BOOT SCRAPERS*

*Also known as décrottoirs (mud scrapers), grate-pieds (foot scratchers) and grattoirs (scratching utensils).

No matter what you call them, these now-quaint architectural elements were once a necessary part of daily life. On our first visit here, it wasn’t long before I noticed that there was a boot scraper beside the front door of every house and most public buildings. Even the churches have them. So for two weeks I  crouched on the sidewalk, looking like a fool, and photographed dozens of these overlooked ornaments, while Bruce gazed at the sky and acted like we weren’t actually together. Since we've moved here, there's not a week that goes by that I don't find another beauty to add to my collection.

I find them fascinating, in part because the variety of shapes and styles seem nearly endless. But more importantly, the widespread use of these little wrought iron do-hickeys says so much about living conditions when streets were unpaved, sidewalks didn’t exist, and horses were the primary means of transportation. In 1866 a journalist for La Petit Gironde wrote that, when it rained, the hard-packed dirt streets of Bordeaux instantly turned into rivers of mud. Many roads become completely impassable and others were transformed into cesspools of household waste.

Palais Gallien - Bordeaux's Roman ruin

One of the best things about Bordeaux? I have my very own Roman ruin. Well no, it’s not really mine; the city hasn't awarded it to me for having the best new Bordeaux blog (though I'm sure their recognition will come in time). But it sure seems like mine alone.  It's only a five-minute walk from our apartment, so I can drop by anytime. And because it’s tucked into a residential area no one’s ever around when I visit, except for maybe two old gals, sunning themselves and catching up on the gossip.   There's not much left to look at, just a few crumbling masonry arcades and what was obviously a grand entrance.  And even though it's called Palais Gallien it was never a palace and had no connection with anyone named Gallien. 

The remnants of Palais Gallien in 2012

In the 2^nd century Burdigala (as Bordeaux was then called) was the capital of the Aquitaine region. Because of the local wine trade Burdigala was one of the richest cities in Roman Gaul, embellished with bathes, temples, aqueducts and porticoes that “emerged from the swamps like islands in the sea.” Located in the farthest corner of the city was the enormous amphitheater that would later come to be known as "Palais Gallien."

World War II Submarine Base, Bordeaux

And now for something completely different…

Base Sous-Marine, Bordeaux

I’ve always been interested in World War II. No, not the generals and the battles – I think that’s pretty dry stuff. It’s the personal histories and individual acts of heroism that keep me spellbound. But despite seeing dozens of movies and reading countless books, the war years remained slightly intangible. It was always something that had happened “over there.”  I suspect that even during the war the news from Europe must have seemed pretty unreal to most Americans.  My mother lived through those years in Crystal Springs, Mississippi, and her family, although inconvenienced by rationing, remained largely untouched by the conflict. As a young teenage girl her wartime memories involve flirting with soldiers, not death.

Colombage

Colombage, also known as half-timbering or pans de bois in French,  is a construction style using strong timber foundations and supports, infilled with plaster or masonry such as brick.

Rouen city center

We just got back from Rouen -  one of my favorite places in France. I probably love it because it retains so much of its medieval architecture. Rouen has a significant Gothic church in every second block and narrow, winding streets lined with dozens of buildings that date to the 15th and 16th centuries.  Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen and when you walk those streets it's not too hard to imagine life in 1459.

Rouen passageway

Gaudi's Gaudy Barcelona

 

It's rained every day since early December and Bruce and I were both fed up. So I booked a cheap flight to Barcelona, hoping for a week of sunshine. Which we got…along with some good food, a local festival, a couple of parades and lots of crazy architecture by Antoni Gaudi. 

Now for those who don’t know, Gaudi is the patron saint of Barcelona architecture.  He began his career designing mansions for the captains of industry. But by the time he died in 1926, (hit by a tram, he was so dirty and shabbily dressed that they didn’t recognize him at the local hospital and refused to treat him.) he had become so pious that he’s actually being considered for real sainthood.  But I didn’t have the courage to warn Bruce about Gaudi, because I knew he’d hate the man’s architecture, and I really wanted to get out of the rain.

To be fair, Gaudi isn’t for the faint hearted. When he finished architecture school, the dean noted wryly that they had just graduated either a madman or a genius. Everything about his work, and that of his Moderniste contemporaries, is OVER THE TOP. Walls are curved; columns are contorted; ceilings ripple and swirl; simple exhaust vents look like exotic warriors. To top it off, every surface is covered with ceramic tile and dripping with ornament.

View from Park Guell

Detail of Gaudi's benches at Park Guell

Welcome to archi-trouve*

Before I start talking about my real subject (which will be the interesting architectural gems in and around Bordeaux and throughout France in general) I’d better talk a little bit about myself.  My name is Cynthia Hinson, I’m a graduate of Columbia University’s historic preservation program, and my husband and I recently moved from St. Petersburg, Florida to Bordeaux, France. I’ve worked as an  architectural historian for nearly twenty years (YIKES!), so for me this move was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore France’s architectural treasures at leisure. Because I don't have to leave after my too-short vacation is over, I can really study all of my favorite buildings.... day after day.... season after season....come rain (lots of it) or come shine. I can really get to know them, and appreciate them like old friends. And then I can share them with you. 

But what's with the name of the blog?  

archi-trouve*

is a made-up word that combines the first syllable of  architecture 

with 

the French verb trouver, which means “to find.” 

It's also a play on the very real term architrave. In classical architecture this is the horizontal beam that spans across the top of columns, the element that you see below in red.    

  

                       

So, this blog will be all about finding architecture-related subjects to share with you, week after week. This shouldn’t be too hard because here, every city, town and village has a rich supply of historic buildings.  I'll never lack for subjects, including churches, houses, shops, mills, fortresses, chateaux, bridges and market places. And searching for a new topic will make me get out of our apartment even when it’s cold and gray and rainy, and I don’t want to do anything except read cooking blogs and experiment with new cake recipes.

To begin I’d like to introduce you to our new hometown, Bordeaux, a beautiful city of about 250,000 inhabitants (city center only) located on the Garonne River in southwest France. As most of you probably know, Bordeaux owes its wealth and prominence to the wine trade that was started by the Romans sometime around the 3rd century and continues unabated today.

Bordeaux has been called the least French of France’s cities, probably owing to the fact that it was part of England for 300 years or so, from the 12^th to the 15^th centuries.  Everyone who saw the movie A Lion in Winter a million years ago will remember that Eleanor of Aquitaine's property, of which Bordeaux was the capital, was ceded to England when she married Henri Plantagenet, the future King Henry II. After Bordeaux returned to French control, the wine trade with England continued to influence the development of the city, which may account for some of its un-frenchness.

Victor Hugo believed that Bordeaux was the most beautiful city in France. Her rich architectural tapestry includes everything from Roman ruins to early Romanesque churches, Gothic cathedrals, Classical commercial buildings, Gustave Eiffel’s first bridge, Art Deco houses, a World War II era submarine base and a handful of modern buildings. It is home to 362 individual historic monuments, more than any other French city except Paris.

But it's not the hundreds of individual buildings that make Bordeaux so beautiful. Instead it's the city as a whole that is so memorable. UNESCO listed Bordeaux as a World Heritage site in 2007  citing it as an outstanding example of innovative classical and neoclassical trends, with "an exceptional urban and architectural unity and coherence." Today, over 5,000 18th-century buildings in the city center contribute to that strong sense of architectural unity.

Despite this architectural treasure trove, Bordeaux had been nicknamed “the Sleeping Beauty” because for years the city was covered in a thick layer of black soot that effectively hid her beauty. However, thanks to the recent efforts of Mayor Alain Juppé, the city has awakened and is becoming more beautiful everyday. 

Scaffolding is going up everywhere and in the few short months that we’ve been here several buildings have lost the black crust that once concealed spectacular details.

The Bourse

Les Girondins Monument

The Mirror with St. Michael's in the distance

I have to say though, that the French don’t do modern architecture very well (and by that I mean everything from about 1920 on. And yes, that includes Le Corbusier. I freely admit my prejudices and you should quit reading right here if you think he was a genius because we probably won’t see eye to eye on architectural issues.)  

Bordeaux, like most French cities, is home to several 20th century eyesores.  The most egregious example is the Tribunal de Grand Instance, designed by English architect Richard Rogers (again, the English influence) in 1998, which isn't even remotely sensitive to the surrounding architectural fabric. We had to visit this place last week in order to get a list of state-certified translators for our drivers' licenses. The concrete is dirty, the stairs are broken and cobbled together with strips of metal, and I never did figure out what's up with those wooden tank-like rooms. Someone mentioned that they were intended to look like wine casks.  (Sorry. For a minute there I thought I was my husband....)

However, a few poorly-designed modern intrusions can't spoil Bordeaux’s rich legacy. There’s a lot to explore here and in the surrounding area, so check back periodically for more!

Palais Galien - 3rd century Roman amphitheater

Saint Seurin Romanesque Church