The Soane River in Burgundy flows past the city of Chalon and was the demarcation between Vichy France and Free France in World War II. Liberation day for this region was September 5-6, 1944 and among the commemorations were the plaques you will see next from people who were children at the time of liberation.
They spoke about the difficulties of being a child under bombardment, fear of the Nazis who eventually overtook Free France as well, and the loss of their childhood dreams.
Chalon is the birthplace of Nicephone Niepce who was a French inventor and one of the earliest pioneers of photography. A museum that bears his name tells the story of photography’s development from its earliest days to the present and a powerful exhibit of contemporary artists comes to terms with France’s dependence on nuclear power.
To see more about the Niepce Museum click on this link: https://m.museeniepce.com/
Reminders of a war that ended 80 years ago can be found everywhere. It always reminds me how lucky we are yet how fragile the peace.
Tournus is a small medieval town with a few surviving churches from the 11th century. They are in an early Romanesque style meaning they are long barrel vaults inside with little outside light as windows were not added until much later. Tournus is the birthplace of jean-Baptiste Greuze, a painter from the 18th century who is known for portraits, genre scenes with moral lessons, and history painting. None of his original work can be found in the town though there are many tourist oriented businesses that bear his name.
To see the work of Grueze click on this link: https://www.artnet.com/artists/jean-baptiste-greuze/
Cluny is the location of what had become the largest monastery in Europe, also called the Cluny Abbey. It was first established as an official abbey in 910 and was almost completely disassembled by Napoleon at the end of the 18th century. What you see is all that is left and it also was built in the Romanesque style. Three churches were built in succession from the earliest known in the 4th century to the early 12th century. Even before the onslaught of Napoleon the church was having financial difficulties and ultimately lost its influence to the Pope in Rome. St. Peter’s Basilica took over the right to claim the biggest in the early 17th century which added to Cluny’s decline.
This should give you an idea of how massive this structure was in its heyday. Stone blocks from this building and other cathedrals around France were used for Napoleon’s massive building projects.
France is full of chateaus and Burgundy is no exception. Cormatin is a 17th century chateau that has a somewhat austere exterior with magnificent gardens including a labyrinth surrounding it. The building on the right held a contemporary exhibit of photographs from Venice taken during the pandemic entitled “Venice in Silence”.
A stark dead tree just beyond the chateau was a reminder that this is no longer a sumptuous home, rather a tourist destination. There is even a kitchen garden though does not look like there’s any cooking going on here.
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