Northern France The Loire River cuts across the heart of France from the Alps all the way to the Atlantic. Because of this it has historically been one of Western Europe’s most important trade routes, and one of its most heavily fortified rivers. During the Middle Ages the Loire was lined with castles and fortified cities from Saint-Etienne to Saint-Nazaire. But it is the … [Read more...]
HIGH KING’S CASTLE
Orschwiller, France The Chateau de Haut-Koenigsbourg is France’s answer to Germany’s fairy tale castles, although it was, in fact, built by the Germans. Perched on a mountaintop overlooking the rich province of Alsace, this Castle of the High Kings has spent much of its history caught up in the thousand-year dispute over the region between France and Germany. For centuries … [Read more...]
CAEN CASTLE
Caen, France The Chateau de Caen is one of the largest and best preserved Norman castles in Europe. It is possibly the finest medieval castle still standing in France, as most others were converted to useas residential palaces. For a short period in the 11th and 12th centuries, Caen was one of the most important and powerful cities in Europe, ruling a loosely organized … [Read more...]
CHRISTMAS TRUCE MEMORIALS OF THE WESTERN FRONT
Ypres, Belgium & Frelinghien, France For men who go to war, there are few times as lonely as Christmas, when home and family can seem so far away. Few men in such times look for the hope of holiday joy, and fewer still expect much in the way of miracles. But on December 24, 1914, in the midst of the carnage of the greatest war mankind had yet seen, English, French and … [Read more...]
SANTONNIER’S FAIR
Marseilles, France What Lauscha is to Christmas tree ornaments, Marseilles is to the Creche, or Nativity display. The artisans of Marseilles did not create the idea of a Nativity Scene. That honor actually goes to Francis of Assissi, who organized the first living Nativity Scene in Greccio, Italy in the 13th century. The performance was such a wild success that it was … [Read more...]
AVENUE DES CHAMPS-ELYSEES
Paris, France There is no time of the year when the City of Lights more perfectly lives up to its nickname than during the Christmas season. Like most other major cities of Europe, Paris is wrapped up for the holidays in a dizzying array of lights and decorations. However, few other places in Europe, or elsewhere for that matter, can match Paris for the shear scale and … [Read more...]
STRASBOURG CATHEDRAL
Strasbourg, France The city of Strasbourg in France is the self-described ‘Capital City of Christmas’, and there is certainly reason to believe this, at least within the borders of France. Strasbourg, the largest city in the Franco-German frontier region of Alsace, boasts not one but two of France’s most time-honored holiday traditions. First is the Strasbourg Christmas … [Read more...]
COLLEGIATE OF ROQUEMAURE
Roquemaure, France France boasts a very old and beautiful heritage of Christmas music, with wonderful carols dating back to the Renaissance. However, no French Christmas carol has quite the fascinating history, or has risen to such heights of fame and popularity worldwide, as the Cantique de Noël, or O Holy Night. With original lyrics by an anti-clerical socialist and … [Read more...]
GRAVESITE OF MARC CHAGALL
Nice, France The name Marc Chagall is virtually synonymous with modern Jewish art. One of the giants of European Modernism, Marc Chagall was one of the preeminent artists of the 20th century. His work spanned the better part of eight decades, and was heavily influenced by the experience of Jews in Czarist Russia, Communist Russia, Nazi Germany and modern Israel. His … [Read more...]
GRAVESITE OF ALFRED DREYFUS
Paris, France Like everywhere else in Europe, the history of the Jews in France was one of persecution and tribulation interrupted by the occasional reign of a tolerant monarch. However, always at the forefront of enlightened thinking, France distinguished itself as the first major nation in Europe, along with the Netherlands, to officially embrace religious tolerance. For … [Read more...]
