Thursday, July 17, 2014

France: Musee St. Remi Reims

The entrance to the Musee St. Remi is stunning. As you look up the staircase you are greeted by the portrait of King Louis XV.

#museestremi

The building is a former abbey, and in one area you can see that excavations have revealed the early floor tiles. The pediment on the front of the museum was built in the 18th century after a fire destroyed the original.  


The Tapestry room has a set of 10 tapestries depicting the life of St Remi. In case you don't know, St. Remi baptized Clovis here and thus brought Christianity to France. The chapel where St. Remi was buried was built by the Church.
 

This is a history and archeological museum and there are exhibits from Paleolithic and Neolithic times. A Neolithic grave of a young man from 4500 B.C. along with a miniature diorama of what his village would have looked like is displayed. Several other dioramas in this room cover all aspects of life in this time period.

The rooms keep getting more current as you move through the Roman occupation. There is a lot of Gallo-Roman glass which is amazing when you realize it was made around 300 A.D. The men really liked the military room with guns, uniforms, and implements of war.

My personal favorite was the musicians' sculptures that use to adorn the exterior of a house on the Rue Tambour. They are beautiful, and the fact that they were saved after the house was destroyed in the World War I bombing is amazing. There are photos along with the statues showing the destruction that the bombing caused. The beauty of Reims today is a testament to the desire of its residents to rebuild.

Additional reading: 
Musee de Beaux Art Reims
Notre Dame de Reims
Hotel de la Paix


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