We
drove to Le
Mans which was a substantial distance. When we arrived in
town, we went out for dinner and found a great place.
Later, we hiked the city (without my camera) and witnessed
something that I have never seen before: lights projected onto
buildings. There were 2 that were most noteworthy: a
medieval rendition of a play, with some interesting special
effects and music; and an awesome projection onto the Cathedral at Le Mans.
Sadly, without camera, I have no sharable record of these
events.
The photos below are what we saw.
The
cathedral at Le
Mans is a wonder to behold. It is massive beyond words,
but like many other structures of the same era, needing constant
repairs due to weathering.
The
cathedral had extensive flying buttresses that supported the
main walls. And, plenty of gargoyles.
Intricate
stone work on the windows.
Gargoyles
are essentially demonic and were used by the church to convey
the concept of evil to the mostly illiterate congregation. This one is even
scarier since it has been eroded.
The
scope of the architectural effort put into this church was
intimidating.
To the
side of the cathedral was an interesting fountain.
There
were impressive stained glass windows in the cathedral.
The
inside of the cathedral was at least 10 stories high.
Most of
the statues were quite well preserved.
While
not the world's best photo due to the darkness of the interior,
this set of carvings was one of the most intricate we saw.
Several
of the stained glass windows were some of the best that we have
seen.
The
frescoes on the ceilings were quite well preserved and still
colorful.
This
bible was on a massive cast iron stand.
The
inside of the cathedral is huge and had panel after panel of
stained glass as well as complex fluted columns.
An interesting
carving. Note the feet to the bed.
This
carving was very well preserved.
The
organ was massive.
Another
stained glass panel that shows a rural setting.
This
very busy panel was behind the altar.
One of
the entrances to the cathedral had these detailed carvings that
were suffering due to freeze-thaw damage. Note the damaged
face on the left bottom.
Another
awesome gargoyle.
We
continued to explore the old part of Le Mans. The older buildings
were very ornate.
This
alcove was covered in intricate carvings.
This
house was part of the cathedral and was probably the Bishop's
dwelling.
More
bizarre gargoyles.
There is a viaduct through the hill that has the cathedral. The road is cut deep into the hill with cut stone sides.
A public
water tap that still works. This is on the street at the
curb, so residents would bring their jugs for a full-up.
The
story here is the broken beam between the doorways. Note
that the right doorway has a cap that has taken into account the
sag in the beam.
A view
of the Roman Wall in Le
Mans. Sadly, due to other constraints we were not able to
check it out in detail. The patterns in the wall date to
the Roman occupation.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2013,
all rights reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.