Reims

Notre-Dame de Reims

Ville de Reims (rhymes with Franz) is located about 90 miles east of Paris.

Video screen showing speed and progress

At speeds approaching 200 mph, the fast, nearly silent TGV train does the trip in 45 minutes, making a day trip easy. Perhaps one day, we will have train service like that in the US. The three of us made that trip with our friends from Port Angeles WA, Joe and Sue.


There are several good reasons to go to Reims for the day. Our goals were to visit the Reims Notre Dame Cathedral, visit a winery (the area is famous for its Champagne), and visit the Musée de la Reddition (Museum of Surrender). We did it!

From the train station, we walked to Reims Cathedral (Notre-Dame de Reims). The original cathedral at this site was constructed beginning in the 5th century, and was later destroyed by fire. Construction of the current cathedral was begun in 1211. The cathedral, built after Notre Dame in Paris and Chartres, is considered an example of gothic architecture at its zenith. Beginning with Clovis, Reims Cathedral has been the site of the coronation of 26 kings of France. Joan d'Arc played a role here as well. She led Charles VII here to be crowned in 1429 at the end of the Hundred Years’ War. After the French Revolution Reims Cathedral was converted into a Temple of Reason, but that did not last long.

                                                             Shelling during World War I

Its greatest injury was induced during World War I when the building was devastated by severe bombing. The fires melted lead in the roof, setting fire to the interior. Financial support from the Rockefellers has in part financed repairs and reconstruction which continue to this day. The cathedral reopened in 1938, and was spared destruction during WW II.

Chagall stained glass

Touring the cathedral today, one is immediately taken in by the myriad of stained glass. Of note are the windows by Chagall, installed in 1974. The day we visited, we heard etherial choral voices. Initially thinking that this was a recording, Jessica was startled to discover the source of the music - a live church choir visiting from North Carolina.

Lunch at Restaurant L'Apostrophe

After lunch, we headed for the Taittinger Cellars for a Champagne tour. For some, Champagne has become a generic term for bubbly white wine. In France, Champagne must be made in the French Province of Champagne by a set of rules, and meet specific criteria governed by the Comite Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne (CIVC).

There are many Champagne houses in the Province of Champagne. We only had time to visit Taittinger, which was within walking distance. Our visit proved to be a remarkable experience. The modest buildings currently on the site are deceptive. The history of this place begins 800 years ago with the construction of the Saint-Nicaise Abbey by monks who created a network of underground corridors and vaults to shelter their wines in the chalk-rich limestone deposits. The great gothic abbey was destroyed in the 1790's during the course of the French Revolution. The catacombs beneath remained untouched until 1920. After World War II, Taittinger took over. The buildings on the site today give no clue as to the Abbey that came before, or the vast network below.

Champagne Taittinger above ground

  

            72,000 bottles

Taittinger ages most of its Champagne for 10 years. At any given time, they have about 12 million bottles underground. We saw room after room, each with 70,000 - 100,000 aging bottles. Almost every step of the process is done by hand. Removal of the sediment from the bottle is done by machine.






                          Medieval selfie                                              Erica                                 photobomber

Musée de la Reddition

This small museum in Reims marks the site where the Germans surrendered on the 7th of May, 1945 as World War II was ending. It is in a small, unassuming building a block from the train station where General Eisenhower had his headquarters at the time. The room where the surrender took place is frozen in time, with the original maps on the walls, and the table and chairs intact.

May 7, 1945

Today