For a region that has been German a few times, most recently less than a century ago, I met very few Metz natives who actually spoke German. One worked in sales at the train station. The other spoke German at his place of work in Geneva.
Damaged during World War II, then ravaged by fire in 1946, the three naves of this church were destroyed. Only the tower of this neo-gothic building was preserved.
I was not a fan of gothic architecture, but now that I have seen examples of it in person, executed by craftsmen, I have developed an appreciation for it. The temple was constructed of the local pierre de Jaumont stone. The photo below is a daylight example of bare pierre de Jaumont on a more modern building, I think it was a house. Its small, irregular stones had been plastered over at some point, as opposed to the custom cut slabs which were left bare on the church.
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Now there is a difference between us - I always loved gothic architecture (hence the gargoyles and chimeras ;-)) - let me look if I find a Metz' gargoyle to post tonight ...
ReplyDeleteThe warm colour of jaumont is really nice, I think jaumont is only found in Lorraine.
About the language, there are some rural areas of Lorraine where German dialects are spoken by the older people - not that I understand them ... :-)
I should have gotten out to the countryside! It is interesting how all languages seem to be homogenizing (is that a word?).
ReplyDeleteI think in many ways, with architecture, you need to experience that third dimension that is missing in photographs. I have been wowed by buildings in person that did not seem all that impressive to me in photographs.