Today we drove to Amiens and got into World War I. We visited the trenches and battlefields along the Somme River. The land is so peaceful and pleasant that it is really hard to believe the battles that have been fought here.
On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the British lost 21,000 dead on the 18 miles they attacked on. The trenches once everyone settled into them stretched 500 miles from the coast all the way to the Alps and were three lines deep in both armies and sometimes only a few yards apart. The British have some 200 cemetaries along here. The Canadians, Nez Zealanders, US, have many more.
All over Europe the most popular reenactment groups are WWI groups, like the one we ran into at the church with the paratrooper. I am told that two things have contributed to the focus on WWI. One is the interest in genealogy so families are searching for ancestors who participated in the war and they have both resources through the Internet and money to come to the battle sites on their quest. Also, the news that the last of the WWI veterans are dying makes people think about it - Britain has only 2 left; the last one in France died in March. I think we have 1-2 left in the US.
The cathedral in Amiens had the spotlight this morning and deserves every bit of it. It has the tallest ceiling of any cathedral that managed to stand on its own -- 42 meters, which is, what, about 140 feet or half a football field tall. Construction began in 1206 and has continued since. Most impressive to me is that it has a museum's worth of art done in every way you can think of -- painted, sculpted in a variety of media, bas relief in a variety of media, on furnishings in a variety of media.
It is pretty much dedicated to St John the Baptist because they claim to have his head. We saw the reliquary, which of course is solid gold with decorative gemstones. Some non-believers in the crowd were telling me that there are at least 5 John the Baptist heads around, but that doesn't seem to be known to this church. This one was brought back by knights in the Fourth Crusade in the 1200's. They found it in Constantinople and brought it here.
This cathedral also has lots of angels, and they are very individual angels and very human ones. There is one who is sort of holding his head in his hand and seems to be crying. Soldiers in WWI took pictures of this one and sent it all over the world as their Weeping Angel.
All the angels and other figures in this chapel are portrayed as loving and compassionate, which is good to see since the style in some churches is very authoritative and judgmental.
There several series of panels separated by gothic arches which have either scenes painted or bas relief scenes sculpted within each arch. Some of the scenes show daily life. Some show various saints or the holy stories. Some show some of the cathedral's bishops doing the good works they were noted for.
There are at least 8 of the bishops buried within the cathedral. Their statues are done in brass, in ivory and gold, some have real cloth garments. One has his foot resting on a lion. One has his feet resting on twin birds of some sort.
Most of the stained glass windows were bombed out in one war or another, especially WWI, so the really colorful windows are fairly new. The colors are brilliant featuring jeweltone blues and reds -- gorgeous. There are two rose windows - yummy!! One of the older stain glass windows was commissioned by Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie, so they are represented in small figures to the side.
World War I units who fought in the battle of Ameins from all over the world have organized and created memorials inside the cathedral dedicated to their members who died in the battles there.
For additional photos and comments about Amiens, visit my collection on Flicker:
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