church with flying buttresses, the overall effect inside seems dark.
In part this may be due to the lack of windows at the gallery level above the main arches of the nave and below the upper windows.
Like many French churches, the cathedral lost much of its original stained glass during the Second World War. The cathedral's great rose window is in white glass, which makes the stonework all the more remarkable and adds some additional light to the nave.
The cathedral does have some beautiful stained glass. Here's a section of one of the windows in the choir.
The cathedral has many interesting elements. During the restoration of the facade, some of the statues have been brought into the cathedral. Here's the statue of King David, here recognized, by his holding a harp, as the psalmist.
And the north transept has this terrific Renaissance staircase, although it looks to me like the upper flight now doesn't actually go anywhere.
The church of Saint-Ouen, although perhaps less famous than the cathedral, is more harmonious and more luminous. It was originally the abbey church for the Benedictine Order. Construction began in 1318 and was completed in the 15th Century. Even under its exterior grime, the abbey's facade is highly symmetric.
Saint-Ouen's flying buttresses, although seemingly similar to the those of the cathedral, for some reason are able to support walls that let in a great deal more light.
Thus, in contrast to the cathedral, Saint-Ouen's gallery is lit by enormous windows.
Thus in the choir, as in the nave, Saint-Ouen is warm and luminous, while still showing off its impressive height.
Above the arches, the choir still shows some elements of painted decoration.
Like the cathedral, Saint-Ouen is big. Those pillars are huge!
Saint-Ouen's stained glass is breathtaking. Here are the windows in the north transept.
The colors of the glass in the windows of the nave in turn color other parts of Saint-Ouen. Here is the play of light on part of the floor of the north aisle of the nave.
And, saving the best for last, here is the great rose window of the facade, with its modern glass framed by flamboyant forms.
The cathedral, Notre-Dame de Rouen, draws its fame not only from its own attributes but perhaps even more so from the Monet's celebrated series of paintings showing the cathedral's facade in different weather and at different times of day. But the cathedral is so original, so compelling that its facade, even with its familiarity and even with its lower part covered for restoration, leads you to ask "Is that really the Monet cathedral?"
Ironically, at least to me, this cathedral, so famous for its role in seeing light in its various characters, on the inside appears sort of gloomy. The cathedral, constructed from the 12th to the 16th Centuries, is vast, and its interior has the powerful vertical lines of high Gothic.But for a Gothic church with flying buttresses, the overall effect inside seems dark.
In part this may be due to the lack of windows at the gallery level above the main arches of the nave and below the upper windows.
Like many French churches, the cathedral lost much of its original stained glass during the Second World War. The cathedral's great rose window is in white glass, which makes the stonework all the more remarkable and adds some additional light to the nave.
The cathedral does have some beautiful stained glass. Here's a section of one of the windows in the choir.
The cathedral has many interesting elements. During the restoration of the facade, some of the statues have been brought into the cathedral. Here's the statue of King David, here recognized, by his holding a harp, as the psalmist.
And the north transept has this terrific Renaissance staircase, although it looks to me like the upper flight now doesn't actually go anywhere.
The church of Saint-Ouen, although perhaps less famous than the cathedral, is more harmonious and more luminous. It was originally the abbey church for the Benedictine Order. Construction began in 1318 and was completed in the 15th Century. Even under its exterior grime, the abbey's facade is highly symmetric.Saint-Ouen's flying buttresses, although seemingly similar to the those of the cathedral, for some reason are able to support walls that let in a great deal more light.
Thus, in contrast to the cathedral, Saint-Ouen's gallery is lit by enormous windows.
Thus in the choir, as in the nave, Saint-Ouen is warm and luminous, while still showing off its impressive height.
Above the arches, the choir still shows some elements of painted decoration.
Like the cathedral, Saint-Ouen is big. Those pillars are huge!
Saint-Ouen's stained glass is breathtaking. Here are the windows in the north transept.
The colors of the glass in the windows of the nave in turn color other parts of Saint-Ouen. Here is the play of light on part of the floor of the north aisle of the nave.
And, saving the best for last, here is the great rose window of the facade, with its modern glass framed by flamboyant forms.
Rouen
Capital of Haute-Normandie, Rouen sits bestride the Seine between Paris and the English Channel. Although Le Havre, at the Seine's mouth, developed into northern France's deep-water port, Rouen had been a port city for centuries. The city's right bank, with the cathedral and commercial districts, was a center for social life. The left bank, with its great factories born of the Industrial Revolution, provided the economic foundation for the city's growth in the 18th and 19th Centuries. In the late 19th Century, Rouen's cathedral served as the subject of Monet's iconic series of paintings about light and its changes. Rouen's bridges of that era, forever in our imaginations through the paintings of other Impressionists such as Pissarro, were all destroyed in the Second World War. Modern bridges now span the river.
On both sides of Rouen, the Seine makes a series of great loops, carving the hillsides on the outsides of the bends. Looking east from central Rouen, you can see how surprising hilly this part of Normandy turns out to be.
Although the great sailing and steamships of the heyday of Rouen's port left many, many years ago, the port still serves traffic, both touristic and commercial. A large cruise boat, presumably down from Paris, was docked near the center of the city. Passengers were having drinks on the upper deck as we walked by. And many barge were docked east of the city center. The two bigger barges in this photo carry, improbably enough, the respective names of "Harlem" and "Bronx."
The center of Rouen has preserved much of its medieval character.
It's easy to walk in--and not so easy to drive in--because many of the streets are reserved for pedestrians. This lets sidewalk cafes spill out into the the street.
We had dinner in a slight space in the bend of a street, under an ancient stone wall, where the tables were set up across from a tavern. Little kids on bicycles rolled by. The jazz musicians playing inside the tavern occasionally came out to play a little and to pass the hat. Darkness came so late that the restaurant didn't bring out the candles until 10:20 p.m.
Rouen suffered great damage in World War II, so many structures have been rebuilt or replaced. This has led to odd juxtapositions, such as on the Rue aux Juifs, where the laboriously restored, ornate Palais de Justice sits next to and opposite cleanly drawn post-war buildings.
Even with all the damage, Rouen retains many wonderful spaces, such as this little passage.
And in numerous half-timbered buildings you begin to get the impression that medieval builders had a variety of ideas about what constitutes straight.
The Tourist Office, opposite the cathedral, occupies a resplendent Renaissance mansion, the oldest in Rouen.
Over a street parallel to the Rue aux Juifs, the Gros Horloge (big clock) has been keeping time since the late 14th Century; the current clock and clock faces date from the 1520s.
In French history, Rouen's tragic link was to serve as the place of the trial and burning of Joan of Arc at the hands of the English. Joan of Arc, whom ultra-rightist elements have of late tried to appropriate as their symbol, still remains Saint Joan, a figure of reverence here. At the Place Jeanne d'Arc, a modern church, with its roof in the form of what I see as a helmet and abutting the newly rebuilt market, was built in her name.
The site of her burning, in the old market square, is marked with flowers and a monument. Twenty-four years later, as marked by a plaque on the Palais de Justice, a later ecclesiastical court found her innocent, which didn't do much for Joan herself by that point.
And across from the church, around the square, restaurants, cafes and bars have taken hold, providing a night life much cheerier than the awful events of 1431.
On both sides of Rouen, the Seine makes a series of great loops, carving the hillsides on the outsides of the bends. Looking east from central Rouen, you can see how surprising hilly this part of Normandy turns out to be.
Although the great sailing and steamships of the heyday of Rouen's port left many, many years ago, the port still serves traffic, both touristic and commercial. A large cruise boat, presumably down from Paris, was docked near the center of the city. Passengers were having drinks on the upper deck as we walked by. And many barge were docked east of the city center. The two bigger barges in this photo carry, improbably enough, the respective names of "Harlem" and "Bronx."
The center of Rouen has preserved much of its medieval character.It's easy to walk in--and not so easy to drive in--because many of the streets are reserved for pedestrians. This lets sidewalk cafes spill out into the the street.
We had dinner in a slight space in the bend of a street, under an ancient stone wall, where the tables were set up across from a tavern. Little kids on bicycles rolled by. The jazz musicians playing inside the tavern occasionally came out to play a little and to pass the hat. Darkness came so late that the restaurant didn't bring out the candles until 10:20 p.m.Rouen suffered great damage in World War II, so many structures have been rebuilt or replaced. This has led to odd juxtapositions, such as on the Rue aux Juifs, where the laboriously restored, ornate Palais de Justice sits next to and opposite cleanly drawn post-war buildings.
Even with all the damage, Rouen retains many wonderful spaces, such as this little passage.
And in numerous half-timbered buildings you begin to get the impression that medieval builders had a variety of ideas about what constitutes straight.
The Tourist Office, opposite the cathedral, occupies a resplendent Renaissance mansion, the oldest in Rouen.
Over a street parallel to the Rue aux Juifs, the Gros Horloge (big clock) has been keeping time since the late 14th Century; the current clock and clock faces date from the 1520s.
In French history, Rouen's tragic link was to serve as the place of the trial and burning of Joan of Arc at the hands of the English. Joan of Arc, whom ultra-rightist elements have of late tried to appropriate as their symbol, still remains Saint Joan, a figure of reverence here. At the Place Jeanne d'Arc, a modern church, with its roof in the form of what I see as a helmet and abutting the newly rebuilt market, was built in her name.
The site of her burning, in the old market square, is marked with flowers and a monument. Twenty-four years later, as marked by a plaque on the Palais de Justice, a later ecclesiastical court found her innocent, which didn't do much for Joan herself by that point.
And across from the church, around the square, restaurants, cafes and bars have taken hold, providing a night life much cheerier than the awful events of 1431.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Traces of Norman History
Susie and I visited two sites in Normandy that preserve the evidence and meaning of the history of Normandy: the Scriptorial in Avranches, and the Tapestry Museum in Bayeux.
The Scriptorial conserves all of, and displays a selection of, the surviving manuscripts and books from Mont Saint-Michel. While the monks of Mont Saint Michel evidently did not produce much in the way of original writings, they collected and copied many works, many of which were essential to their religious life. The Scriptorium is housed in a new, specially designed building that was constructed through integration into Avranches's medieval fortifications.
As you wend your way up ramped exhibits, you learn about the provenance, creation, maintenance and history surrounding the documents conserved in the museum. There's a lot of hands-on material. Eventually you reach the "treasure"--the display of a dozen or so of the documents, in a low-light, climate-controlled room. Every three months the museum changes some of the documents displayed.
The earliest documents, two sheets of parchment in an open Carolingian hand, date from the 9th Century.
The Scriptorial's treasure also displayed some beautiful illuminated works, including this book of Gregorian chants, which was created in the 13th Century.
We also were able to view this illuminated manuscript with gold leaf and brilliant colors.
In Bayeux, we visited the museum that displays the Bayeux Tapestry. I'd seen the tapestry in 1967-68, in the old viewing room, in which the tapestry was displayed around the walls of a large, well-lit room. In the early 1980s the display of the tapestry was changed to a long, light-controlled case that wraps around an interior wall, and this is how we saw the tapestry on our visit. Needless to say, the museum does not permit photos, but there are lots of resources on the Web for information about the tapestry.
In brief, the Bayeux Tapestry is an extended embroidery (rather than a woven tapestry), probably created around 1170, that recounts the history of the Norman Conquest. William, who had won the crown of England in 1066 after defeating King Harold at Hastings, faced a population and nobility who were likely not predisposed to like him as their sovereign. Thus the tapestry serves to present the story of the conquest from the Norman perspective; it is likely a sort of early Medieval propaganda presented in the form we would recognize today as Classic Comics.
The tapestry's connection to Bayeux, which even today is is a picturesque city with Medieval elements,
is not haphazard at all. Rather, William's half-brother Odo, who fought at his side in the Battle of Hastings, was the Bishop of Bayeux. Thus the tapestry's presence in Bayeux, like size and grandeur of Bayeux's cathedral, which housed the tapestry, reflects the city's prestige and importance. Actually, it's amazing that the tapestry survived to our era. The museum recounts the tapestry's history, which includes being saved from use as packing material.
Seeing the tapestry in the museum is aided by a audio-guide. The interesting commentary helps visitors understand the tapestry's origins, craft and meaning. The audio, though, is a little rushed, moving you quickly from panel to panel. It's true that you can pause the audio whenever you like, but I would have preferred the option to get more in-depth information about panels, and even the border, at many points along my viewing of the tapestry. At the museum boutique Susie and I bought a book that collected papers from a recent symposium dedicated to the tapestry, and I'm hoping that it will answer many of my questions.
The Scriptorial conserves all of, and displays a selection of, the surviving manuscripts and books from Mont Saint-Michel. While the monks of Mont Saint Michel evidently did not produce much in the way of original writings, they collected and copied many works, many of which were essential to their religious life. The Scriptorium is housed in a new, specially designed building that was constructed through integration into Avranches's medieval fortifications.
As you wend your way up ramped exhibits, you learn about the provenance, creation, maintenance and history surrounding the documents conserved in the museum. There's a lot of hands-on material. Eventually you reach the "treasure"--the display of a dozen or so of the documents, in a low-light, climate-controlled room. Every three months the museum changes some of the documents displayed.The earliest documents, two sheets of parchment in an open Carolingian hand, date from the 9th Century.
The Scriptorial's treasure also displayed some beautiful illuminated works, including this book of Gregorian chants, which was created in the 13th Century.
We also were able to view this illuminated manuscript with gold leaf and brilliant colors.
In Bayeux, we visited the museum that displays the Bayeux Tapestry. I'd seen the tapestry in 1967-68, in the old viewing room, in which the tapestry was displayed around the walls of a large, well-lit room. In the early 1980s the display of the tapestry was changed to a long, light-controlled case that wraps around an interior wall, and this is how we saw the tapestry on our visit. Needless to say, the museum does not permit photos, but there are lots of resources on the Web for information about the tapestry.In brief, the Bayeux Tapestry is an extended embroidery (rather than a woven tapestry), probably created around 1170, that recounts the history of the Norman Conquest. William, who had won the crown of England in 1066 after defeating King Harold at Hastings, faced a population and nobility who were likely not predisposed to like him as their sovereign. Thus the tapestry serves to present the story of the conquest from the Norman perspective; it is likely a sort of early Medieval propaganda presented in the form we would recognize today as Classic Comics.
The tapestry's connection to Bayeux, which even today is is a picturesque city with Medieval elements,
is not haphazard at all. Rather, William's half-brother Odo, who fought at his side in the Battle of Hastings, was the Bishop of Bayeux. Thus the tapestry's presence in Bayeux, like size and grandeur of Bayeux's cathedral, which housed the tapestry, reflects the city's prestige and importance. Actually, it's amazing that the tapestry survived to our era. The museum recounts the tapestry's history, which includes being saved from use as packing material.Seeing the tapestry in the museum is aided by a audio-guide. The interesting commentary helps visitors understand the tapestry's origins, craft and meaning. The audio, though, is a little rushed, moving you quickly from panel to panel. It's true that you can pause the audio whenever you like, but I would have preferred the option to get more in-depth information about panels, and even the border, at many points along my viewing of the tapestry. At the museum boutique Susie and I bought a book that collected papers from a recent symposium dedicated to the tapestry, and I'm hoping that it will answer many of my questions.
The D-Day Beaches
As I write, it's now June 6, the anniversary of D-Day. Susie and I visited the Normandy American Cemetery and the D-Day beaches yesterday. Here are a few impressions and images.
The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial lies on slightly sloping ground just above Omaha Beach. The Americans who died on this beach are buried right next to sands on which they fought.
In all, more than 9,300 Americans are buried here, most of whom were killed in the landings and subsequent operations.
Because the anniversary of D-Day would be marked the next day, the cemetery had many visitors, of many different nationalities.
A new Visitors' Center presents the inspiring and moving story of D-Day and the men and women who began the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany. With images, text, displays, and video, the exhibits help you appreciate the circumstances, heroism and sacrifices of the 150,000 people who carried out the D-Day invasion.
Omaha Beach, below the sandy cliffs of what is now the cemetery, proved to be an arduous and deadly place for the soldiers who landed there. Despite bitter fighting and heavy casualties, by the end of D-Day the U.S. 1st Division had scaled the cliffs and taken the high ground on which the cemetery stands.
Utah Beach, the location of the second American attack, was still deadly--German bunkers lay behind the dunes--but not as treacherous as Omaha Beach. The U.S. 4th Division quickly took the beach and pushed inland.
The first village in France to be liberated by the Allies was Sainte Marie du Mont, a few kilometers from Utah Beach. When we visited Saint-Marie-du-Mont yesterday, 
the center of the village around the church had been transformed into a recreation of D-Day just after the village's liberation. We saw sandbags, tents, jeeps, parachutes, soldiers and nurses everywhere.
It turns out that this was part of a large-scale recreation of D-Day, with military role-playing enthusiasts from all over western Europe taking part. We chatted with a man from Belgium, wearing an American army uniform from World War II, who had come to Sainte Marie du Mont for this recreation.
A command post, complete with period typewriters, occupied the courtyard of a building opposite the church. A Frenchman, also in an American uniform, crouching behind the improvised desk, told us that this spot was, in fact, where the Americans had set up their command post.
All kinds of activities were taking place around the church, ranging from serving food and drink from an army-style tent to an educational program for children, a dozen or so of whom, all dressed in camouflage, were seated on benches in a tent.
There were army jeeps everywhere. When we first saw these, on our way to the Normandy American Cemetery, we did a double-take. But then they kept coming. We think that people could rent these. So there were jeeps taking part in the D-Day recreation and other jeeps with people, some in uniform, who were just sight-seeing. We also saw larger trucks, many motorcycles, and a half-track.
From Sainte Marie du Mont we drove over to Sainte Mère-Eglise, which was the setting for some of D-Day's most dramatic moments. We ended up not seeing much of the village because, as we got there, our car ended up in a traffic jam caused by the start of a memorial parade. Cars were parked everywhere, crowds lined the streets, and police officers were directing traffic. After 20 minutes of bumper-to-bumper crawl, we were waved through a gap in the parade's line of cars and managed to escape the mess. From the car, as we passed, we did spot the church on which the American parachutists got stuck, but we'll come back some other, less harried day to visit Sainte Mère-Eglise.
Even from our brief visit to these two villages, it's clear that the American liberation of this area forms an important part of both their history and their present.
The main street of Sainte Marie du Mont is named for the U.S. 101st Airborne, and the roads near Utah Beach are named for U.S. service personnel. At Utah Beach, among the American monuments to the soldiers, engineers, and others who began the liberation of France and Europe, there is a memorial from the village of Sainte Marie du Mont recognizing their liberators of June 6, 1944.
The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial lies on slightly sloping ground just above Omaha Beach. The Americans who died on this beach are buried right next to sands on which they fought.
In all, more than 9,300 Americans are buried here, most of whom were killed in the landings and subsequent operations.
Because the anniversary of D-Day would be marked the next day, the cemetery had many visitors, of many different nationalities.
A new Visitors' Center presents the inspiring and moving story of D-Day and the men and women who began the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany. With images, text, displays, and video, the exhibits help you appreciate the circumstances, heroism and sacrifices of the 150,000 people who carried out the D-Day invasion.
Omaha Beach, below the sandy cliffs of what is now the cemetery, proved to be an arduous and deadly place for the soldiers who landed there. Despite bitter fighting and heavy casualties, by the end of D-Day the U.S. 1st Division had scaled the cliffs and taken the high ground on which the cemetery stands.
Utah Beach, the location of the second American attack, was still deadly--German bunkers lay behind the dunes--but not as treacherous as Omaha Beach. The U.S. 4th Division quickly took the beach and pushed inland.
The first village in France to be liberated by the Allies was Sainte Marie du Mont, a few kilometers from Utah Beach. When we visited Saint-Marie-du-Mont yesterday, 
the center of the village around the church had been transformed into a recreation of D-Day just after the village's liberation. We saw sandbags, tents, jeeps, parachutes, soldiers and nurses everywhere.It turns out that this was part of a large-scale recreation of D-Day, with military role-playing enthusiasts from all over western Europe taking part. We chatted with a man from Belgium, wearing an American army uniform from World War II, who had come to Sainte Marie du Mont for this recreation.
A command post, complete with period typewriters, occupied the courtyard of a building opposite the church. A Frenchman, also in an American uniform, crouching behind the improvised desk, told us that this spot was, in fact, where the Americans had set up their command post.
All kinds of activities were taking place around the church, ranging from serving food and drink from an army-style tent to an educational program for children, a dozen or so of whom, all dressed in camouflage, were seated on benches in a tent.There were army jeeps everywhere. When we first saw these, on our way to the Normandy American Cemetery, we did a double-take. But then they kept coming. We think that people could rent these. So there were jeeps taking part in the D-Day recreation and other jeeps with people, some in uniform, who were just sight-seeing. We also saw larger trucks, many motorcycles, and a half-track.
From Sainte Marie du Mont we drove over to Sainte Mère-Eglise, which was the setting for some of D-Day's most dramatic moments. We ended up not seeing much of the village because, as we got there, our car ended up in a traffic jam caused by the start of a memorial parade. Cars were parked everywhere, crowds lined the streets, and police officers were directing traffic. After 20 minutes of bumper-to-bumper crawl, we were waved through a gap in the parade's line of cars and managed to escape the mess. From the car, as we passed, we did spot the church on which the American parachutists got stuck, but we'll come back some other, less harried day to visit Sainte Mère-Eglise.Even from our brief visit to these two villages, it's clear that the American liberation of this area forms an important part of both their history and their present.
The main street of Sainte Marie du Mont is named for the U.S. 101st Airborne, and the roads near Utah Beach are named for U.S. service personnel. At Utah Beach, among the American monuments to the soldiers, engineers, and others who began the liberation of France and Europe, there is a memorial from the village of Sainte Marie du Mont recognizing their liberators of June 6, 1944.
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