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www.twitter.com/Memoire2cite LES GRANDS ENSEMBLES @ Bien qu’ils échappent à une définition unique, les grands ensembles sont ty-piquement des ensembles de logement collectif, souvent en nombre impor-tant (plusieurs centaines à plusieurs milliers de logements), construits entre le milieu des années 1950 et le milieu des années 1970, marqués par un urba-nisme de barres et de tours inspiré des préceptes de l’architecture moderne.

Ces grands ensembles, dont plusieurs centaines ont été construits en France, ont permis un large accès au confort moderne (eau courante chaude et froide, chauffage central, équipements sanitaires, ascenseur…) pour les ouvriers des banlieues ouvrières, les habitants des habitats insalubres, les rapatriés d’Algérie et la main-d’oeuvre des grandes industries.

Ils se retrouvent fréquemment en crise sociale profonde à partir des années 1980, et sont, en France, l’une des raisons de la mise en place de ce qu’on appelle la politique de la Ville.

Définition

Il n’y a pas de consensus pour définir un grand ensemble.

On peut toutefois en distinguer deux :

• Selon le service de l’Inventaire du ministère de la Culture français, un grand ensemble est un «aménagement urbain comportant plusieurs bâtiments isolés pouvant être sous la forme de barres et de tours, construit sur un plan masse constituant une unité de conception. Il peut être à l’usage d’activité et d’habitation et, dans ce cas, comporter plusieurs centaines ou milliers de logements. Son foncier ne fait pas nécessairement l’objet d’un remembrement, il n’est pas divisé par lots ce qui le différencie du lotissement concerté».

• Selon le «géopolitologue» Yves Lacoste, un grand ensemble est une «masse de logements organisée en un ensemble. Cette organisation n’est pas seulement la conséquence d’un plan masse; elle repose sur la présence d’équipement collectifs (écoles, commerces, centre social, etc.) […]. Le grand ensemble apparaît donc comme une unité d’habitat relativement autonome formée de bâtiments collectifs, édifiée en un assez bref laps de temps, en fonction d’un plan global qui comprend plus de 1000 logements».

Le géographe Hervé Vieillard-Baron apporte des précisions : c’est, selon lui, un aménagement en rupture avec le tissu urbain existant, sous la forme de barres et de tours, conçu de manière globale et introduisant des équipements règlementaires, comportant un financement de l’État et/ou des établissements publics. Toujours selon lui, un grand ensemble comporte un minimum de 500 logements (limite fixée pour les Zone à urbaniser en priorité (ZUP) en 1959). Enfin, un grand ensemble n’est pas nécessairement situé en périphérie d’une ag-glomération.

Comme on le voit ci-dessus, la détermination d’un seuil de logements peut être débattue. Les formes du grand ensemble sont assez récurrentes, inspirées (ou légitimées) par des préceptes de l’architecture moderne et en particulier des CIAM : ils se veulent une application de la Charte d’Athènes4. Pour autant, on ne peut pas dire qu’il s’agisse d’une application directe des principes de Le Corbusier. Ils sont aussi le fruit d’une industriali-sation progressive du secteur du bâtiment et, notamment en France, des procédés de préfabrication en béton.

Histoire

La Cité de la Muette à Drancy, construite par Eugène Beaudouin, Marcel Lods et Jean Prouvé entre 1931 et 1934 pour l’Office public HBM de la Seine, est traditionnellement considérée comme le premier grand en-semble en France. Elle est même à l’origine du terme de «grand ensemble» puisque c’est ainsi que la désigne pour la première fois Marcel Rotival dans un article de l’époque6. Cette cité, initialement conçue comme une cité-jardin, se transforme en cours d’étude en un projet totalement inédit en France, avec ses 5 tours de 15 étages et son habitat totalement collectif. Cependant, cette initiative reste sans lendemain du moins dans l’immédiat.

Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, le temps est à la reconstruction et la priorité n’est pas donnée à l’habitat. Le premier plan quinquennal de Jean Monnet (1947-1952) a avant tout pour objectif la reconstruction des infrastructures de transport et le recouvrement des moyens de production. Par ailleurs, le secteur du bâtiment en France est alors incapable de construire des logements en grande quantité et rapidement : ce sont encore de petites entreprises artisanales aux méthodes de constructions traditionnelles.

Les besoins sont pourtant considérables : sur 14,5 millions de logements, la moitié n’a pas l’eau courante, les 3/4 n’ont pas de WC, 90 % pas de salle de bain. On dénombre 350 000 taudis, 3 millions de logements surpeu-plés et un déficit constaté de 3 millions d’habitations. Le blocage des loyers depuis 19147, très partiellement atténué par la Loi de 1948, ne favorise pas les investissements privés.

L’État tente de changer la situation en impulsant à l’industrialisation des entreprises du bâtiment : en 1950, Eugène Claudius-Petit, ministre de la reconstruction, lance le concours de la Cité Rotterdam à Strasbourg. Ce programme doit comporter 800 logements, mais le concours, ouvert à un architecte associé à une entreprise de BTP, prend en compte des critères de coût et de rapidité d’exécution. Le projet est gagné par Eugène Beau-douin qui réalise un des premiers grands ensembles d’après guerre en 1953. En 1953 toujours, Pierre Courant, Ministre de la Reconstruction et du Logement, fait voter une loi qui met en place une série d’interventions (appelée «Plan Courant») facilitant la construction de logements tant du point de vue foncier que du point de vue du financement (primes à la construction, prêts à taux réduit, etc.) : la priorité est donnée clairement par le ministère aux logements collectifs et à la solution des grands ensembles.

La même année, la création de la contribution obligatoire des entreprises à l’effort de construction (1 % de la masse des salaires pour les entreprises de plus de 10 salariés) introduit des ressources supplémentaires pour la réalisation de logements sociaux : c’est le fameux «1 % patronal». Ces fonds sont réunis par l’Office Central Interprofessionnel du Logement (OCIL), à l’origine de la construction d’un certain nombre de grands ensembles.

Mais le véritable choc psychologique intervient en 1954 : le terrible hiver et l’action de l’Abbé Pierre engage le gouvernement à lancer une politique de logement volontariste. Un programme de «Logements économiques de première nécessité» (LEPN) est lancé en juillet 1955 : il s’agit de petites cités d’urgence sous la forme de pavillons en bandes. En réalité, ces réalisations précaires s’avèrent catastrophiques et se transforment en tau-dis insalubres dès l’année suivante. La priorité est donnée alors résolument à l’habitat collectif de grande taille et à la préfabrication en béton, comme seule solution au manque de logements en France.

Une multitude de procédures administratives

Grands ensembles du quartier Villejean à Rennes par l’architecte Louis Arretche.

Il n’existe pas une procédure type de construction d’un grand ensemble pendant cette période. En effet, de très nombreuses procédures techniques ou financières sont utilisées. Elles servent souvent d’ailleurs à désigner les bâtiments ou quartiers construits à l’époque : Secteur industrialisé, LOPOFA (LOgements POpulaires FAmiliaux), Logecos (LOGements ÉCOnomiques et familiaux), LEN (Logements économiques normalisés), l’opération Million, l’opération «Économie de main d’oeuvre». L’unique objectif de toutes ces procédures est de construire vite et en très grande quantité. Le cadre de la Zone à urbaniser en priorité intervient en 1959, avec des constructions qui ne commencent réellement qu’en 1961-1962.

Les contextes de constructions

Le quartier de La Rouvière (9ème arrondissement) à Marseille construit par Xavier Arsène-Henry.

On peut distinguer 3 contextes de construction de ces grands ensembles à la fin des années 1950 et début des années 1960 :

• de nouveaux quartiers périphériques de villes anciennes ayant pour objectif de reloger des populations ins-tallées dans des logements insalubres en centre-ville ou pour accueillir des populations venues des campagnes environnantes (cas les plus fréquents).

• des villes nouvelles liées à l’implantation d’industries nouvelles ou à la politique d’aménagement du ter-ritoire : c’est le cas de Mourenx (avec le Gaz de Lacq), Bagnols-sur-Cèze ou Pierrelatte (liées à l’industrie nucléaire). On voit aussi des cas hybrides avec la première situation, avec des implantations proches de villes satellites de Paris, dans le but de contrebalancer l’influence de cette dernière : c’est le cas de la politique des «3M» dans le département de Seine-et-Marne avec la construction de grands ensembles liés à des zones in-dustrielles à Meaux, Melun, Montereau-Fault-Yonne.

• des opérations de rénovation de quartiers anciens : le quartier de la Porte de Bâle à Mulhouse, l’îlot Bièvre dans le 13e arrondissement de Paris, le centre-ville ancien de Chelles.

Il est à noter qu’un grand ensemble n’est pas forcément un ensemble de logements sociaux : il peut s’agir aussi de logements de standing, comme le quartier de la Rouvière à Marseille.

Les modes de constructions

Le Haut du Lièvre (3000 logements, construits à partir de 1954), deux des plus longues barres de France, construite par Bernard Zehrfuss sur une crête surplombant Nancy.

Tout est mis en oeuvre pour qu’un maximum d’économies soient réalisées sur le chantier :

• la préfabrication : de nombreux procédés de préfabrications sont mis en oeuvre sur les chantiers permettant un gain de temps et d’argent. Expérimentés au cours des chantiers de la Reconstruction après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, ces procédés permettent la construction en série de panneaux de bétons, d’escaliers, d’huisseries mais aussi d’éléments de salles de bains à l’intérieur même du logements. Ces procédés ont pour nom : Camus (expérimenté au Havre et exporté jusqu’en URSS), Estiot (au Haut-du-Lièvre à Nancy) ou Tracoba (à la Pierre Collinet à Meaux). Les formes simples (barres, tours) sont privilégiées le long du chemin de grue (grue posée sur des rails) avec des usines à béton installées à proximité du chantier, toujours dans une recherche de gain de temps.

• une économie de main d’oeuvre : la préfabrication permet de faire appel à une main d’oeuvre peu qualifiée, souvent d’origine immigrée. De grands groupes de BTP bénéficient de contrats pour des chantiers de construc-tion gigantesques, favorisés par l’État.

• les maîtres d’ouvrages sont eux aussi très concentrés et favorise les grandes opérations. La Caisse des dépôts et consignations est ainsi l’un des financeurs incontournables de ce mouvement de construction avec notam-ment sa filiale, la SCIC (Société Civile immobilière de la Caisse des dépôts et consignations), créée en 1954. Elle fait appel à des architectes majeurs des années 1950 et 1960, tels que Jean Dubuisson, Marcel Lods, Jacques Henri Labourdette, Bernard Zehrfuss, Raymond Lopez, Charles-Gustave Stoskopf et elle est à l’ori-gine de nombreux grands ensembles situés en région parisienne, tels que Sarcelles (le plus grand programme en France avec 10 000 logements), Créteil, Massy-Antony.

Les désignations de ces grands ensembles sont à cette époque très diverses : unité de voisinage, unité d’habitation, ville nouvelle (sans aucun rapport avec les villes nouvelles de Paul Delouvrier), villes satellites, ou encore cités nouvelles, etc.Pendant 20 ans, on estime à 300 000 le nombre de logements construits ainsi par an, alors qu’au début des années 1950, on ne produisait que 10 000 logements chaque année. 6 millions de logements sont ainsi construits au total. 90 % de ces constructions sont aidées par l’État.

En 1965, le programme des villes nouvelles est lancé, se voulant en rupture avec l’urbanisme des grands ensembles. En 1969, les zones à urbaniser en priorité sont abandonnées au profit des zones d’aménagement concerté, créées deux ans auparavant. Enfin, le 21 mars 1973, une circulaire ministérielle signée par Olivier Guichard, ministre de l’Équipement, du Logement et des Transports, «visant à prévenir la réalisation des formes d’urbanisation dites « grands ensembles » et à lutter contre la ségrégation sociale par l’habitat», interdit toute construction d’ensembles de logements de plus de 500 unités. La construction des grands ensembles est définitivement abandonnée. La loi Barre de 1977 fait passer la priorité de l’aide gouvernementale de la construction collective à l’aide aux ménages : c’est le retour du pavillonnaire et du logement.

Les guerres jouent un rôle majeur dans l'histoire architecturale d'un pays. Alors que les commémorations orchestrées par la mission Centenaire 1914-1918 battent leur plein, il paraît intéressant de revenir sur ce que la Grande Guerre a représenté pour les architectes, au-delà des destructions et du traumatisme. Ce premier épisode de « mobilisation totale » - suivant les termes utilisés par Ernst Jünger en 1930 -, a notamment entraîné une industrialisation accéléré des processus de production, qui a marqué les esprits. Certains architectes comme Félix Dumail et Marcel Lods se sont alors engagés dans la définition d'un cadre urbanistique nouveau pour le logement social : au sein de l'Office public d'habitations à bon marché du département de la Seine, ils ont largement contribué à l'invention du « grand ensemble ».

La reconstruction de l'après Première Guerre mondiale a souvent été présentée comme une occasion manquée. Cette antienne a même servi de repoussoir après la Seconde. C'est pourtant un bilan à tempérer, puisqu'au sortir de l'une et l'autre, on est parvenu à reconstruire un nombre de logements comparable en valeur relative, dans à peu près le même laps de temps. Plus généralement, les vicissitudes des chantiers de l'entre-deux-guerres tiennent au contexte économique et politique, au problème du moratoire des loyers, aux effets de la crise de 1929, etc., plutôt qu'à une défaillance des savoir-faire des entreprises et des architectes. Dans cette période ouverte cohabitent, au contraire, des procédés constructifs aussi nombreux qu'efficaces. L'élaboration des programmes modernes - logement social, équipements sportifs, sociaux et éducatifs, grande distribution, etc. - est l'objet d'un éventail de recherches d'une grande pluralité. On aura rarement inventé autant de types architecturaux. Ainsi, pour paraphraser ce que Jean-Louis Cohen écrit de la Seconde Guerre (1), on peut suggérer que la Première ne représente pas seulement quatre années de « page blanche », ni même une répétition de la suivante, mais bien, elle aussi, un temps de condensation « technologique, typologique et esthétique ». Si la Seconde Guerre coïncide avec la « victoire » et la « suprématie » de la modernité architecturale, la Premièren'est pas en reste, qui pose les conditions de diffusion du fordisme, de la préfabrication des bâtiments et dessine les contours urbanistiques de la construction de masse.

Certes, le XIXe siècle, avec le Paris d'Haussmann et les expositions universelles, avait largement plus que défricher les champs de la rapidité, de l'étendue et de la quantité, mais, spécifiquement, l'entre-deux-guerres est marqué par le perfectionnement de la répétition (2). Un des effets de la Grande Guerre réside dans l'accélération de la mise en place d'un cadre de production pour le logement collectif et dans la définition progressive du « grand ensemble ». Ce concept, apparu en juin 1935 sous la plume de Maurice Rotival dans L'Architecture d'aujourd'hui, ressortit à la tentative « d'un urbanisme contemporain : un urbanisme des habitations » (3). Son héraut est l'Office public d'habitations à bon marché du département de la Seine (OPHBMS) d'Henri Sellier, futur ministre de la Santé publique du Front populaire. Imaginé en 1913, organisé pendant la guerre, l'OPHBMS sera, avant 1939, le maître d'ouvrage de plus de 17 000 logements répartis en une vingtaine d'opérations banlieusardes.

Dans une perspective de généalogie du logement de masse français, il y a grand intérêt à suivre les parcours des architectes de l'OPHBMS pendant la Grande Guerre. Parmi la vingtaine de protagonistes concernés, seuls deux étaient trop âgés pour participer au conflit : Raphaël Loiseau (1856-1925), architecte-conseil, et Alexandre Maistrasse (1860-1951), qui s'applique dès avant l'armistice au projet de la « cité-jardins » de Suresnes, dont Sellier sera maire de 1919 à 1940. Il y livrera près de 2 500 logements. Bien que plus jeune, Maurice Payret-Dortail (1874-1929) n'est pas mobilisé et participe à la mise en place de l'Office durant la guerre, avant de travailler jusqu'à son décès prématuré à une autre grande cité-jardins, celle du Plessis-Robinson. Nés entre 1868 et 1900, les autres architectes correspondent exactement aux classes d'âge appelées au front.

Les figures de Marcel Lods et de Felix Dumail

Deux d'entre eux (4) ont laissé des archives significatives sur ces années : Félix Dumail (1883-1955), un des plus fidèles compagnons de Sellier, et Marcel Lods (1891-1978), brillant cadet entré dans un second temps à l'OPHBMS avec son associé Eugène Beaudouin (1898-1983). Dumail est diplômé de l'Atelier Bernier en 1908 et lorsqu'il est mobilisé, il figure déjà parmi les pionniers du logement social. Lods, quant à lui, est admis dans le même atelier en 1911, mais, conscrit l'année suivante, il ne quitte l'uniforme qu'une fois la guerre terminée. Il obtient son diplôme en 1923, tout en collaborant dès 1921 sur d'importantes opérations HBM avec Albert Beaudouin, architecte de la Société des logements économiques pour familles nombreuses depuis 1907. Celui-ci lui cédera son agence en 1929, ainsi qu'à son neveu Eugène.

Vers des logements sociaux en grande série

Il faut rappeler qu'à l'approche de la guerre, ce que l'on nomme le logement ouvrier se situe à un tournant : fin 1912, la loi Bonnevay a affirmé son caractère public. Elle autorise alors les collectivités locales à constituer des offices d'habitations à bon marché, domaine jusque-là réservé des sociétés anonymes et des fondations philanthropiques. Peu avant, la Ville de Paris a obtenu la possibilité de produire elle-même des logements sociaux. Si les résultats du concours qu'elle lance en 1912 sont suspendus, du fait de ses terrains petits et irrégulier ayant inspiré des propositions peu généralisables, quelques architectes se sont d'ores et déjà essayés à décliner des plans en immeubles libres et cours ouvertes. C'est le cas de Payret-Dortail, lauréat sur le site de l'avenue Émile-Zola, et du jeune groupement Dumail, Jean Hébrard et Antonin Trévelas. Au concours de 1913, ce trio peut développer ses principes à l'échelle plus favorable de vastes terrains. Il se retrouve lauréat de 600 logements rue Marcadet, avec un projet désigné dix ans plus tard comme un des plus avancés des « standards d'avant-guerre » (5). Ce deuxième concours, qui porte l'ambition d'entamer un processus de construction en grande série sur la base de plans-modèles, suscite l'engouement, puisque près de 700 châssis ont été adressés et que, comme l'affirme L'Architecture : « On sent qu'il y a maintenant une génération d'architectes s'intéressant à la question des habitations à bon marché, et qui l'ont comprise. » (6) Sellier ne s'y trompe pas, qui forme, entre 1916 et 1921, la première équipe d'architectes-directeurs de l'OPHBMS en puisant parmi les lauréats des concours parisiens : Albenque et Gonnot ; Arfvidson, Bassompierre et de Rutté ; Hébrard et Dumail, Maistrasse, Payret-Dortail, Pelletier, Teisseire.

L'entrée en guerre, dans un premier temps, coupe net l'élan de cette génération, avant de la décimer. Ainsi, Trévelas aura son nom gravé sur le monument aux morts de la cour du mûrier, au cœur de l'École des beaux-arts. Mobilisé dans l'infanterie, Dumail décrit dans ses courriers et dans son journal, le manque d'organisation, la faim, la fatigue, les douleurs corporelles, l'ampleur des destructions et les atrocités : blessures par obus, barricades élevées avec des couches de cadavres, etc. Si l'épisode napoléonien avait déjà provoqué des tueries de masse, celles-ci se singularisent. Leur mécanisation et l'annihilation du territoire représenteront une source inextinguible de réflexions pour les architectes, faisant écho à une sensibilité récente : les théories premières de Prosper Mérimée ou Viollet-le-Duc - suite au « vandalisme » de la révolution et aux effets de l'industrialisation - venaient justement d'accoucher le 31 décembre 1913 de l'actuelle loi sur les monuments historiques. Après guerre, les architectes se passionneront du sort des monuments endommagés - la cathédrale de Reims notamment - et du statut des ruines, quasi sacralisées par un Auguste Perret. Simultanément les avant-gardes mettront en avant l'idée de la table rase. Le spectacle des manœuvres de nuit sous le feu des projecteurs procure ainsi à Dumail un sentiment ambigu de fascination-répulsion, évoquant la sidération exprimée par un Apollinaire.

Dumail manifeste des capacités d'observation hors du commun, qui lui vaudront la légion d'honneur. Sous les bombardements, il exécute des plans et des panoramas des positions ennemies, permettant de mieux diriger les tirs. Nommé sous-lieutenant en octobre 1915, il entame des démarches pour être affecté à l'aviation. À l'appui de sa demande, il mentionne sa passion pour les sports mécaniques, sa pratique assidue de la moto et souligne son succès en 1912 au concours Chenavard consacré à une école d'aviation militaire. C'est pourtant un projet dans lequel l'aéroport représentait surtout un emblème. À l'instar, du reste, de l'aéroport de la cité-jardins du Grand Paris imaginée par l'OHBMS en 1919 en marge des projets du Plessis-Robinson et de la Butte-Rouge (Châtenay-Malabry), ou encore, à partir de 1922, de celui qu'associe Le Corbusier à une autoroute sur la rive droite de Paris, dans son fameux Plan Voisin soutenu par le fabricant automobile et aéronautique éponyme. Bien que Dumail juge plus aisé de piloter un avion qu'une auto et malgré le soutien de ses officiers, ses démarches n'aboutissent pas. Pas plus que ses tentatives d'entrer au Génie puis au service technique de Peugeot ou encore, en 1917, ses propositions d'adaptation d'une mitrailleuse Hotchkiss auprès du sous-secrétariat d'État des inventions. Comme beaucoup d'appelés, Dumail attendra sa démobilisation quasiment jusqu'au traité de Versailles, en 1919. Durant ces années incertaines, alors que ne se concrétisent ni le chantier de la rue Marcadet ni sa nomination définitive par l'OPHBMS - il y est inscrit avec Hébrard sur la liste d'architectes depuis 1917 -, il voyage dans les régions dévastées. Dumail et Hébrard sont agréés pour la reconstruction des Ardennes en 1921, au moment où les études de la rue Marcadet reprennent et celles de la cité-jardins de Gennevilliers deviennent opérationnelles.

Cette concentration de commandes explique que leur activité de reconstruction se limite au seul village d'Attigny (Ardennes), d'autant que leurs aspirations vont bientôt dépasser l'horizon hexagonal. En effet, lorsque Dumail retrouve Hébrard, celui-ci enseigne l'architecture dans le cadre de l'American Expeditionary Forces University, prolongeant son expérience à l'université Cornell-Ithaca entre 1906 et 1911. Leurs deux frères, eux aussi architectes, sont à l'étranger : GabrielDumail, fait prisonnier en 1915, est parti pour la Chine ; quant à ErnestHébrard, Grand Prix de Rome 1904, il a aussi été fait prisonnier avant de se voir confier, en 1918, la reconstruction de Salonique, puis de devenir architecte en chef d'Indochine. Pionnier de l'urbanisme - néologisme de 1910 -, il est membre fondateur de la Société française des architectes urbanistes en 1911, et l'une des premières figures de l'architecture internationale, voire « mondialisée ». Il avait entraîné, peu avant la guerre, son frère et les Dumail dans l'aventure de l'International World Centre : un essai de capitale pour les États-Unis du monde, précurseur de la Société des Nations, dans lequel La Construction moderne voyait en janvier 1914 « une école mondiale de la paix »... arrivée trop tard ! De cette tentation de l'ailleurs, Dumail tire quelques réalisations en Indochine entre 1924 et 1928. Jean Hébrard, lui, s'expatrie en 1925 pour devenir un des théoriciens du City Planning dans les universités de Pennsylvanie puis du Michigan.

Des chantiers d'expérience

Dumail consacrera dès lors l'essentiel de sa carrière à l'OPHBMS, en tant qu'architecte-directeur des cités-jardins de Gennevilliers, du Pré-Saint-Gervais, de Dugny, de l'achèvement de Suresnes, et d'un ensemble HBM pour militaires à Saint-Mandé, immédiatement reconnus pour la qualité de leurs logements et de leur greffe urbaine. Comme pour la cité de la rue Marcadet, il y conçoit « des bâtiments isolés, absolument entourés d'air et de lumière » (7). Ces « chantiers d'expériences », suivant une expression des années 1920 qui deviendra emblématique à la Libération, sont souvent mis en œuvre par des entreprises ayant fourbi leurs premières armes avec les troupes américaines pour des constructions de baraquements préfabriqués. Ils permettront à Dumail de figurer parmi les rares architectes français à avoir édifié plus de 2 000 logements avant la Seconde Guerre, dans lesquels il étrennera les chemins de grue et les principes de coffrage des Trente Glorieuses.On ne peut que faire le lien entre ses aspirations pendant la guerre, sa culture technique, son goût pour la mécanique, et ceux d'autres acteurs de la modernité architecturale. Quelques années avant lui, en 1904, son associé Hébrard brille lui aussi au concours Chenavard, avec pour sujet un Palais de l'automobile. En 1908, le Salon de l'automobile accueille à Paris ses premiers exposants aéronautiques et c'est justement un architecte de la même génération, AndréGranet (1881-1974), futur gendre d'Eiffel, qui contribue l'année suivante à lancer au Grand Palais la première exposition internationale de la locomotion aérienne, ancêtre du salon du Bourget. Plus précisément, le passage de l'observation militaire à l'aviation renvoie à WalterGropius (1883-1969). Comme Dumail ou encore André Lurçat, mais dans le camp d'en face, le fondateur du Bauhaus dessine d'abord ses repérages de ligne de front à pied, avant d'être affecté à l'aviation et d'y connaître une révélation, déterminante pour sa carrière (😎. Cette passion de la photographie aérienne sera partagée par son alter ego français dans l'expérimentation de la préfabrication, Marcel Lods, en pleine résonance avec une attention voulue « scientifique » au territoire et à sa documentation - une des constantes des équipes de l'OPHBMS. Si Lods s'engage comme aviateur en 1939, il est vingt-cinq ans plus tôt affecté comme instructeur d'artillerie. Et il ne lui échappe pas qu'avec presque 900 millions d'obus tirés, son arme représente l'instrument par excellence de l'industrialisation de la guerre. Puis, il suit l'arrivée des troupes américaines et de leurs engins et se passionne pour le développement spectaculaire des industries automobile et aéronautique aux États-Unis. Pays où était née, dès 1908, la fameuse Ford T, premier véhicule de série. Du début des années 1920 jusqu'à la fin de sa carrière, aux côtés de grands ingénieurs, Lods tente d'exporter ce modèle à celui du bâtiment et de ses composants. Ce seront notamment les chantiers de la Cité du Champ des Oiseaux, à Bagneux (1927-1933), et de La Muette, à Drancy (1931-1934). Puis, après guerre, les Grandes Terres de Marly-le-Roi (1952-1960) et surtout la Grand'Mare de Rouen (1960-1977). C'est aussi une myriade de petites réalisations prototypiques, à commencer par l'aéroclub de Buc abordé au moment où Lods obtient son brevet de pilote, en 1932.

Ses chantiers qui se veulent de pur montage, rêvés en gants blanc, ne sont pas dénués d'utopie. Ils participent au sentiment qui sourd au début du XXe siècle, selon lequel l'homme s'apprête à faire quasi corps avec la machine. Charlie Chaplin a génialement montré dans Les Temps modernes en 1936 la part tragique de cette nouvelle condition. Elle apparaît comme un des effets les plus paradoxaux de la guerre, dans laquelle toute une génération a été confrontée aux corps mutilés en masse, soumis aux éléments et à la putréfaction en plein champ, mais aussi possiblement transcendés par la mécanisation et la science. Alfred Jarry en avait eu l'intuition dès 1902 avec Le Surmâle : roman moderne dans lequel il dressait le récit de la course - en forme d'hécatombe - d'un train à vapeur et de cyclistes dopés à la « perpetual-motion food ». Le Corbusier est l'architecte qui, au contact des Planistes et du théoricien eugéniste Alexis Carrel, captera le mieux ce nouveau rapport au corps, avec ses recherches sur l'immeuble-villa puis sur l'« unité d'habitation de grandeur conforme », instruments d'une « fabrique de l'homme nouveau » liant sport, biologie et habitation. Intégré à la fondation Carrel entre 1943 à 1945 (9), Dumail n'échappera pas à ce programme « d'hygiène sociale et de prophylaxie » énoncé par Sellier lui-même au moins dès 1921.Ces proches de Sellier que sont Dumail et Lods ont vu leurs réalisations de l'OPHBMS données en 1935 comme modèles du programme du grand ensemble du futur, dans cette période accidentée où s'élaborait une culture politique de gestion de la croissance des périphéries urbaines. À la Libération, ils affirment ensemble le logement comme la grande « affaire » du XXe siècle dans un livret du comité Henri-Sellier (10). En 1951, ils s'engagent presque simultanément dans les chantiers respectifs des deux SHAPE Villages : Dumail à Saint-Germain-en-Laye, aux côtés de Jean Dubuisson, et Lods à Fontainebleau. Les logements qu'ils bâtissent, chacun à sa façon mais tous deux en un temps record, pour les sous-officiers et officiers du quartier général des forces alliées en Europe, constituent un des moments fondateurs de la politique de construction à venir : les grands ensembles français ne sont décidément pas tombés du ciel avec la croissance et le baby-boom. * Architecte, Hubert Lempereur a consacré de nombreux articles à la généalogie et à l'histoire matérielle et culturelle des premiers grands ensembles français et à la construction de masse. À paraître, Félix Dumail, architecte de la « cité-jardins », aux éditions du patrimoine et La Samaritaine, Paris, aux éditions Picard, ouvrage codirigé avec Jean-François Cabestan. 1. J.-L. Cohen, Architecture en uniforme. Projeter et construire pour la Seconde Guerre mondiale, Hazan/Centre Canadien d'Architecture, 2011. 2. Voir P. Chemetov et B. Marrey, Architectures. Paris 1848-1914, Dunod, 1980. 3. M. Rotival, « Urbanisme des H.B.M. - Formes de la cité », L'Architecture d'aujourd'hui, n° 6, juin 1935. 4. Leurs archives sont conservées au centre d'archives d'architecture du XXe siècle. La famille Dumail conserve de son côté ses correspondances de guerre. 5. J. Posener, « Historique des H.B.M. - Naissance du problème, premières solutions », L'Architecture d'aujourd'hui, n° 6, juin 1935. 6. G. Ernest, « Concours pour la construction par la Ville de Paris d'immeubles collectifs à bon marché », L'Architecture, 28 fév. 1914. 7. A. Gaillardin, « Les derniers concours de la Ville de Paris pour la construction d'habitations à bon marché », La Construction moderne, 28 juin 1914. 8. J. Gubler, « L'aérostation, prélude à l'aviation ? Notes sur la découverte architecturale du paysage aérien », Matières, 1998. 9. H. Lempereur, « La fondation Carrel (1941-1945), Le Corbusier et Félix Dumail : portraits d'architectes en bio-sociologues », fabricA, 2009. 10. F. Dumail, P. Grünebaum-Ballin, R. Hummel, M. Lods, P. Pelletier et P. Sirvin, L'affaire du logement social, préface de Léon Blum, Éditions de la Liberté, 1947. TEXTE DU MONITEUR @ les #Constructions #Modernes #BANLIEUE @ l' #Urbanisme & l es #Chantiers d'#ApresGuerre ici #Mémoire2ville le #Logement Collectif* dans tous ses états..#Histoire & #Mémoire de l'#Habitat / Département territoire terroir region ville souvenirs du temps passé d une époque revolue #Archives ANRU / #Rétro #Banlieue / Renouvellement #Urbain / #Urbanisme / #HLM #postwar #postcard #cartepostale twitter.com/Memoire2cite Villes et rénovation urbaine..Tout savoir tout connaitre sur le sujet ici via le PDF de l'UNION SOCIALE POUR L HABITAT (l'USH)... des textes à savoir, à apprendre, des techniques de demolition jusqu a la securisation..& bien plus encore.. union-habitat.org/.../files/articles/documents/...

www.dailymotion.com/video/xk6xui Quatre murs et un toit 1953 - Le Corbusier, l'architecte du bonheur 1957 conceptions architecturales le modulor, l'architecture de la ville radieuse, Chandigarh, Marseille, Nantes www.dailymotion.com/video/xw8prl Un documentaire consacré aux conceptions architecturales et urbanistiques de Le Corbusier.Exposées par l'architecte lui-même et étayées par des plans, dessins et images de ses réalisations en France et à l'étranger, ces théories témoignent d'une réflexion approfondie et originale sur la ville et sa nécessaire adaptation à la vie moderne, notamment Paris dont l'aménagement révolutionnaire rêvé par Le Corbusier est ici exposé. Un classique du documentaire.Les premiers projets de Le Corbusier resteront à l'état de maquette : le plan de modernisation de la ville d'Alger. Certains seront réalisés par d'autres architectes : ministère de l'éducation à Rio de Janeiro, Palais de l'ONU à New York. Dès l'après-guerre en moins de 10 ans, Le Corbusier réalise de grandes unités d'habitation à Marseille, Nantes une chapelle à Ronchamps, une usine à Saint-Dié, une ville Chandigarh en Inde. Par des schémas, l'architecte présente sa théorie de la "ville radieuse", le modulor clef mathématique de son œuvre ainsi que son projet de réorganisation de la campagne, des cités industrielles et urbaine en un regroupement autour d'un système coopératif. Le film expose les conceptions architecturales de Le Corbusier, dans la ligne des précurseurs de l'architecture moderne comme Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. Paris et le désert français 1957 réalisation : Roger Leenhardt et Sydney Jezequel, résoudre le déséquilibre démographique ville campagne www.dailymotion.com/video/x177lrp Film réalisé par Roger Leenhardt et Sydney Jezequel en 1957, d'après le livre de Jean-François Gravier. Document d'information général proposant les solutions de l'époque pour éviter la désertification des campagnes et la folie concentrationnaire des villes. Dès 1957, la désertification des campagnes prend des proportions tragiques. L'exemple est donné pour le village de Gourdon dans le Quercy.

Quelles évolutions proposer pour éviter l'exode rural et le développement anarchique, qui s'amorce, des villes champignons, construites en plein champ sans urbanisme et sans âme ? Le commentaire propose les solutions de l'époque : modernisation de l'agriculture, adaptation de l'artisanat, implantations d'industries dans les provinces. Gazoducs dans le sud-ouest, barrage en Haute-Savoie, polder en Bretagne semblaient à l'époque pouvoir résoudre le déséquilibre ville campagne. Visages de la France 1957 Production - réalisation Atlantic-Film Marcel de Hubsch www.dailymotion.com/video/x19g59p Le film commence avec des vues de villages et d'architecture traditionnelle du Pays Basque, des Landes, de la Touraine, de la Normandie, de la Bretagne, d'Alsace. La voix off s'interroge : faut il transformer la France en un musée de ses vieilles demeures ? et poursuit : pourquoi des maisons de 10 à 15 mètres de hauteur à Honfleur n'ont elles que 3 à 5 mètres de large ? Le commentaire se pose la question du nombre de maisons individuelles dans les villes qui entrainent l'étalement urbain. Lorsque les villes ont bâtit des immeubles, le commentaire se demande que cachent ces façades ? Des coures étroites que le soleil ne visite jamais, un enchevêtrement inouï de constructions hétéroclites. L'époque de grande prospérité de la troisième république n'a rien su construire de grand poursuit la voix off. Ce document nous propose ensuite une animation de maquette pour l'aménagement d'une friche. Dans un premier temps à la façon d'avant avec la maison individuelle. La voix off s'exclame : ce n'est pas autrement que d'affreuses banlieues naquirent que tant de villes furent à jamais enlaidies, essayons autre chose. L'animation se met à empiler les maisons individuelles et propose des bâtiments collectifs dans des jardins. Le commentaire poursuit : maintenant c'est l'heure de l'urbaniste à lui de répartir les constructions dans la cité. Plusieurs organisation de logements collectifs sont proposées en maquettes. La voix off pointe les défauts d'un urbanisme des grands ensemble trop ennuyeux. Puis une solution émerge de l'animation : pour que la cité vive il faut mettre au place d'honneur école, dispensaire, bibliothèque, salle de réunion, puis viennent les deux pièces maîtresse deux grands immeubles puis les rues se glissent dans la composition et enfin les pelouse et les jardins apparaissent et voila conclue le commentaire. Le film montre ensuite de réalisation de grands ensemble et on entre dans un immeuble au sein d'une famille : air et lumière sont au rendes-vous. On voit des enfants faire du patin à roulette dans le parc de l'immeuble la voix off annonce : finit l'individualisme renfrogné de l'échoppe d'antan : la cité tout entière est un jardin, les jeux d'enfants se mêlent aux fleurs. Le film se termine sur des vues de réalisation de grands ensemble sur toute la France (vue entre autre de la cité radieuse de Le Corbusier à Marseille). Production Films Caravelle MRU (ministère de la reconstruction et de l'urbanisme) Scenario et réalisation : Pierre JaLLAUDSur les routes de France les ponts renaissent 1945 reconstruction de la France après la Seconde Guerre mondiale www.dailymotion.com/video/xuxrii?playlist=x34ije , www.twitter.com/Memoire2cite Les 30 Glorieuses . com et la carte postale.. Il existe de nos jours, de nombreux photographes qui privilégient la qualité artistique de leurs travaux cartophiles. A vous de découvrir ces artistes inconnus aujourd’hui, mais qui seront peut-être les grands noms de demain. 69 BRON PARILLY LA VILLE NOUVELLE LES UC, UNE CITÉ DU FUTUR @ UN TOUR DE VILLE AUTOUR DU TEMPS

Le quartier des UC à Parilly, a été la première des grandes cités construites en France, au milieu du 20e siècle, et fut en son temps un modèle. 1950. La Seconde guerre mondiale a laissé derrière elle un champ de ruines. En France, plus de 800.000 habitations ont été détruites. Partout on manque de logements : sur la côte atlantique, où des villes entières ont été rasées, mais aussi à Paris et en région lyonnaise. Pour couronner le tout, les Français se mettent à faire des bébés à tour de berceaux - le baby boom commence ! Du coup, les jeunes mariés ne peuvent dénicher un toit et restent chez leurs parents. Les mieux lotis s’entassent à 4 ou 5 dans une seule pièce, avec WC à l’étage et un évier en guise de salle de bains. Les personnes sans le sou, elles, peuplent les bidonvilles qui cernent Lyon comme à Bombay ou à Rio. Souvenez-vous de l’abbé Pierre, et de son appel de l’hiver 1954. Reloger la population constitue pourtant une priorité du gouvernement. On a nommé ministre de la Reconstruction et de l’Urbanisme un héros de la Libération, pétri des idéaux sociaux de la Résistance : le député de la Loire, Eugène Claudius-Petit (1907-1989). Monsieur le Ministre veut non seulement redonner un toit aux Français, mais les doter du nec plus ultra en matière de logement, une architecture moderne et colorée, entourée de verdure et d’espace. Dès 1951, Claudius-Petit programme la construction de six grands ensembles : à Angers (677 logements), Boulogne-Billancourt (800), Le Havre (1400), Pantin (800), Saint-Etienne (1262) et enfin à Bron, où doit naître la plus imposante de toutes ces cités, avec 2608 logements. Il en confie la réalisation à l’Office des HLM du Rhône, alors dirigé par Laurent Bonnevay, tandis que sa conception revient à de jeunes architectes Lyonnais disciples de Le Corbusier, dont René Gagès et Franck Grimal.

L’emplacement de la future cité est vite trouvé : dans la partie nord du parc de Parilly, sur 27 hectares de terrains appartenant au Conseil général. Ainsi, les immeubles se glisseront entre les arbres et les pelouses, en un mariage heureux de la nature et du béton. La desserte du quartier sera assurée par le boulevard de Ceinture et par l’avenue Jean-Mermoz, deux belles avenues où il fait bon se promener, à pieds ou à vélo, au milieu de quelques autos - l'une et l'autre n'ont pas encore été transformées en voies autoroutières… Cinq ans à peine, de 1951 à 1956, suffisent pour faire sortir de terre une douzaine de grands immeubles, l’équivalent d’une ville : les quatre tours et les deux barres en S des "Unités de Construction" (UC) 5 et 7 le long du boulevard Laurent-Bonnevay ; l’UC 1 à l’angle du boulevard et de l’autoroute A43 ; enfin les quatre immeubles en L des UC 2 à 5, le long de l’A43, à l'endroit où vous vous trouvez. Leur construction utilise des procédés révolutionnaires pour l’époque : chaque appartement, qu’il s’agisse d’un T2 ou d’un T6 en duplex, reproduit un plan type aux dimensions standardisées de 5 mètres de large, 11 mètres de long et 2,5 mètres de haut, dont les éléments sont fabriqués en usine et seulement assemblés sur le chantier, ce qui permet d’énormes gains de temps. Les premiers habitants découvrent leurs appartements, ébahis. Un F3 par exemple, leur offre une salle de séjour de 18 m2, deux chambres de 10 m2, une cuisine équipée de placards et plans de travail, des WC, une salle de bains, d’immenses baies vitrées et, luxe inouï, un grand balcon peint en jaune, en rouge ou en bleu vif, transformant leur immeuble en une mosaïque multicolore. Les Brondillants passent d’un coup du taudis à l’Amérique, et de Zola au 20e siècle. Telles étaient les UC, il y a une soixantaine d'années. Une cité modèle, dont les photos couvraient les cartes-postales locales, et les magazines du monde entier. Après les UC, d'autres grands ensembles voient le jour à Bron au cours des années 1950 à 1970 : les immeubles du quartier des Essarts, près des Galeries Lafayette ; les copropriétés de la route de Genas, à côté de l'ancienne caserne Raby, et surtout les immeubles du quartier du Terraillon, au nord-est de Bron. Ces nouveaux logements, tous très prisés au moment de leur construction, font bondir la population de Bron de 12.500 habitants en 1946, à 42.000 habitants en 1968. Les experts de l'époque prédisent même que le seuil des 100.000 habitants serait atteint vers l'an 2000 ! Le temps du village était révolu. Bron devenait une ville importante de la banlieue lyonnaise.

@ LES GRANDS ENSEMBLES @ Bien qu’ils échappent à une définition unique, les grands ensembles sont ty-piquement des ensembles de logement collectif, souvent en nombre impor-tant (plusieurs centaines à plusieurs milliers de logements), construits entre le milieu des années 1950 et le milieu des années 1970, marqués par un urba-nisme de barres et de tours inspiré des préceptes de l’architecture moderne.

Ces grands ensembles, dont plusieurs centaines ont été construits en France, ont permis un large accès au confort moderne (eau courante chaude et froide, chauffage central, équipements sanitaires, ascenseur…) pour les ouvriers des banlieues ouvrières, les habitants des habitats insalubres, les rapatriés d’Algérie et la main-d’oeuvre des grandes industries.

Ils se retrouvent fréquemment en crise sociale profonde à partir des années 1980, et sont, en France, l’une des raisons de la mise en place de ce qu’on appelle la politique de la Ville.

Définition

Il n’y a pas de consensus pour définir un grand ensemble.

On peut toutefois en distinguer deux :

• Selon le service de l’Inventaire du ministère de la Culture français, un grand ensemble est un «aménagement urbain comportant plusieurs bâtiments isolés pouvant être sous la forme de barres et de tours, construit sur un plan masse constituant une unité de conception. Il peut être à l’usage d’activité et d’habitation et, dans ce cas, comporter plusieurs centaines ou milliers de logements. Son foncier ne fait pas nécessairement l’objet d’un remembrement, il n’est pas divisé par lots ce qui le différencie du lotissement concerté».

• Selon le «géopolitologue» Yves Lacoste, un grand ensemble est une «masse de logements organisée en un ensemble. Cette organisation n’est pas seulement la conséquence d’un plan masse; elle repose sur la présence d’équipement collectifs (écoles, commerces, centre social, etc.) […]. Le grand ensemble apparaît donc comme une unité d’habitat relativement autonome formée de bâtiments collectifs, édifiée en un assez bref laps de temps, en fonction d’un plan global qui comprend plus de 1000 logements».

Le géographe Hervé Vieillard-Baron apporte des précisions : c’est, selon lui, un aménagement en rupture avec le tissu urbain existant, sous la forme de barres et de tours, conçu de manière globale et introduisant des équipements règlementaires, comportant un financement de l’État et/ou des établissements publics. Toujours selon lui, un grand ensemble comporte un minimum de 500 logements (limite fixée pour les Zone à urbaniser en priorité (ZUP) en 1959). Enfin, un grand ensemble n’est pas nécessairement situé en périphérie d’une ag-glomération.

Comme on le voit ci-dessus, la détermination d’un seuil de logements peut être débattue. Les formes du grand ensemble sont assez récurrentes, inspirées (ou légitimées) par des préceptes de l’architecture moderne et en particulier des CIAM : ils se veulent une application de la Charte d’Athènes4. Pour autant, on ne peut pas dire qu’il s’agisse d’une application directe des principes de Le Corbusier. Ils sont aussi le fruit d’une industriali-sation progressive du secteur du bâtiment et, notamment en France, des procédés de préfabrication en béton.

Histoire

La Cité de la Muette à Drancy, construite par Eugène Beaudouin, Marcel Lods et Jean Prouvé entre 1931 et 1934 pour l’Office public HBM de la Seine, est traditionnellement considérée comme le premier grand en-semble en France. Elle est même à l’origine du terme de «grand ensemble» puisque c’est ainsi que la désigne pour la première fois Marcel Rotival dans un article de l’époque6. Cette cité, initialement conçue comme une cité-jardin, se transforme en cours d’étude en un projet totalement inédit en France, avec ses 5 tours de 15 étages et son habitat totalement collectif. Cependant, cette initiative reste sans lendemain du moins dans l’immédiat.

Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, le temps est à la reconstruction et la priorité n’est pas donnée à l’habitat. Le premier plan quinquennal de Jean Monnet (1947-1952) a avant tout pour objectif la reconstruction des infrastructures de transport et le recouvrement des moyens de production. Par ailleurs, le secteur du bâtiment en France est alors incapable de construire des logements en grande quantité et rapidement : ce sont encore de petites entreprises artisanales aux méthodes de constructions traditionnelles.

Les besoins sont pourtant considérables : sur 14,5 millions de logements, la moitié n’a pas l’eau courante, les 3/4 n’ont pas de WC, 90 % pas de salle de bain. On dénombre 350 000 taudis, 3 millions de logements surpeu-plés et un déficit constaté de 3 millions d’habitations. Le blocage des loyers depuis 19147, très partiellement atténué par la Loi de 1948, ne favorise pas les investissements privés.

L’État tente de changer la situation en impulsant à l’industrialisation des entreprises du bâtiment : en 1950, Eugène Claudius-Petit, ministre de la reconstruction, lance le concours de la Cité Rotterdam à Strasbourg. Ce programme doit comporter 800 logements, mais le concours, ouvert à un architecte associé à une entreprise de BTP, prend en compte des critères de coût et de rapidité d’exécution. Le projet est gagné par Eugène Beau-douin qui réalise un des premiers grands ensembles d’après guerre en 1953. En 1953 toujours, Pierre Courant, Ministre de la Reconstruction et du Logement, fait voter une loi qui met en place une série d’interventions (appelée «Plan Courant») facilitant la construction de logements tant du point de vue foncier que du point de vue du financement (primes à la construction, prêts à taux réduit, etc.) : la priorité est donnée clairement par le ministère aux logements collectifs et à la solution des grands ensembles.

La même année, la création de la contribution obligatoire des entreprises à l’effort de construction (1 % de la masse des salaires pour les entreprises de plus de 10 salariés) introduit des ressources supplémentaires pour la réalisation de logements sociaux : c’est le fameux «1 % patronal». Ces fonds sont réunis par l’Office Central Interprofessionnel du Logement (OCIL), à l’origine de la construction d’un certain nombre de grands ensembles.

Mais le véritable choc psychologique intervient en 1954 : le terrible hiver et l’action de l’Abbé Pierre engage le gouvernement à lancer une politique de logement volontariste. Un programme de «Logements économiques de première nécessité» (LEPN) est lancé en juillet 1955 : il s’agit de petites cités d’urgence sous la forme de pavillons en bandes. En réalité, ces réalisations précaires s’avèrent catastrophiques et se transforment en tau-dis insalubres dès l’année suivante. La priorité est donnée alors résolument à l’habitat collectif de grande taille et à la préfabrication en béton, comme seule solution au manque de logements en France.

Une multitude de procédures administratives

Grands ensembles du quartier Villejean à Rennes par l’architecte Louis Arretche.

Il n’existe pas une procédure type de construction d’un grand ensemble pendant cette période. En effet, de très nombreuses procédures techniques ou financières sont utilisées. Elles servent souvent d’ailleurs à désigner les bâtiments ou quartiers construits à l’époque : Secteur industrialisé, LOPOFA (LOgements POpulaires FAmiliaux), Logecos (LOGements ÉCOnomiques et familiaux), LEN (Logements économiques normalisés), l’opération Million, l’opération «Économie de main d’oeuvre». L’unique objectif de toutes ces procédures est de construire vite et en très grande quantité. Le cadre de la Zone à urbaniser en priorité intervient en 1959, avec des constructions qui ne commencent réellement qu’en 1961-1962.

Les contextes de constructions

Le quartier de La Rouvière (9ème arrondissement) à Marseille construit par Xavier Arsène-Henry.

On peut distinguer 3 contextes de construction de ces grands ensembles à la fin des années 1950 et début des années 1960 :

• de nouveaux quartiers périphériques de villes anciennes ayant pour objectif de reloger des populations ins-tallées dans des logements insalubres en centre-ville ou pour accueillir des populations venues des campagnes environnantes (cas les plus fréquents).

• des villes nouvelles liées à l’implantation d’industries nouvelles ou à la politique d’aménagement du ter-ritoire : c’est le cas de Mourenx (avec le Gaz de Lacq), Bagnols-sur-Cèze ou Pierrelatte (liées à l’industrie nucléaire). On voit aussi des cas hybrides avec la première situation, avec des implantations proches de villes satellites de Paris, dans le but de contrebalancer l’influence de cette dernière : c’est le cas de la politique des «3M» dans le département de Seine-et-Marne avec la construction de grands ensembles liés à des zones in-dustrielles à Meaux, Melun, Montereau-Fault-Yonne.

• des opérations de rénovation de quartiers anciens : le quartier de la Porte de Bâle à Mulhouse, l’îlot Bièvre dans le 13e arrondissement de Paris, le centre-ville ancien de Chelles.

Il est à noter qu’un grand ensemble n’est pas forcément un ensemble de logements sociaux : il peut s’agir aussi de logements de standing, comme le quartier de la Rouvière à Marseille.

Les modes de constructions

Le Haut du Lièvre (3000 logements, construits à partir de 1954), deux des plus longues barres de France, construite par Bernard Zehrfuss sur une crête surplombant Nancy.

Tout est mis en oeuvre pour qu’un maximum d’économies soient réalisées sur le chantier :

• la préfabrication : de nombreux procédés de préfabrications sont mis en oeuvre sur les chantiers permettant un gain de temps et d’argent. Expérimentés au cours des chantiers de la Reconstruction après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, ces procédés permettent la construction en série de panneaux de bétons, d’escaliers, d’huisseries mais aussi d’éléments de salles de bains à l’intérieur même du logements. Ces procédés ont pour nom : Camus (expérimenté au Havre et exporté jusqu’en URSS), Estiot (au Haut-du-Lièvre à Nancy) ou Tracoba (à la Pierre Collinet à Meaux). Les formes simples (barres, tours) sont privilégiées le long du chemin de grue (grue posée sur des rails) avec des usines à béton installées à proximité du chantier, toujours dans une recherche de gain de temps.

• une économie de main d’oeuvre : la préfabrication permet de faire appel à une main d’oeuvre peu qualifiée, souvent d’origine immigrée. De grands groupes de BTP bénéficient de contrats pour des chantiers de construc-tion gigantesques, favorisés par l’État.

• les maîtres d’ouvrages sont eux aussi très concentrés et favorise les grandes opérations. La Caisse des dépôts et consignations est ainsi l’un des financeurs incontournables de ce mouvement de construction avec notam-ment sa filiale, la SCIC (Société Civile immobilière de la Caisse des dépôts et consignations), créée en 1954. Elle fait appel à des architectes majeurs des années 1950 et 1960, tels que Jean Dubuisson, Marcel Lods, Jacques Henri Labourdette, Bernard Zehrfuss, Raymond Lopez, Charles-Gustave Stoskopf et elle est à l’ori-gine de nombreux grands ensembles situés en région parisienne, tels que Sarcelles (le plus grand programme en France avec 10 000 logements), Créteil, Massy-Antony.

Les désignations de ces grands ensembles sont à cette époque très diverses : unité de voisinage, unité d’habitation, ville nouvelle (sans aucun rapport avec les villes nouvelles de Paul Delouvrier), villes satellites, ou encore cités nouvelles, etc.

Pendant 20 ans, on estime à 300 000 le nombre de logements construits ainsi par an, alors qu’au début des années 1950, on ne produisait que 10 000 logements chaque année. 6 millions de logements sont ainsi construits au total. 90 % de ces constructions sont aidées par l’État.

En 1965, le programme des villes nouvelles est lancé, se voulant en rupture avec l’urbanisme des grands ensembles. En 1969, les zones à urbaniser en priorité sont abandonnées au profit des zones d’aménagement concerté, créées deux ans auparavant. Enfin, le 21 mars 1973, une circulaire ministérielle signée par Olivier Guichard, ministre de l’Équipement, du Logement et des Transports, «visant à prévenir la réalisation des formes d’urbanisation dites « grands ensembles » et à lutter contre la ségrégation sociale par l’habitat», interdit toute construction d’ensembles de logements de plus de 500 unités. La construction des grands ensembles est définitivement abandonnée. La loi Barre de 1977 fait passer la priorité de l’aide gouvernementale de la construction collective à l’aide aux ménages : c’est le retour du pavillonnaire et du logement. Les banlieues populaires apparaissent dans les médias à travers le prisme de la délinquance et des émeutes. Pourtant, leur histoire doit s’analyser dans la moyenne durée des deux siècles d’urbanisation et d’industrialisation, puis de disparition de la société industrielle. Les banlieues françaises, à la différence des suburbs anglo-saxonnes qui logent les classes moyennes blanches, ont été créées dès la fin du XIX e siècle pour loger les classes populaires. Les besoins de logement expliquent les strates des paysages urbains : petits immeubles de rapport de la Belle Époque, pavillons des lotissements défectueux de l’entre-deux-guerres, barres et tours de logement social et villes nouvelles des Trente Glorieuses. Trois moments de la constitution des banlieues populaires se superposent, encore visibles dans les paysages-palimpsestes : l’âge des faubourgs industriels, devenus peu à peu friches avec la désindustrialisation qui débute dans les années 50 ; le temps des banlieues rouges et du socialisme municipal ; la construction des grands ensembles et l’entrée en crise du modèle à partir de 1970. Des faubourgs industriels à la désindustrialisation

La banlieue contemporaine naît de l’entreprise de modernisation de la capitale et des grandes métropoles sous le Second Empire. Le modèle haussmannien, bien connu, régularise la ville ancienne par l’imposition de percées dans le tissu urbain existant, l’équipement en réseaux divers, la construction d’immeubles neufs le long des nouvelles percées et l’exode partiel des anciens habitants du centre vers les arrondissements annexés ou vers les faubourgs. L’agrandissement de Paris complète les ambitions d’Haussmann et de Napoléon III : au premier janvier 1860, en application de la loi du 3 novembre 1859, 5100 hectares sont ajoutés aux 3402 hectares de la capitale, qui trouve ainsi sa taille définitive et passe de 12 à 20 arrondissements. L’annexion des communes suburbaines s’accompagne d’une vision, en creux, de la nouvelle banlieue au-delà des murailles. Le projet est d’homogénéiser la nouvelle ville-capitale en généralisant les équipements urbains, notamment le métro à partir de 1900, de desserrer la pression démographique du centre vers l’extérieur, de transférer l’industrie au-delà des Fortifications. Dans ces « cayennes », les salaires sont plus bas qu’à Paris, la discipline plus rude, la taylorisation plus précoce que dans les ateliers parisiens ou lyonnais. La banlieue est livrée à elle-même, ignorée par la puissance publique. Ses espaces libres accueillent les entrepôts, la grande industrie et les fonctions que la ville transformée rejette : cimetières, hôpitaux, champs d’épandage, logements sociaux 1. Les décrets sur les établissements classés, datant du Premier Empire et repris sous la Restauration, sont à l’origine des zones d’industries polluantes en proche banlieue, notamment autour de la chimie organique. Aubervilliers est célèbre par la concentration d’industries chimiques (Saint-Gobain…). Les derniers de ces établissements classés ont cessé leur activité il y a peu de temps, sous l’impact des revendications des associations écologistes : à Saint-Denis, la Saria, entreprise d’incinération de carcasses animales, a dû fermer. L’industrialisation, comme l’avait envisagé Haussmann, se fait par le transfert des grandes usines de la capitale vers la périphérie. Après la crise économique de la fin du XIXe siècle, l’implantation de nouvelles technologies – automobile, aviation, constructions électriques – transforme des communes (Boulogne-Billancourt, Puteaux, Suresnes, Vénissieux) en technopoles de pointe. Dans ces « cayennes », les salaires sont plus bas qu’à Paris, la discipline plus rude, la taylorisation plus précoce que dans les ateliers parisiens ou lyonnais. Sans unité administrative, la banlieue constitue un domaine fragmenté en espaces socialement très différenciés : villégiature et résidence bourgeoise souvent à l’Ouest, banlieue « noire », celle des faubourgs industriels limitrophes, friches dues à la déprise agricole et maraîchère, que lotissent de petits spéculateurs. La Première Guerre mondiale renforce l’industrialisation des métropoles situées loin du front, Paris, Lyon ou Toulouse. Puis une volonté de décentralisation transfère les usines en grande banlieue : Simca glisse de Nanterre à Poissy au milieu des années 50 ; une usine Citroën de 6500 salariés, dont 4300 OS, s’ouvre à Aulnay-sous-bois en 1973. Cependant, en région parisienne, cette politique précoce et continue de désindustrialisation conduit à une diminution des emplois industriels dès les années 60, avec la politique de délocalisation menée à partir de 1955, amplifiée par la Datar. En Plaine Saint-Denis, en 1960, le secteur industriel représente 46 % des emplois contre 44 % au tertiaire ; en 1990, le secteur industriel représente 21 % des emplois et le tertiaire 72 %. Des secteurs entiers disparaissent – métallurgie, machine-outil, chimie – dont la présence structurait les sociétés ouvrières. La crise économique qui commence à partir de 1973, la division planétaire du travail et un demi-siècle de volonté décentralisatrice entraînent la disparition des banlieues industrielles, malgré des combats défensifs : l’usine Chaix de Saint-Ouen ferme après cinq ans d’occupation et de luttes à contre-courant. L’invention politique socialisme municipal et banlieue rouge Dans l’entre-deux-guerres, les banlieues populaires se couvrent d’une marée pavillonnaire de lotissements médiocres 2. La crise du logement en région parisienne conduit 450 000 nouveaux banlieusards, Parisiens et provinciaux, à s’installer dans 16 000 hectares de nouveaux quartiers pavillonnaires. Ces petits accédants à la propriété – les « mal-lotis » des années 20 – payent à crédit leur parcelle et s’installent sur des terrains dépourvus de tout équipement. Le scandale de ces petits propriétaires méritants qui campent dans la boue des banlieues, sans routes ni lumière, devient public au milieu des années 20. La loi Sarraut votée en 1928 met l’État à contribution avec les intéressés, ce qui permet de financer les aménagements indispensables, en premier lieu le réseau de voirie. Les lotissements, ces quartiers de pavillons, improvisés à partir des années 20 sur des terrains bon marché découpés au hasard de la spéculation et des opportunités foncières, incarnent le rêve populaire d’accès à la propriété. Le mal-loti devient la figure emblématique de l’exclusion banlieusarde : trompé par les lotisseurs, il se retrouve privé des éléments élémentaires de l’urbanité, aux portes de la capitale illuminée où « les rupins font la noce ». Le jeune PC (Section française de l’Internationale communiste) prend en charge les revendications de ces parias, fournit une analyse de leurs difficultés en termes de classe et s’implante dans les communes ainsi bouleversées à partir des élections municipales de 1925. Il s’appuie aussi sur le nouveau prolétariat des grandes usines. Dans le contexte du Front populaire, 193

SUMMONTE

 

Adagiato in posizione amena sulle falde orientali del Partenio, ad oltre 700 m s. l. m., ha origini antichissime, attestate dai ruderi ultra millenari del castello e dal nome latineggiante (Summonte deriva da Sub monte, sotto il monte).

Il ritrovamento di alcune tombe di epoca preromana, probabilmente osche, dimostra che il territorio di Summonte è stato abitato da tempi remoti. Il primo documento che sì riferisce a Summonte è del 769 ed è costituito da una donazione di un patrizio longobardo di nome Leo all'Abbazia di Montecassino. Tale donazione comprende delle "curtes" curti, toponimo di un'ampia contrada Summontese in adiacenza al territorio di Avellino e Summonte, che nell'atto viene indicato con il nome Transmonte, probabilmente, come ritiene lo storiografo Scandone, per la sua posizione rispetto a Benevento, dove venne rogata la donazione. Da documenti successivi, custoditi nell'Archivio del Santuario di Montevergine, risulta che nel territorio di Summonte, esisteva una chiesa dedicata a Maria SS. di Montevergine molto prima della fondazione del santuario dedicato alla Madonna da San Guglielmo, compravendita del 1025, e che nel 1037, contratto di affitto si coltivava il gelso per l'allevamento del baco per la produzione della seta. L’atto è il più antico documento sulla bachicoltura in Italia ed è recensito dagli storiografi più autorevoli. Con i Normanni Summonte passò alla condizione di feudo e, concesso intorno al 1130 a Raone Malerba, un nobile di origine franca al seguito dei Normanni, rimase sotto il dominio dei Malerba per oltre due secoli fino alla morte dell'ultima discendente, Francesca Malerba, priva di figli. I Malerba goderono della stima e protezione dei regnanti dell'epoca, soprattutto con Robeno, che fu nominato giustiziere della Calabria dal grande imperatore Federico II del Sacro Romano Impero. Essi, a differenza dei successivi feudatari, vivevano nel castello di Summonte. Ai Malerba, dopo un breve periodo in cui fu feudatario un figliastro di Francesca, successe la famiglia Della Leonessa, poi ci furono gli Spinelli fino ai Doria, che rimasero feudatari di Summonte per oltre duecento anni fino alla eversione della feudalità, sancita nel regno di Napoli sotto Giuseppe Bonaparte nel 1806. Sotto i Borboni, ritornati a Napoli con la restaurazione, fu costituito a Summonte un attivo nucleo carbonaro "I Pitti del Partenio" all'O. di Summonte che ebbe come esponenti più importanti i fratelli Severino e Vincenzo De Cristofaro, condannati all'esilio per lunghi anni. Summonte ha dato i natali all'on. Paolo De Cristofaro, fondatore di un quotidiano di importanza e diffusione nazionale, il Popolo di Roma, e ad Alessio De Vito, che fu decorato da vivente della medaglia d'oro al valor militare per la gloriosa impresa compiuta nel 1941 nella baia di Suda con i mezzi di assalto della marina militare, un prodigio di tecnica ed ardimento che ci impose all'ammirazione degli stessi nemici del tempo.

Nell’attuale centro storico, in posizione dominante sulla valle, sorgeva un fortilizio con il nome di castrum submontis (il toponimo sottintende tra sub e montis il termine “radicibus”, in quanto la preposizione latina su, come si sa, regge l’ablativo e non il genitivo) che aveva la funzione di difesa di Abellinum lungo la via antica, che nel medioevo ebbe il nome di campanina, il cui percorso era sostanzialmente quello dell’attuale strada provinciale (fino a poco tempo fa statale 374 di Summonte) che collega Avellino alla Valle Caudina. I Longobardi occuparono il territorio con le loro famiglie ed erano estremamente diffidenti verso la popolazione locale. Preferivano vivere in quartieri separati e ben protetti, cosicché il fortilizio di Summonte, già esistente, rappresentò il luogo ideale per una sicura dimora. Una volta insediatisi, adattarono la fortificazione alle loro esigenze, ampliandola e rafforzandola con la costruzione di una torre, che, a differenza di tutte le altre costruite nel Beneventano dai Longobardi, ebbe base circolare e non quadrata, probabilmente in dipendenza della sua posizione dominante ed isolata. Verso la fine dell’XI secolo d.C., Summonte fu concesso in feudo ai Malerba, una famiglia franca al seguito dei Normanni ed il castello con la torre divenne la residenza del feudatario. Il Castello fu notevolmente ampliato con la costruzione di abitazioni per i servi e per i soldati e di una chiesetta, fino a costituire un borgo interamente murato, con ingresso principale dall’attuale arco San Nicola. Nel periodo Angioino il castello ebbe il suo assetto definitivo e la torre fu ristrutturata, fino ad assumere la forma tipica delle torri di detto periodo, riscontrabile nel rudere preesistente ai recenti lavori.

I rilievi aerofotogrammetrici a raggi infrarossi effettuati nel giugno 1980 da esperti incaricati dal Comune hanno consentito di avere un quadro abbastanza fedele del preesistente castello: al centro di esso si ergeva la maestosa torre, dalla cui sommità era possibile sorvegliare l’intera zona. In caso di necessità essa serviva da ridotto per l’estrema difesa. Il castello era circondato da una prima fila di mura perimetrali con quattro capisaldi, che suddividevano le mura in altrettanti tratti, ciascuno lungo una cinquantina di metri. A valle, oltre l’anzidetta cinta di mura, in corrispondenza del caposaldo a sud-est della torre, vi erano delle formazioni murarie a semicerchio. Questa seconda cinta di mura rendeva molto difficile l’accesso agli eventuali aggressori e l’assalto alle difese fisse del castello, anche per la condizione naturale del terreno, che si elevava letteralmente a picco, era, se non impossibile, estremamente arduo. Al di sotto ed intorno alla torre vi erano cisterne, depositi e riservette varie, che permettevano di resistere anche ad un lungo assedio. Angusti e tortuosi corridoi sotterranei permettevano agli assediati di effettuare i collegamenti necessari in condizioni di sicurezza. La torre era priva di accesso diretto dall’area circostante. Esisteva un solo varco, sopraelevato rispetto al piano di campagna, e lo si poteva raggiungere solo a mezzo di funi o scale mobili. La torre era a due piani, divisi da solai di legno, comunicanti tra loro a mezzo di scalini ricavati dallo spessore del muro perimetrale. Forse al di sotto di essa, nella parte interrata, vi era un passaggio sotterraneo molto stretto che la collegava agli accennati corridoi. È storicamente certo che nel castello, quando il feudatario era Roberto Malerba, fu rinchiuso, per ordine di Federico II il cavaliere lombardo Obertino da Mondello, fatto prigioniero nella battaglia di Cortenuova (22 novembre 1237) e che vi fu ospitato, nel marzo del 1440, quando il feudatario era Ottino Caracciolo, Renato d'Angiò, durante la sua sfortunata guerra contro Alfonso d'Aragona.

Da wikipedia

  

The Church of Saint Anne is a French Roman Catholic church and part of the Domaine national français located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, near the start of the Via Dolorosa, next to the Lions' Gate.

 

History of the site

During the Roman period a pagan shrine for the cult of the god of healing (a syncretic mix between the Egyptian god Serapis and the Greek god Asclepius), stood on the grounds next to the two Pools of Bethesda.

 

A Byzantine basilica was built over the remains of the shrine in the 5th century. Partially destroyed by the Persians in 614, it was subsequently restored. Baldwin I, the first titled Crusader king of Jerusalem, banished his wife Arda to the old Benedictine convent which still existed here in 1104. A small Crusader church, the so-called Moustier, was then erected over the wall separating the northern and southern Pools of Bethesda, among the ruins of the Byzantine church.

 

The current Church of St Anne was built sometime between 1131 and 1138, during the reign of Queen Melisende. It was erected near the remains of the Byzantine basilica, over the site of a grotto believed by the Crusaders to be the childhood home of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. It is dedicated to Anne and Joachim, the parents of Saint Mary, who according to tradition lived here.

 

Unlike many other Crusader churches, St. Anne's was not destroyed after the 1187 conquest of Jerusalem by Saladin (Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn). In 1192, Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn converted the building into a madrasa (Islamic educational institution), known as al-Madrasa as-Salahiyya (of Saladin), as is still written in the Arabic inscription above the entrance. In the 15th century it was considered as the most prestigious college in the city, counting among its more prominent students the Islamic jurist and city historian, Mujir al-Din (1456–1522).

 

During Muslim Ottoman rule in Palestine, Christian pilgrims were only permitted inside the grotto after paying a fee. Eventually the madrasa was abandoned and the former church building fell into disrepair. In 1856, in gratitude for French support during the Crimean War, the Ottoman sultan Abdülmecid I presented it to Napoleon III.

 

In 1862, the French government dispatched the architect Christophe-Edouard Mauss to Jerusalem for this purpose. In 1873, while working on the renovations, Mauss discovered the vestiges of the Bethesda Pool next to the church.

 

Since 1878, it has been administered by the Missionaries of Africa, a Catholic order, commonly called the "White Fathers" for the colour of their robes. Between 1882 and 1946 the site has housed a seminary for the training of Greek-Catholic priests.

 

Built between 1131 and 1138 to replace a previous Byzantine church, and shortly thereafter enlarged by several meters, the church is an excellent example of Romanesque architecture. The three-aisled basilica incorporates cross-vaulted ceilings and pillars, clear clean lines and a somewhat unadorned interior. The nave is separated from the lower lateral aisles by arcades of arches. The high altar, designed by the French sculptor Philippe Kaeppelin incorporates many different scenes. On the front of the altar are depicted the Nativity (left), the Descent from the Cross (center) and the Annunciation (right); on the left-hand end is the teaching of Mary by her mother, on the right-hand end her presentation in the Temple. In the south aisle is a flight of steps leading down to the crypt, in a grotto believed by the Crusaders to be Mary's birthplace. An altar dedicated to Mary is located there. The Byzantine basilica was partly stretched over two water basins, collectively known as the Pools of Bethesda, and built upon a series of piers, one of which still stands today in its entirety.

 

In 1862, the French architect Christophe-Edouard Mauss was dispatched by his government to Jerusalem with the special assignment of restoring the time-damaged church.

 

Acoustics

The church's acoustics are particularly suited to Gregorian chant, which makes it a pilgrimage site for soloists and choirs.

 

Property

The church is listed as one of four French government properties in the Holy Land as part of the "Domaine national français". In line with international law, which treats East Jerusalem as occupied territory, France does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem, where the Church of Saint Anne is located. In 1996, during Jacques Chirac's visit to Jerusalem, the French president refused to enter the church until Israeli soldiers who accompanied him left. Similarly in January 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron was involved in an altercation with Israeli security officers at the church.

 

Jerusalem is an ancient city in West Asia, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both Israel and Palestine claim Jerusalem as their capital; Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there, and the State of Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power. Neither claim, however, is widely recognized internationally.

 

Throughout its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, and attacked 52 times. The part of Jerusalem called the City of David shows first signs of settlement in the 4th millennium BCE, in the shape of encampments of nomadic shepherds. During the Canaanite period (14th century BCE), Jerusalem was named as Urusalim on ancient Egyptian tablets, probably meaning "City of Shalem" after a Canaanite deity. During the Israelite period, significant construction activity in Jerusalem began in the 10th century BCE (Iron Age II), and by the 9th century BCE, the city had developed into the religious and administrative centre of the Kingdom of Judah. In 1538, the city walls were rebuilt for a last time around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. Today those walls define the Old City, which since the 19th century has been divided into four quarters – the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Since 1860, Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old City's boundaries. In 2022, Jerusalem had a population of some 971,800 residents, of which almost 60% were Jews and almost 40% Palestinians. In 2020, the population was 951,100, of which Jews comprised 570,100 (59.9%), Muslims 353,800 (37.2%), Christians 16,300 (1.7%), and 10,800 unclassified (1.1%).

 

According to the Hebrew Bible, King David conquered the city from the Jebusites and established it as the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel, and his son, King Solomon, commissioned the building of the First Temple. Modern scholars argue that Jews branched out of the Canaanite peoples and culture through the development of a distinct monolatrous—and later monotheistic—religion centred on El/Yahweh. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, assumed central symbolic importance for the Jewish people. The sobriquet of holy city (Hebrew: עיר הקודש, romanized: 'Ir ha-Qodesh) was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, which Christians adopted as their own "Old Testament", was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection there. In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. The city was the first qibla, the standard direction for Muslim prayers (salah), and in Islamic tradition, Muhammad made his Night Journey there in 621, ascending to heaven where he speaks to God, according to the Quran. As a result, despite having an area of only 0.9 km2 (3⁄8 sq mi), the Old City is home to many sites of seminal religious importance, among them the Temple Mount with its Western Wall, Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

 

Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the areas captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured and later annexed by Jordan. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently effectively annexed it into Jerusalem, together with additional surrounding territory.[note 6] One of Israel's Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the country's undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the residences of the Prime Minister (Beit Aghion) and President (Beit HaNassi), and the Supreme Court. The international community rejects the annexation as illegal and regards East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory occupied by Israel.

 

Etymology

The name "Jerusalem" is variously etymologized to mean "foundation (Semitic yry' 'to found, to lay a cornerstone') of the pagan god Shalem"; the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city.

 

Shalim or Shalem was the name of the god of dusk in the Canaanite religion, whose name is based on the same root S-L-M from which the Hebrew word for "peace" is derived (Shalom in Hebrew, cognate with Arabic Salam). The name thus offered itself to etymologizations such as "The City of Peace", "Abode of Peace", "Dwelling of Peace" ("founded in safety"), or "Vision of Peace" in some Christian authors.

 

The ending -ayim indicates the dual, thus leading to the suggestion that the name Yerushalayim refers to the fact that the city initially sat on two hills.

 

Ancient Egyptian sources

The Execration Texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (c. 19th century BCE), which refer to a city called rwšꜣlmm or ꜣwšꜣmm, variously transcribed as Rušalimum, or Urušalimum, may indicate Jerusalem. Alternatively, the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba (1330s BCE), which reference an Úrušalim, may be the earliest mention of the city.

 

Hebrew Bible and Jewish sources

The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua. According to a Midrash, the name is a combination of two names united by God, Yireh ("the abiding place", the name given by Abraham to the place where he planned to sacrifice his son) and Shalem ("Place of Peace", the name given by high priest Shem).

 

Oldest written mention of Jerusalem

One of the earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states: "I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem", or as other scholars suggest: "Yahweh is the God of the whole earth. The mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem". An older example on papyrus is known from the previous century.

 

In extra-biblical inscriptions, the earliest known example of the -ayim ending was discovered on a column about 3 km west of ancient Jerusalem, dated to the first century BCE.

 

Jebus, Zion, City of David

An ancient settlement of Jerusalem, founded as early as the Bronze Age on the hill above the Gihon Spring, was, according to the Bible, named Jebus. Called the "Fortress of Zion" (metsudat Zion), it was renamed as the "City of David", and was known by this name in antiquity. Another name, "Zion", initially referred to a distinct part of the city, but later came to signify the city as a whole, and afterwards to represent the whole biblical Land of Israel.

 

Greek, Roman and Byzantine names

In Greek and Latin, the city's name was transliterated Hierosolyma (Greek: Ἱεροσόλυμα; in Greek hieròs, ἱερός, means holy), although the city was renamed Aelia Capitolina for part of the Roman period of its history.

 

Salem

The Aramaic Apocryphon of Genesis of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QapGen 22:13) equates Jerusalem with the earlier "Salem" (שלם), said to be the kingdom of Melchizedek in Genesis 14. Other early Hebrew sources, early Christian renderings of the verse and targumim, however, put Salem in Northern Israel near Shechem (Sichem), now Nablus, a city of some importance in early sacred Hebrew writing. Possibly the redactor of the Apocryphon of Genesis wanted to dissociate Melchizedek from the area of Shechem, which at the time was in possession of the Samaritans. However that may be, later Rabbinic sources also equate Salem with Jerusalem, mainly to link Melchizedek to later Temple traditions.

 

Arabic names

In Arabic, Jerusalem is most commonly known as القُدس, transliterated as al-Quds and meaning "the holy" or "the holy sanctuary", cognate with Hebrew: הקדש, romanized: ha-qodesh. The name is possibly a shortened form of مدينة القُدس Madīnat al-Quds "city of the holy sanctuary" after the Hebrew nickname with the same meaning, Ir ha-Qodesh (עיר הקדש). The ق (Q) is pronounced either with a voiceless uvular plosive (/q/), as in Classical Arabic, or with a glottal stop (ʔ) as in Levantine Arabic. Official Israeli government policy mandates that أُورُشَلِيمَ, transliterated as Ūrušalīm, which is the name frequently used in Christian translations of the Bible into Arabic, be used as the Arabic language name for the city in conjunction with القُدس, giving أُورُشَلِيمَ-القُدس, Ūrušalīm-al-Quds. Palestinian Arab families who hail from this city are often called "Qudsi" (قُدسي) or "Maqdasi" (مقدسي), while Palestinian Muslim Jerusalemites may use these terms as a demonym.

 

Given the city's central position in both Jewish nationalism (Zionism) and Palestinian nationalism, the selectivity required to summarize some 5,000 years of inhabited history is often influenced by ideological bias or background. Israeli or Jewish nationalists claim a right to the city based on Jewish indigeneity to the land, particularly their origins in and descent from the Israelites, for whom Jerusalem is their capital, and their yearning for return. In contrast, Palestinian nationalists claim the right to the city based on modern Palestinians' longstanding presence and descent from many different peoples who have settled or lived in the region over the centuries. Both sides claim the history of the city has been politicized by the other in order to strengthen their relative claims to the city, and that this is borne out by the different focuses the different writers place on the various events and eras in the city's history.

 

Prehistory

The first archaeological evidence of human presence in the area comes in the form of flints dated to between 6000 and 7000 years ago, with ceramic remains appearing during the Chalcolithic period, and the first signs of permanent settlement appearing in the Early Bronze Age in 3000–2800 BCE.

 

Bronze and Iron Ages

The earliest evidence of city fortifications appear in the Mid to Late Bronze Age and could date to around the 18th century BCE. By around 1550–1200 BCE, Jerusalem was the capital of an Egyptian vassal city-state, a modest settlement governing a few outlying villages and pastoral areas, with a small Egyptian garrison and ruled by appointees such as king Abdi-Heba. At the time of Seti I (r. 1290–1279 BCE) and Ramesses II (r. 1279–1213 BCE), major construction took place as prosperity increased. The city's inhabitants at this time were Canaanites, who are believed by scholars to have evolved into the Israelites via the development of a distinct Yahweh-centric monotheistic belief system.

 

Archaeological remains from the ancient Israelite period include the Siloam Tunnel, an aqueduct built by Judahite king Hezekiah and once containing an ancient Hebrew inscription, known as the Siloam Inscription; the so-called Broad Wall, a defensive fortification built in the 8th century BCE, also by Hezekiah; the Silwan necropolis (9th–7th c. BCE) with the Monolith of Silwan and the Tomb of the Royal Steward, which were decorated with monumental Hebrew inscriptions; and the so-called Israelite Tower, remnants of ancient fortifications, built from large, sturdy rocks with carved cornerstones. A huge water reservoir dating from this period was discovered in 2012 near Robinson's Arch, indicating the existence of a densely built-up quarter across the area west of the Temple Mount during the Kingdom of Judah.

 

When the Assyrians conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE, Jerusalem was strengthened by a great influx of refugees from the northern kingdom. When Hezekiah ruled, Jerusalem had no fewer than 25,000 inhabitants and covered 25 acres (10 hectares).

 

In 587–586 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire conquered Jerusalem after a prolonged siege, and then systematically destroyed the city, including Solomon's Temple. The Kingdom of Judah was abolished and many were exiled to Babylon. These events mark the end of the First Temple period.

 

Biblical account

This period, when Canaan formed part of the Egyptian empire, corresponds in biblical accounts to Joshua's invasion, but almost all scholars agree that the Book of Joshua holds little historical value for early Israel.

 

In the Bible, Jerusalem is defined as lying within territory allocated to the tribe of Benjamin though still inhabited by Jebusites. David is said to have conquered these in the siege of Jebus, and transferred his capital from Hebron to Jerusalem which then became the capital of a United Kingdom of Israel, and one of its several religious centres. The choice was perhaps dictated by the fact that Jerusalem did not form part of Israel's tribal system, and was thus suited to serve as the centre of its confederation. Opinion is divided over whether the so-called Large Stone Structure and the nearby Stepped Stone Structure may be identified with King David's palace, or dates to a later period.

 

According to the Bible, King David reigned for 40 years and was succeeded by his son Solomon, who built the Holy Temple on Mount Moriah. Solomon's Temple (later known as the First Temple), went on to play a pivotal role in Jewish religion as the repository of the Ark of the Covenant. On Solomon's death, ten of the northern tribes of Israel broke with the United Monarchy to form their own nation, with its kings, prophets, priests, traditions relating to religion, capitals and temples in northern Israel. The southern tribes, together with the Aaronid priesthood, remained in Jerusalem, with the city becoming the capital of the Kingdom of Judah.

 

Classical antiquity

In 538 BCE, the Achaemenid King Cyrus the Great invited the Jews of Babylon to return to Judah to rebuild the Temple. Construction of the Second Temple was completed in 516 BCE, during the reign of Darius the Great, 70 years after the destruction of the First Temple.

 

Sometime soon after 485 BCE Jerusalem was besieged, conquered and largely destroyed by a coalition of neighbouring states. In about 445 BCE, King Artaxerxes I of Persia issued a decree allowing the city (including its walls) to be rebuilt. Jerusalem resumed its role as capital of Judah and centre of Jewish worship.

 

Many Jewish tombs from the Second Temple period have been unearthed in Jerusalem. One example, discovered north of the Old City, contains human remains in a 1st-century CE ossuary decorated with the Aramaic inscription "Simon the Temple Builder". The Tomb of Abba, also located north of the Old City, bears an Aramaic inscription with Paleo-Hebrew letters reading: "I, Abba, son of the priest Eleaz(ar), son of Aaron the high (priest), Abba, the oppressed and the persecuted, who was born in Jerusalem, and went into exile into Babylonia and brought (back to Jerusalem) Mattathi(ah), son of Jud(ah), and buried him in a cave which I bought by deed." The Tomb of Benei Hezir located in Kidron Valley is decorated by monumental Doric columns and Hebrew inscription, identifying it as the burial site of Second Temple priests. The Tombs of the Sanhedrin, an underground complex of 63 rock-cut tombs, is located in a public park in the northern Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sanhedria. These tombs, probably reserved for members of the Sanhedrin and inscribed by ancient Hebrew and Aramaic writings, are dated to between 100 BCE and 100 CE.

 

When Alexander the Great conquered the Achaemenid Empire, Jerusalem and Judea came under Macedonian control, eventually falling to the Ptolemaic dynasty under Ptolemy I. In 198 BCE, Ptolemy V Epiphanes lost Jerusalem and Judea to the Seleucids under Antiochus III. The Seleucid attempt to recast Jerusalem as a Hellenized city-state came to a head in 168 BCE with the successful Maccabean revolt of Mattathias and his five sons against Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and their establishment of the Hasmonean Kingdom in 152 BCE with Jerusalem as its capital.

 

In 63 BCE, Pompey the Great intervened in a struggle for the Hasmonean throne and captured Jerusalem, extending the influence of the Roman Republic over Judea. Following a short invasion by Parthians, backing the rival Hasmonean rulers, Judea became a scene of struggle between pro-Roman and pro-Parthian forces, eventually leading to the emergence of an Edomite named Herod. As Rome became stronger, it installed Herod as a client king of the Jews. Herod the Great, as he was known, devoted himself to developing and beautifying the city. He built walls, towers and palaces, and expanded the Temple Mount, buttressing the courtyard with blocks of stone weighing up to 100 tons. Under Herod, the area of the Temple Mount doubled in size. Shortly after Herod's death, in 6 CE Judea came under direct Roman rule as the Iudaea Province, although the Herodian dynasty through Agrippa II remained client kings of neighbouring territories until 96 CE.

 

Roman rule over Jerusalem and Judea was challenged in the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), which ended with a Roman victory. Early on, the city was devastated by a brutal civil war between several Jewish factions fighting for control of the city. In 70 CE, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple. The contemporary Jewish historian Josephus wrote that the city "was so thoroughly razed to the ground by those that demolished it to its foundations, that nothing was left that could ever persuade visitors that it had once been a place of habitation." Of the 600,000 (Tacitus) or 1,000,000 (Josephus) Jews of Jerusalem, all of them either died of starvation, were killed or were sold into slavery. Roman rule was again challenged during the Bar Kokhba revolt, beginning in 132 CE and suppressed by the Romans in 135 CE. More recent research indicates that the Romans had founded Aelia Capitolina before the outbreak of the revolt, and found no evidence for Bar Kokhba ever managing to hold the city.

 

Jerusalem reached a peak in size and population at the end of the Second Temple Period, when the city covered two km2 (3⁄4 sq mi) and had a population of 200,000.

 

Late Antiquity

Following the Bar Kokhba revolt, Emperor Hadrian combined Iudaea Province with neighbouring provinces under the new name of Syria Palaestina, replacing the name of Judea. The city was renamed Aelia Capitolina, and rebuilt it in the style of a typical Roman town. Jews were prohibited from entering the city on pain of death, except for one day each year, during the holiday of Tisha B'Av. Taken together, these measures (which also affected Jewish Christians) essentially "secularized" the city. Historical sources and archaeological evidence indicate that the rebuilt city was now inhabited by veterans of the Roman military and immigrants from the western parts of the empire.

 

The ban against Jews was maintained until the 7th century, though Christians would soon be granted an exemption: during the 4th century, the Roman emperor Constantine I ordered the construction of Christian holy sites in the city, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Burial remains from the Byzantine period are exclusively Christian, suggesting that the population of Jerusalem in Byzantine times probably consisted only of Christians.

 

Jerusalem.

In the 5th century, the eastern continuation of the Roman Empire, ruled from the recently renamed Constantinople, maintained control of the city. Within the span of a few decades, Jerusalem shifted from Byzantine to Persian rule, then back to Roman-Byzantine dominion. Following Sassanid Khosrau II's early 7th century push through Syria, his generals Shahrbaraz and Shahin attacked Jerusalem (Persian: Dej Houdkh) aided by the Jews of Palaestina Prima, who had risen up against the Byzantines.

 

In the Siege of Jerusalem of 614, after 21 days of relentless siege warfare, Jerusalem was captured. Byzantine chronicles relate that the Sassanids and Jews slaughtered tens of thousands of Christians in the city, many at the Mamilla Pool, and destroyed their monuments and churches, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This episode has been the subject of much debate between historians. The conquered city would remain in Sassanid hands for some fifteen years until the Byzantine emperor Heraclius reconquered it in 629.

 

Middle Ages

After the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Byzantine Jerusalem was taken by Umar ibn al-Khattab in 638 CE. Among the first Muslims, it was referred to as Madinat bayt al-Maqdis ("City of the Temple"), a name restricted to the Temple Mount. The rest of the city "was called Iliya, reflecting the Roman name given the city following the destruction of 70 CE: Aelia Capitolina". Later the Temple Mount became known as al-Haram al-Sharif, "The Noble Sanctuary", while the city around it became known as Bayt al-Maqdis, and later still, al-Quds al-Sharif "The Holy, Noble". The Islamization of Jerusalem began in the first year A.H. (623 CE), when Muslims were instructed to face the city while performing their daily prostrations and, according to Muslim religious tradition, Muhammad's night journey and ascension to heaven took place. After 13 years, the direction of prayer was changed to Mecca. In 638 CE the Islamic Caliphate extended its dominion to Jerusalem. With the Muslim conquest, Jews were allowed back into the city. The Rashidun caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab signed a treaty with Christian Patriarch of Jerusalem Sophronius, assuring him that Jerusalem's Christian holy places and population would be protected under Muslim rule. Christian-Arab tradition records that, when led to pray at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the holiest sites for Christians, the caliph Umar refused to pray in the church so that Muslims would not request conversion of the church to a mosque. He prayed outside the church, where the Mosque of Umar (Omar) stands to this day, opposite the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. According to the Gaullic bishop Arculf, who lived in Jerusalem from 679 to 688, the Mosque of Umar was a rectangular wooden structure built over ruins which could accommodate 3,000 worshipers.

 

When the Arab armies under Umar went to Bayt Al-Maqdes in 637 CE, they searched for the site of al-masjid al-aqsa, "the farthest place of prayer/mosque", that was mentioned in the Quran and Hadith according to Islamic beliefs. Contemporary Arabic and Hebrew sources say the site was full of rubbish, and that Arabs and Jews cleaned it. The Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik commissioned the construction of a shrine on the Temple Mount, now known as the Dome of the Rock, in the late 7th century. Two of the city's most-distinguished Arab citizens of the 10th-century were Al-Muqaddasi, the geographer, and Al-Tamimi, the physician. Al-Muqaddasi writes that Abd al-Malik built the edifice on the Temple Mount in order to compete in grandeur with Jerusalem's monumental churches.

 

Over the next four hundred years, Jerusalem's prominence diminished as Arab powers in the region vied for control of the city. Jerusalem was captured in 1073 by the Seljuk Turkish commander Atsız. After Atsız was killed, the Seljuk prince Tutush I granted the city to Artuk Bey, another Seljuk commander. After Artuk's death in 1091 his sons Sökmen and Ilghazi governed in the city up to 1098 when the Fatimids recaptured the city.

 

A messianic Karaite movement to gather in Jerusalem took place at the turn of the millennium, leading to a "Golden Age" of Karaite scholarship there, which was only terminated by the Crusades.

 

Crusader/Ayyubid period

In 1099, the Fatimid ruler expelled the native Christian population before Jerusalem was besieged by the soldiers of the First Crusade. After taking the solidly defended city by assault, the Crusaders massacred most of its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants, and made it the capital of their Kingdom of Jerusalem. The city, which had been virtually emptied, was recolonized by a variegated inflow of Greeks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Georgians, Armenians, Syrians, Egyptians, Nestorians, Maronites, Jacobite Miaphysites, Copts and others, to block the return of the surviving Muslims and Jews. The north-eastern quarter was repopulated with Eastern Christians from the Transjordan. As a result, by 1099 Jerusalem's population had climbed back to some 30,000.

 

In 1187, the city was wrested from the Crusaders by Saladin who permitted Jews and Muslims to return and settle in the city. Under the terms of surrender, once ransomed, 60,000 Franks were expelled. The Eastern Christian populace was permitted to stay. Under the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin, a period of huge investment began in the construction of houses, markets, public baths, and pilgrim hostels as well as the establishment of religious endowments. However, for most of the 13th century, Jerusalem declined to the status of a village due to city's fall of strategic value and Ayyubid internecine struggles.

 

From 1229 to 1244, Jerusalem peacefully reverted to Christian control as a result of a 1229 treaty agreed between the crusading Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and al-Kamil, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, that ended the Sixth Crusade. The Ayyubids retained control of the Muslim holy places, and Arab sources suggest that Frederick was not permitted to restore Jerusalem's fortifications.

 

In 1244, Jerusalem was sacked by the Khwarezmian Tatars, who decimated the city's Christian population and drove out the Jews. The Khwarezmian Tatars were driven out by the Ayyubids in 1247.

 

Mamluk period

From 1260 to 1516/17, Jerusalem was ruled by the Mamluks. In the wider region and until around 1300, many clashes occurred between the Mamluks on one side, and the crusaders and the Mongols, on the other side. The area also suffered from many earthquakes and black plague. When Nachmanides visited in 1267 he found only two Jewish families, in a population of 2,000, 300 of whom were Christians, in the city. The well-known and far-traveled lexicographer Fairuzabadi (1329–1414) spent ten years in Jerusalem.

 

The 13th to 15th centuries was a period of frequent building activity in the city, as evidenced by the 90 remaining structures from this time. The city was also a significant site of Mamluk architectural patronage. The types of structures built included madrasas, libraries, hospitals, caravanserais, fountains (or sabils), and public baths. Much of the building activity was concentrated around the edges of the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif. Old gates to the Haram lost importance and new gates were built, while significant parts of the northern and western porticoes along the edge of the Temple Mount plaza were built or rebuilt in this period. Tankiz, the Mamluk amir in charge of Syria during the reign of al-Nasir Muhammad, built a new market called Suq al-Qattatin (Cotton Market) in 1336–7, along with the gate known as Bab al-Qattanin (Cotton Gate), which gave access to the Temple Mount from this market. The late Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay also took interest in the city. He commissioned the building of the Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya, completed in 1482, and the nearby Sabil of Qaytbay, built shortly after in 1482; both were located on the Temple Mount. Qaytbay's monuments were the last major Mamluk constructions in the city.

 

Modern era

In 1517, Jerusalem and its environs fell to the Ottoman Turks, who generally remained in control until 1917.[180] Jerusalem enjoyed a prosperous period of renewal and peace under Suleiman the Magnificent—including the rebuilding of magnificent walls around the Old City. Throughout much of Ottoman rule, Jerusalem remained a provincial, if religiously important centre, and did not straddle the main trade route between Damascus and Cairo. The English reference book Modern history or the present state of all nations, written in 1744, stated that "Jerusalem is still reckoned the capital city of Palestine, though much fallen from its ancient grandeaur".

 

The Ottomans brought many innovations: modern postal systems run by the various consulates and regular stagecoach and carriage services were among the first signs of modernization in the city. In the mid 19th century, the Ottomans constructed the first paved road from Jaffa to Jerusalem, and by 1892 the railroad had reached the city.

 

With the annexation of Jerusalem by Muhammad Ali of Egypt in 1831, foreign missions and consulates began to establish a foothold in the city. In 1836, Ibrahim Pasha allowed Jerusalem's Jewish residents to restore four major synagogues, among them the Hurva. In the countrywide Peasants' Revolt, Qasim al-Ahmad led his forces from Nablus and attacked Jerusalem, aided by the Abu Ghosh clan, and entered the city on 31 May 1834. The Christians and Jews of Jerusalem were subjected to attacks. Ibrahim's Egyptian army routed Qasim's forces in Jerusalem the following month.

 

Ottoman rule was reinstated in 1840, but many Egyptian Muslims remained in Jerusalem and Jews from Algiers and North Africa began to settle in the city in growing numbers. In the 1840s and 1850s, the international powers began a tug-of-war in Palestine as they sought to extend their protection over the region's religious minorities, a struggle carried out mainly through consular representatives in Jerusalem. According to the Prussian consul, the population in 1845 was 16,410, with 7,120 Jews, 5,000 Muslims, 3,390 Christians, 800 Turkish soldiers and 100 Europeans. The volume of Christian pilgrims increased under the Ottomans, doubling the city's population around Easter time.

 

In the 1860s, new neighbourhoods began to develop outside the Old City walls to house pilgrims and relieve the intense overcrowding and poor sanitation inside the city. The Russian Compound and Mishkenot Sha'ananim were founded in 1860, followed by many others that included Mahane Israel (1868), Nahalat Shiv'a (1869), German Colony (1872), Beit David (1873), Mea Shearim (1874), Shimon HaZadiq (1876), Beit Ya'aqov (1877), Abu Tor (1880s), American-Swedish Colony (1882), Yemin Moshe (1891), and Mamilla, Wadi al-Joz around the turn of the century. In 1867 an American Missionary reports an estimated population of Jerusalem of 'above' 15,000, with 4,000 to 5,000 Jews and 6,000 Muslims. Every year there were 5,000 to 6,000 Russian Christian Pilgrims. In 1872 Jerusalem became the centre of a special administrative district, independent of the Syria Vilayet and under the direct authority of Istanbul called the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem.

 

The great number of Christian orphans resulting from the 1860 civil war in Mount Lebanon and the Damascus massacre led in the same year to the opening of the German Protestant Syrian Orphanage, better known as the Schneller Orphanage after its founder. Until the 1880s there were no formal Jewish orphanages in Jerusalem, as families generally took care of each other. In 1881 the Diskin Orphanage was founded in Jerusalem with the arrival of Jewish children orphaned by a Russian pogrom. Other orphanages founded in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 20th century were Zion Blumenthal Orphanage (1900) and General Israel Orphan's Home for Girls (1902).

Origen del Bonsai

 

El arte del bonsái se originó en China hace unos

dos mil años, como objeto de culto para los monjes taoístas. Para ellos era símbolo de eternidad, el árbol representaba un puente entre lo divino y lo humano, el cielo y la tierra.

Durante siglos la posesión y el cuidado de los bonsáis estuvo ligado a los nobles y a las personas de la alta sociedad. Según la tradición, aquellos que podían conservar un árbol en maceta tenían asegurada la eternidad. Así fue como los monjes disponían los árboles pequeños en vasijas a lo largo de las escaleras de los templos y hasta eran fuente de culto.

 

En el sur de China, este arte consistía en transmitir todas las características de un árbol desarrollado en la naturaleza a un árbol pequeño cultivado en maceta. Se buscaba reproducir estos árboles según los existentes en las altas montañas por lo cual utilizaban sólo especies que existían en los montes y que ya poseían formas especiales en su intensa lucha contra las adversidades climáticas.

Fue llevado a Japón hace unos 800 años, donde se perfeccionó y evolucionó al arte actual. Desafortunadamente, muchos de los especímenes más antiguos desaparecieron durante la segunda guerra mundial.

Un bonsái no es una planta genéticamente empequeñecida. Se mantiene pequeña dándole forma, podando el tronco, las hojas y las raíces cada cierto tiempo, dependiendo de la especie. Si se cultiva adecuadamente, sobrevivirá el mismo tiempo que un árbol normal de la misma especie, pero si lo hacemos de forma incorrecta, probablemente morirá.

En general, cualquier especie arbórea o arbustiva puede ser cultivada como bonsái, pero las más apreciadas por los aficionados son aquellas que poseen las hojas pequeñas de forma natural y además son resistentes al cultivo en maceta, como por ejemplo, las especies de los géneros: Acer (arce), Pinus (pino silvestre), Ulmus (olmo), Rhododendron (azalea), Ficus (higuera), Olea (olivo), Juniperus (enebro), etc.

Un bonsái suele exponerse en un tokonoma acompañado de un cartel (kakemono) y una planta de acento (shitakusa) o un suiseki (piedra-paisaje japonesa), aunque en este caso lo apropiado sería denominar a esta piedra como tenseki, ya que sólo se trata de piedras que representan la estación del año (invierno, primavera, verano u otoño) con relación al bonsái y no necesariamente tienen las características propias de un suiseki

     

Ginkgo en el Jardín Botánico de Montréal.

El arte del bonsái se originó en China hace unos dos mil años, como objeto de culto para los monjes taoístas. Para ellos era símbolo de eternidad, el árbol representaba un puente entre lo divino y lo humano, el cielo y la tierra.

 

Durante siglos la posesión y el cuidado de los bonsáis estuvo ligado a los nobles y a las personas de la alta sociedad. Según la tradición, aquellos que podían conservar un árbol en maceta tenían asegurada la eternidad. Así fue como los monjes disponían los árboles pequeños en vasijas a lo largo de las escaleras de los templos y hasta eran fuente de culto.

     

Sugata-ishi (Suiseki con forma humana). Complemento utilizado en las exposiciones de bonsái.

En el sur de China, este arte consistía en transmitir todas las características de un árbol desarrollado en la naturaleza a un árbol pequeño cultivado en maceta. Se buscaba reproducir estos árboles según los existentes en las altas montañas por lo cual utilizaban sólo especies que existían en los montes y que ya poseían formas especiales en su intensa lucha contra las adversidades climáticas.

 

Fue llevado a Japón hace unos 800 años, donde se perfeccionó y evolucionó al arte actual. Desafortunadamente, muchos de los especímenes más antiguos desaparecieron durante la segunda guerra mundial.

 

Un bonsái no es una planta genéticamente empequeñecida. Se mantiene pequeña dándole forma, podando el tronco, las hojas y las raíces cada cierto tiempo, dependiendo de la especie. Si se cultiva adecuadamente, sobrevivirá el mismo tiempo que un árbol normal de la misma especie, pero si lo hacemos de forma incorrecta, probablemente morirá.

 

En general, cualquier especie arbórea o arbustiva puede ser cultivada como bonsái, pero las más apreciadas por los aficionados son aquellas que poseen las hojas pequeñas de forma natural y además son resistentes al cultivo en maceta, como por ejemplo, las especies de los géneros: Acer (arce), Pinus (pino silvestre), Ulmus (olmo), Rhododendron (azalea), Ficus (higuera), Olea (olivo), Juniperus (enebro), etc.

 

Un bonsái suele exponerse en un tokonoma acompañado de un cartel (kakemono) y una planta de acento (shitakusa) o un suiseki (piedra-paisaje japonesa), aunque en este caso lo apropiado sería denominar a esta piedra como tenseki, ya que sólo se trata de piedras que representan la estación del año (invierno, primavera, verano u otoño) con relación al bonsái y no necesariamente tienen las características propias de un suiseki

 

Catfish’s new strap, the ORIGIN. I was informed by the company that I am the very 1st to own one :D I love the color combination and the new backing material they use on it making it softer and easier on the shoulder than their previous straps. Catfish is a local Philppine guitar strap maker producing these wonderful straps :)

This is Saint Alban's Church on Deansway in Worcester. It may have it's origins in Roman times, but there may have been a church on this site since c.720. The present building is at least early Norman (c.1175). Some of the stone work might be Anglo-Saxon.

 

It was heavily restored in the 19th and 20th centuries.

 

It is named after the first British Martyr, who was a soldier in the Roman Army. He converted to Christianity by a fugitive priest who gave him shelter. They switched identies so that he could be martyred in the priests place.

 

His tomb was liked so much, that a church was built on the site, and around it the town of St Albans.

 

These days the church is no longer a church but a day centre called Magg's Day Centre. It is a Grade II listed building and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

 

Parish church, now day centre. C12 with later additions and alterations including restorations and alterations of c1821-1850. Coursed red and green sandstone with double pitch slate and plain tile roof. Small church with continuous 3-bay nave and single-bay chancel with north aisle. Norman, Early English and neo-Norman. Chamfered plinth. Entrance to north side a round-arched doorway with 1 order of columns with cushion capitals and roll-moulding to head in chamfered reveals, all renewed; plank door. 2 round-arched windows with 1 order of slender columns and roll-moulding to head, renewed, with blocked narrow opening between and large intel. East end has 3 stepped lancets to chancel with oculus over and lancet to aisle. West end has 2 renewed trefoil-headed lancets and continuous hoodmould; small rose window over. West gable bell cote. Coped gable ends. INTERIOR: the North arcade is Late Norman with round piers and round abaci, double-chamfered arches, one scalloped capital and one flat-leaf capital, nailhead ornament in the hoodmould (mostly recut). Probably Victorian tile floor. Monuments: wall monument to Marci, wife of William Wyatt d.1595; wall monument to Edmund Wyatt d.1711 a cartouche with winged cherubs and drapery; another wall tablet c1796. Scheduled Ancient Monument. (The Buildings of England: Pevsner: N: Worcestershire: Harmondsworth: 1968-1985: 317).

 

Magg's Day Centre - Heritage Gateway

The origins of bonsai are believed to have begun at least 2000 years ago during the Han Dynasty in China. It has since developed into new forms in parts of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.

 

At first, the Japanese used miniaturized trees grown in containers to decorate their homes and gardens.During the Tokugawa period, landscape gardening attained new importance. Cultivation of plants such as azalea and maples became a pastime of the wealthy. Growing dwarf plants in containers was also popular. At this time, the term for dwarf potted trees was "a tree in a pot" (鉢の木, hachi-no-ki?).

 

The c.1300 rhymed prose essay, Rhymeprose on a Miniature Landscape Garden, by the Japanese Zen monk Kokan Shiren, outlines the aesthetic principles for bonsai, bonseki and garden architecture itself.

 

The oldest known living bonsai trees are in the collection at Happo-en (a private garden and exclusive restaurant) in Tokyo, Japan, where bonsai are between 400 to 800 years old.

 

Cropredy has ancient origins, a chapel in the church is dedicated to St Fremund, an anglo-saxon saint thought to be the son of King Offa. It's name combines the Old English croppe or hill and ridig, a small stream. The village is only a few miles from Banbury, in hilly country along the banks of the River Cherwell. Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries Cropredy belonged the Bishop of Lincoln. More recently Brasenose College, Oxford, has become a significant landlord giving it's name to the local pub.

 

Dramatic changes to centuries of agrarian life were heralded by the excavation of the Oxford canal which runs alongside the Cherwell south-east of the church. This busy waterway was superseded by the Great Western railway, the village even had it's own station until 1956.

 

Unusually Cropredy retains the ringing of the curfew bell, in Medieval times this was a signal to return home and 'cover their fires'. Roger Lupton local priest between 1487 and 1528 was so lost in dense fog that he could only find his way from nearby Chacombe by the ringing of Cropredy's bells. He founded a fund in gratitude which paid for the daily winding of the clock and tolling the bell morning, noon and night. The bell is still rung Tuesday and Thursday nights for five minutes after eight O'clock.

 

The village is best known for the Civil War 'Battle of Cropredy Bridge'. A rare Royalist victory at a time when the Parliamentary forces were in the ascendancy. In June 1644 the King slipped out of Oxford to avoid two Roundhead armies which were rapidly approaching. At this point the Earl of Essex chose to lead his army south and relieve the siege of Lyme Regis leaving Sir William Waller to pursue the King with half of the men. Waller shadowed the Royal army to Worcester only for the King to double back towards Banbury where the Parliamentary commander saw an opportunity to split the Royal forces which were strung out along the Daventry road. Waller's artillery crossed Cropredy bridge but were too far ahead of the infantry and were overrun. Fierce fighting followed but neither side achieved a significant advantage and a chance of capturing the King was lost. As children we were told stories of a phantom drummer boy.

 

Cropredy's most prominent claim to fame is their music festival founded when Fairport Convention played the village fete in 1976. Cropredy Music Festival grew from these modest beginnings and now attracts over 20,000 music fans every year.

 

St. Mary the Virgin is an impressive building constructed from the local rust-coloured ironstone. While part of the wall of the south aisle has been dated to c1050 the present church begins in the 13th century with significant 14th and 15th century additions. The south wall has two tomb recesses thought to be built for Simon de Cropredy and his son c1200. The church has an interesting 13th century parish chest and the chapel dedicated to the anglo-saxon saint Fremund has two 15th century screens, one of which has the initials AD which may stand for Alice Danvers. The nave arcading, tower and choir arches are Perpendicular in style with no capitals and continuous moulding from ground level. The tower is early 15th century with the belfry and parapets added 80 years later, There are eight bells, six from the late 17th century, two added in 2007 called Fairport and Villager. Fragments of a Doom survive above the chancel arch. The church has a 17th century pulpit and a rare pre-reformation eagle lectern which is said to have been hidden in the river before the Battle of Cropredy where it lost one of it's lion feet. The beak has a slot for collecting 'Peter's Pence'. There is a beautiful 15th century head of the Virgin Mary in stained glass which was found in the churchyard. There are two fonts, one Norman and one Victorian. In the tower is a magnificent clock by John Moore of Clerkenwell dated 1831.

 

Cropredy is just off the Daventry road a few miles from Banbury about an hour from Stratford-upon-Avon.

 

www.youtube.com/user/Cotswoldchurches

 

www.bwthornton.co.uk

Assassin's Creed Origins is a game published by Ubisoft. This image is taken with the in-game photo mode. I use an X-box controller connected to my PC and access the photo mode by pressing F3.

Assassin's Creed® Origins

St Mary, Tattingstone, Suffolk

 

Tattingstone was one of the first Suffolk villages I ever visited. I cycled out here one Autumn in the 1980s, shortly after I'd moved to the county. A few months before, Tattingstone Vale had been flooded for Anglia Water's massive new Alton Water reservoir, and the village was full of tourists gawping at the vast sheet of blue-grey that cuts the village in half. The shape of the lake is a diving shark, with the two halves of Tattingstone clustering around the narrowest bit. A wide bridge joins the parts of the village, quite out of scale with them, but no doubt a useful thing to have.

 

On that occasion, newly-arrived from the agri-industrial wastelands of Cambridgeshire, I found Tattingstone quaint and sleepy. Today, I find it rather suburban, but it is me that has changed, rather than the village; I've seen so much else of Suffolk. And people continue to come to Alton Water, to canoe, and to wind sail, and to cycle around the perimeter. It has become an Ipswich institution.

 

I hadn't been to St Mary for about ten years, but in the summer of 2008 a churchwarden of another church pointed me in the direction of a book, called something snappy like A Photographic Guide to the Churches of East Suffolk, which had just been published. It wasn't a bad book, just neither one thing or another, a mugshot of the exterior of each church and a brief paragraph culled from other sources.

 

What had struck the churchwarden, though, was that the author had seen fit to say rather unpleasant things about Tattingstone church. This seemed extraordinary to me. I remembered St Mary as clean and bright, full of 19th Century atmosphere, and obviously well-loved and looked after. Most importantly of all, it is open every day to pilgrims and strangers. What on earth was going on? I decided to head back to Tattingstone at the first opportunity.

 

The church is in the southern half of the village, directly opposite the former workhouse. On my first visit here, this had still been in use as a hospital, but it closed soon afterwards. It became a ghostly relic, with boarded windows and overgrown flowerbeds, the whole thing surrounded by a security fence. Today, it is rather luxurious flats. The church is still neat, bright and well-kept; all pink-cheeked, as if fresh from its Victorian makeover. This was the work of Henry Hall, and in some ways was rather a drastic one, a reminder of quite what a parlous state the medieval churches of the east coast had fallen into by the middle years of the 19th century. The north porch opens straight onto the road, which I always like. It is as if the church were thoroughly integrated with its village. The graveyard spreads beyond, to west and south. But it does not have the secluded atmosphere of many in this district. Tattingstone is where the Shotley Peninsula begins, and, despite being close to both Ipswich and Colchester, the villages of the peninsula feel wild and remote.

 

If you stand across the road from St Mary, you will notice that the tower has two curious buttresses which emerge from the roof of the nave. These are much later than the tower; its decorated bell openings reveal a 14th century origin, but the buttresses were probably part of a major overhaul in the 1680s, a time of confidence in the Anglican church. The nave appears 14th century too, suggesting that the church is all of a piece; but the font, and a window in the north wall, are at least 100 years earlier.

 

The best single feature of the interior is a fabulous range of late 19th Century glass, which I think is all the work of the Clayton & Bell workshop. The main range is of Apostles and Martyrs, but there is a very fine window on the north side depicting Solomon and Zerubbabel, a reference to the building and rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, perhaps a reference to what happened here in the 1860s.

 

The memorials are worth more than a second glance. There is a classy late-classical memorial by John Flaxman, one of only two by him in Suffolk, but perhaps of more interest is the copper plate by Morris & Co to the son of the Rector, killed in the Battle for Arras in the First World War. He had served at both Gallipoli and Egypt. There was a very brief fashion for these memorials, and although the design is not outstanding it is very much of its period.

 

At first sight, you might think that St Mary has a sister church to the south, but in fact this is the 'Tattingstone Wonder', a cottage built in the shape of a church by Thomas White in the 18th century. You can see three photographs of it at the bottom of this page.

 

When I wrote about this church in 1999, I mentioned that I had come to Tattingstone at the end of a long bike ride, during which I had visited and photographed all twelve of the Shotley Peninsula churches. I'd set out from Ipswich in the blazing heat of a June afternoon, describing a clockwise route along the north and then the south of the peninsula. Tattingstone was my final stop, partly because it was an easy march back to Ipswich from here, but also because the village had one of South Suffolk's best pubs, The White Horse. After four hours and thirty miles, Adnams had never tasted so good. This ancient inn is hidden away on a road that disappears beneath the lake just beyond it, and at the time of my visit I observed that it had been threatened with closure.

 

I can tell you, with great pleasure, that the White Horse has gone from strength to strength, and is as fine a pub now as it has always been, and well worth a visit - as is the beautiful, interesting church of St Mary, whatever you might read about it in books.

Lord Shiva with Mantra Tattoo

Origin of the mantra

Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is one among the oldest and most important Mantra in Indian mythology and spirituality. This mantra belongs to Lord Shiva. It is a combination of three Hindi language words i.e. ‘Maha’, which means great, ‘Mrityun’ means death and ‘Jaya’ means victory, which turns into conqueror victory over death.It is also known as ‘Rudra Mantra’ or ‘Trayambakam Mantra’. The Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra is said to have been created by Rishi Markandeya. The Moon was once in trouble, cursed by King Daksha. Rishi Markandeya gave the Mahamritryunjaya Mantra to Sati, Daksha’s daughter, for the Moon. According to another version, this is the Bija mantra as revealed to Rishi Kahola that was given by Lord Shiva to sage Sukracharya, who taught it to Rishi Dadichi, who gave it to King Kshuva, through whom it reached the Shiva Purana.

Meaning of the mantra

त्रयम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् । उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान् म्रुत्योर्मुक्षिय मामृतात् ॥ Om Trayambakam Yajamahe, Sugandhim Pushti Vardhanam, Urvarukmiv Bandhanat, Mrityurmokshaya Mamratat. We concentrate on our third eye which lies behind the two eyes and this gives us the power to feel you and by this, we feel happy, satisfied and peace in life. We know immortality is not possible but some extension can be given to our death by your powers Lord Shiva.

Significance of the Mantra

It is said to beneficial for mental, emotional and physical health and to be a moksha mantra, which bestows longevity and immortality. According to some Puranas, the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra has been used by many Rishis as well as Sati. During the time when Chandra suffered from the curse of Prajapati Daksha. By reciting this mantra, the effect of the curse of Daksha, which could make him die, slowed. And Shiva then took Chandra and placed it upon his head. This mantra is addressed to Lord Shiva for warding off untimely death. It is also chanted while smearing Vibhuti over various parts of the body. And utilized in Japa or Homa (havan) to get desired results. Whereas the Gayatri Mantra is meant for purification and spiritual guidance. The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is meant for healing rejuvenation and nurturance.

The origins of Sutton and Sons date back to 1998, when Danny Sutton opened a fishmongers (formerly ’The Fishery') on Stoke Newington high street. Things must have worked out rather well as, in 2010, Danny and his wife Hana decided to open a fish and chip restaurant just up the road. As you can probably imagine, this is no ordinary fish and chip shop and, although they're much beloved for their traditional takeaway, this place is more a (small) fish restaurant that puts some emphasis on takeaway fish and chips and traditional British food. After all, when was the last time you saw a chippie doing an offer on half a dozen oysters and a bottle of prosecco? Or an actual wine menu at a chippie? Yes indeed! I don't get a ‘traditional' fish and chips but the portion sizes appear immense - if what the blonde guy next to me is anything to go by.

 

Sutton & Son’s non piscine offerings include traditional english fare like steak and kidney pie, and the atmosphere is very much that of your local chip shop, though I guess with a few ‘contemporary’ touches. That said, there are the obvious nods to the traditional chippie such as tiled walls and a glass counter where you can admire freshly battered fish under those oddly coloured heat lamps that keep the food warm. Whilst Danny oversees the running of the business, Hana produces a range of desserts and pickles for the restaurant. There's a chalkboard which shows (presumably) what she has created on the day. Her cheesecake is wonderful - though I’ve not tried any of the others.

 

It's not just the desserts that change regularly. Asides from the regular a-la carte, there’s the 'Catch of the Day' - which, as far as I can tell, the stuff they got in earlier in the day from the fishmonger side of the business. What we get was representative of a good fish restaurant - unpretentious and good quality seafood, prepared simply. I luck out with the lobster sub, which is both orgasmic and legendary (which is, I suppose, what you want from a lobster sub). Another thing worth mentioning is that they have an amazing recipe for chips. As you probably know, a lot of the time, when a fishmonger fries you a wedge of potato, the result can be quite…limp and oily. Not so here - the chips are just delicious - crispy and lightly salted. And, lest we forget: deep fried Mars Bars are also a thing, and also on the menu.

 

If you’re interested in putting these guys to the test for yourself, there’s now two more Sutton & Sons restaurants - one in Islington, and one in Shoreditch’s Boxpark (which I assume is more temporary). I’ll sum this up with the thoughts of ‘Chris b’, a TripAdvisor commentator: “...there has been such a decline in fish and chip shops, and many today are kebab and chicken places with perhaps an old bit of fried fish lying about. But not so here.”.

The town of Morong traces its origins to the pioneering work of the Franciscans Juan de Plasencia and Diego de Oropesa. Both were responsible for starting most of the lake town mission in 1578. Fr. Plasencia was well known for his mastery of Tagalog and is credited with compiling a dictionary of the vernacular and writing a draft of a catechism which is later used for composing the Doctrina Christiana (1593), the first book printed in the Philippines.

 

It was not until 1586, that Morong had a friar permanently assigned to attend to the people. The church, dedicated to St. Jerome, stood on the opposite bank of Morong River where the church stands presently. But in 1612 a conflagration consumed the town and with it the church. The townsite was transferred to its present position in 1617. A new church was completed in 1620. The church had remained substantially unchanged until 1850-53, when Fr. Maximo Rico commissioned Bartolome Palatino, a native of Paete, to renovate the facade and build a bell tower. In 1962, the church interior was renovated and facade coated with Portland cement. During the renovation, the dimensions of the windows along the nave were increased and other openings added to the wall adjacent to the convento. The convento is presently a school, although a room on the ground floor adjacent to the church has been set aside for a Blessed Sacrament room.

 

The Morong facade and bell tower is easily the most striking of all church facades along Laguna de Bay. Frequently photographed and described as baroque, the facade/bell tower is more properly described as neo-baroque because the baroque period ended in the Philippines before 1780. The central portion of the facade surges outward and the catenated balustrade above give the whole a dynamic felling. Various decorative elements, some Mexican in origin, give the facade a richness characteristic of Baroque. Four angels, representing the cardinal virtues, stand at the corners of the bell tower. Fr. Felix Huerta, writing in 1852, states that the facade had finials shaped as jars and shells used for illuminating it.

 

It is said that it was built by Chinese craftsmen as evidence: two Chinese lion sculptures ( a boy and a girl lion ) at the entrance to the steep driveway. Unfortunately one lion, said to be the girl lion was stolen early year 2000- 2005. Local folklore said that the female lion has a hidden treasure inside it. While the other lion; the Male lion, is safe guarded at the St. Jerome school vicinity.

 

The stone and mortar church which has a three-story facade, and an octagonal bell tower whose cross is illuminated at night and can be seen from the surrounding countryside. The bell tower of the church is used by local fisher man in the nearby towns as a light house when fishing at night and during the storm. Its Frontispiece and the belfry were renovated by Bartolome Palatino of Paete, between 1850-1853.

 

Although the church interior was damaged by war, a few elements are worth noting, namely, the crocodile motif carved on the supporting brackets of the choir loft; the bas relief of the Baptism of Jesus in the baptistery, and the image of Saint Jerome on a side altar.

St Mary, Preston St Mary, Suffolk

 

Here we are in the heart of Suffolk, intensely agricultural, the narrow lanes meandering lazily along lost field and settlement patterns. Preston is a pretty village, with the same feeling of remoteness as its neighbours Thorpe Morieux and Kettlebaston. Preston Hall Farm had its fifteen minutes of fame a few years back when an archaeological dig there featured on Channel Four's Time Team programme, but otherwise the modern world doesn't pay a huge amount of attention to backwaters like this.

 

The church is neat and tidy, presenting its tower to the village street, but needing to peep over a splendid tree to do so. The great north porch accentuates the width of the building beyond the aisles, and the crispness is a reminder that most of what you see from the west is, in fact, Victorian. The restorer was Arthur Blomfield. The church had been struck by lightning in 1868, and only the porch and the nave walls survive from before this date. The detailing is similar to that of Blomfield's other rebuilding of the 1860s at Alderton, although he did actually get around to replacing the tower here. In general, no expense seems to have been spared.

 

The porch is the star of the exterior, a confection of late 15th century flushwork. Stepping through it, and the curiously narrow north doorway beyond, you enter a church which, despite its late Victorian timbre, has a great deal of interest. The first sight is of the font, which, although typically square Norman, has pretty little designs, as though its maker was already infected with ideas of Decoration to come. It is tucked into the west end of the north aisle, and above it is the famous Preston decalogue board.

 

This is difficult to date exactly. Obviously, it is post-Reformation, and bears the Commandments with other Biblical texts about keeping the Commandments and observing the Sabbath. Textual analysis suggests that it may date from the reign of Edward VI, which would make it the earliest of its kind in England. Of course, it may be later, and further east along the north aisle is a matching royal arms for Elizabeth I. There are three of these in Norfolk, but this is the only one in Suffolk. Cautley counted thirteen altogether in England. It may not have been here originally, for the rector here in the later years of the 16th Century was the antiquarian Robert Ryece, who we know was a collector. However, it seems likely that he commissioned it himself, for it is a most curious thing, the arms including a unique mixture of genealogical symbolism, some of it mythical, including the SPQR of Ancient Rome. The legend along the bottom reads Elizabetha Magna, Regina Angliae, 'Elizabeth the Great, Queen of the English'.

 

Curiously, it appears that the arms are painted over an earlier set, and the letters ER are plainly visible. This might just mean that there is a simpler Elizabethan arms beneath. More excitingly, it might be that the whole structure dates from the 1540s, and the reign of Edward VI. This would make them the earliest decalogue board and arms in England. Further, the outer doors bear warnings against idolatry, suggesting an Edwardian origin.

 

Blomfield restored St Mary to be in the highest rank of Tractarianism, and the grand chancel is a little out of place in this intensely rural setting, matching his masterpieces at the churches of St John the Baptist in Ipswich and Felixstowe. The 1880s glass of the Adoration of the shepherds and magi in the south side of the nave by Ward & Hughes is striking, the workshop full of confidence before its long decline over the subsequent decades.

 

Memories of the earlier church survive. In the early 18th Century, rector John Hill installed a memorial plaque to his predecessor Nicholas Colman. This now sits on the south side of the chancel. It tells us in Latin that Colman was malis temporibus ejectus, melioribus restitutus, 'in evil times driven out, in sweeter ones restored'. Colman was a scandalous minister, which is to say a theological liberal in the Laudian tradition, who rejected the puritan uprising and spoke in favour of the Crown during the turmoil of the years before the establishment of the mid-17th Century Commonwealth and the suppression of the Anglican church. He spoke out against the Solemn League and Covenant, which would have bound the English and Scottish churches under a Presbyterian system of government without Bishops and Dioceses. He not only refused to sign the Covenant, he advised his parishioners not to sign it either, warning them that there would be blood on their hands.

 

Colman was ejected from his living by the usual practice of getting some of his more puritan-minded parishioners to make accusations of gross immorality against him in front of a committee set up for this purpose. The Committees Against Scandalous Ministers had been introduced in early 1644 in the Eastern Region by the Earl of Manchester. They were successors to the committees set up by the Long Parliament the previous year to remove ministers with royalist sympathies in areas where the Royalist Army was operating, but since this could clearly not be applied to Suffolk, a minister's liturgical practices and moral behaviour became the key to getting rid of him.

 

The accounts of the committees' proceedings survive, and make for reading which is at once hilarious and terrifying. As well as the usual Laudian practices and Royalist sympathies, Colman was also accused of being a frequent company-keeper and very much given to drinkage, and sometymes hath been so overcome with beere that he hath been necessarily guided home. It was alleged that Colman had once neglected his duties for six weeks after breaking a leg whilst drunk, despite the fact that the bonesetter had sett his legg in such a manner that he might goe on it agayne the next morninge. In fact, these were mild accusations compared with those made against some other Suffolk ministers, who, local gossips swore to the committee, were not only excessive drinkers but regularly engaged in fighting and consorting with prostitutes. It isn't hard to imagine what Twitter would have been like if it had been around in the 17th Century. Colman had the last laugh, but many other sequestered ministers fell on hard times and died in poverty before the Restoration of 1660.

 

Up above the nave there are shields oddly reset in the clerestory. Mostly heraldic, some are pre-Reformation, and were collected by Robert Ryece from all over England. This, only part of his collection, glorifies this little country church. But, obviously enough, it diminishes those elsewhere that lost them.

Origen del Bonsai

 

El arte del bonsái se originó en China hace unos

dos mil años, como objeto de culto para los monjes taoístas. Para ellos era símbolo de eternidad, el árbol representaba un puente entre lo divino y lo humano, el cielo y la tierra.

Durante siglos la posesión y el cuidado de los bonsáis estuvo ligado a los nobles y a las personas de la alta sociedad. Según la tradición, aquellos que podían conservar un árbol en maceta tenían asegurada la eternidad. Así fue como los monjes disponían los árboles pequeños en vasijas a lo largo de las escaleras de los templos y hasta eran fuente de culto.

 

En el sur de China, este arte consistía en transmitir todas las características de un árbol desarrollado en la naturaleza a un árbol pequeño cultivado en maceta. Se buscaba reproducir estos árboles según los existentes en las altas montañas por lo cual utilizaban sólo especies que existían en los montes y que ya poseían formas especiales en su intensa lucha contra las adversidades climáticas.

Fue llevado a Japón hace unos 800 años, donde se perfeccionó y evolucionó al arte actual. Desafortunadamente, muchos de los especímenes más antiguos desaparecieron durante la segunda guerra mundial.

Un bonsái no es una planta genéticamente empequeñecida. Se mantiene pequeña dándole forma, podando el tronco, las hojas y las raíces cada cierto tiempo, dependiendo de la especie. Si se cultiva adecuadamente, sobrevivirá el mismo tiempo que un árbol normal de la misma especie, pero si lo hacemos de forma incorrecta, probablemente morirá.

En general, cualquier especie arbórea o arbustiva puede ser cultivada como bonsái, pero las más apreciadas por los aficionados son aquellas que poseen las hojas pequeñas de forma natural y además son resistentes al cultivo en maceta, como por ejemplo, las especies de los géneros: Acer (arce), Pinus (pino silvestre), Ulmus (olmo), Rhododendron (azalea), Ficus (higuera), Olea (olivo), Juniperus (enebro), etc.

Un bonsái suele exponerse en un tokonoma acompañado de un cartel (kakemono) y una planta de acento (shitakusa) o un suiseki (piedra-paisaje japonesa), aunque en este caso lo apropiado sería denominar a esta piedra como tenseki, ya que sólo se trata de piedras que representan la estación del año (invierno, primavera, verano u otoño) con relación al bonsái y no necesariamente tienen las características propias de un suiseki

     

Ginkgo en el Jardín Botánico de Montréal.

El arte del bonsái se originó en China hace unos dos mil años, como objeto de culto para los monjes taoístas. Para ellos era símbolo de eternidad, el árbol representaba un puente entre lo divino y lo humano, el cielo y la tierra.

 

Durante siglos la posesión y el cuidado de los bonsáis estuvo ligado a los nobles y a las personas de la alta sociedad. Según la tradición, aquellos que podían conservar un árbol en maceta tenían asegurada la eternidad. Así fue como los monjes disponían los árboles pequeños en vasijas a lo largo de las escaleras de los templos y hasta eran fuente de culto.

     

Sugata-ishi (Suiseki con forma humana). Complemento utilizado en las exposiciones de bonsái.

En el sur de China, este arte consistía en transmitir todas las características de un árbol desarrollado en la naturaleza a un árbol pequeño cultivado en maceta. Se buscaba reproducir estos árboles según los existentes en las altas montañas por lo cual utilizaban sólo especies que existían en los montes y que ya poseían formas especiales en su intensa lucha contra las adversidades climáticas.

 

Fue llevado a Japón hace unos 800 años, donde se perfeccionó y evolucionó al arte actual. Desafortunadamente, muchos de los especímenes más antiguos desaparecieron durante la segunda guerra mundial.

 

Un bonsái no es una planta genéticamente empequeñecida. Se mantiene pequeña dándole forma, podando el tronco, las hojas y las raíces cada cierto tiempo, dependiendo de la especie. Si se cultiva adecuadamente, sobrevivirá el mismo tiempo que un árbol normal de la misma especie, pero si lo hacemos de forma incorrecta, probablemente morirá.

 

En general, cualquier especie arbórea o arbustiva puede ser cultivada como bonsái, pero las más apreciadas por los aficionados son aquellas que poseen las hojas pequeñas de forma natural y además son resistentes al cultivo en maceta, como por ejemplo, las especies de los géneros: Acer (arce), Pinus (pino silvestre), Ulmus (olmo), Rhododendron (azalea), Ficus (higuera), Olea (olivo), Juniperus (enebro), etc.

 

Un bonsái suele exponerse en un tokonoma acompañado de un cartel (kakemono) y una planta de acento (shitakusa) o un suiseki (piedra-paisaje japonesa), aunque en este caso lo apropiado sería denominar a esta piedra como tenseki, ya que sólo se trata de piedras que representan la estación del año (invierno, primavera, verano u otoño) con relación al bonsái y no necesariamente tienen las características propias de un suiseki

 

Assassin's Creed® Origins

Origin's of the name Devil's Peak:

"Devil's Peak was originally known as Windberg, and supposedly gets its current name from the folk-tale about a Dutch man called Jan van Hunks, a prodigious pipe smoker who lived at the foot of the mountain circa 1700. He was forced by his wife to leave the house whenever he smoked his pipe. One day, while smoking on the slopes of the peak, he met a mysterious stranger who also smoked. They each bragged of how much they smoked and so they fell into a pipe-smoking contest. The stranger turned out to be the Devil and Van Hunks eventually won the contest, but not before the smoke that they had made had covered the mountain, forming the table cloth cloud."

assassins creed origins

Mandala (Sanskrit: मण्डल Maṇḍala, 'circle') is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, representing the Universe. The basic form of most mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point. Each gate is in the general shape of a T. Mandalas often exhibit radial balance.

 

The term is of Sanskrit origin. It appears in the Rig Veda as the name of the sections of the work, but is also used in other Indian religions, particularly Tibetan Buddhism.

 

In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space, and as an aid to meditation and trance induction.

 

In common use, mandala has become a generic term for any diagram, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically; a microcosm of the universe.

 

HINDUISM

 

RELIGIOUS MEANING

A yantra is a two- or three-dimensional geometric composition used in sadhanas, puja or meditative rituals. It is considered to represent the abode of the deity. Each yantra is unique and calls the deity into the presence of the practitioner through the elaborate symbolic geometric designs. According to one scholar, "Yantras function as revelatory symbols of cosmic truths and as instructional charts of the spiritual aspect of human experience"

 

Many situate yantras as central focus points for Hindu tantric practice.Yantras are not representations, but are lived, experiential, nondual realities. As Khanna describes:

Despite its cosmic meanings a yantra is a reality lived. Because of the relationship that exists in the Tantras between the outer world (the macrocosm) and man’s inner world (the microcosm), every symbol in a yantra is ambivalently resonant in inner–outer synthesis, and is associated with the subtle body and aspects of human consciousness.

 

BUDDHISM

The mandala can be found in the form of the Stupa and in the Atanatiya Sutta in the Digha Nikaya, part of the Pali Canon. This text is frequently chanted.

 

A mandala can also represent the entire universe, which is traditionally depicted with Mount Meru as the axis mundi in the center, surrounded by the continents.

 

PRACTICE

Mandalas are commonly used by tantric Buddhists as an aid to meditation.

 

The mandala is "a support for the meditating person", something to be repeatedly contemplated to the point of saturation, such that the image of the mandala becomes fully internalised in even the minutest detail and can then be summoned and contemplated at will as a clear and vivid visualized image. With every mandala comes what Tucci calls "its associated liturgy [...] contained in texts known as tantras", instructing practitioners on how the mandala should be drawn, built and visualised, and indicating the mantras to be recited during its ritual use.

 

By visualizing "pure lands", one learns to understand experience itself as pure, and as the abode of enlightenment. The protection that we need, in this view, is from our own minds, as much as from external sources of confusion. In many tantric mandalas, this aspect of separation and protection from the outer samsaric world is depicted by "the four outer circles: the purifying fire of wisdom, the vajra circle, the circle with the eight tombs, the lotus circle." The ring of vajras forms a connected fence-like arrangement running around the perimeter of the outer mandala circle.

 

As a meditation on impermanence (a central teaching of Buddhism), after days or weeks of creating the intricate pattern of a sand mandala, the sand is brushed together into a pile and spilled into a body of running water to spread the blessings of the mandala.

 

Kværne in his extended discussion of sahaja, discusses the relationship of sadhana interiority and exteriority in relation to mandala thus:

 

...external ritual and internal sadhana form an indistinguishable whole, and this unity finds its most pregnant expression in the form of the mandala, the sacred enclosure consisting of concentric squares and circles drawn on the ground and representing that adamant plane of being on which the aspirant to Buddha hood wishes to establish himself. The unfolding of the tantric ritual depends on the mandala; and where a material mandala is not employed, the adept proceeds to construct one mentally in the course of his meditation."

 

CHRISTIANITY

Forms which are evocative of mandalas are prevalent in Christianity: the celtic cross; the rosary; the halo; the aureole; oculi; the Crown of Thorns; rose windows; the Rosy Cross; and the dromenon on the floor of Chartres Cathedral. The dromenon represents a journey from the outer world to the inner sacred centre where the Divine is found.

 

Similarly, many of the Illuminations of Hildegard von Bingen can be used as mandalas, as well as many of the images of esoteric Christianity, as in Christian Hermeticism, Christian Alchemy, and Rosicrucianism.

 

A superb example of Christian and alchemical symbolism in Mandala art can be seen in the Church of Saint John the Baptist, Maddermarket, Norwich in the Layer Monument dating from circa 1600.

 

WESTERN PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERPRETATIONS

According to art therapist and mental health counselor Susanne F. Fincher, we owe the re-introduction of mandalas into modern Western thought to Carl Jung, the Swiss psychoanalyst. In his pioneering exploration of the unconscious through his own art making, Jung observed the motif of the circle spontaneously appearing. The circle drawings reflected his inner state at that moment. Familiarity with the philosophical writings of India prompted Jung to adopt the word "mandala" to describe these circle drawings he and his patients made. In his autobiography "Memories, Dreams, Reflections," Jung wrote:

 

"I sketched every morning in a notebook a small circular drawing,...which seemed to correspond to my inner situation at the time....Only gradually did I discover what the mandala really is:...the Self, the wholeness of the personality, which if all goes well is harmonious." pp 195 – 196.

 

Jung recognized that the urge to make mandalas emerges during moments of intense personal growth. Their appearance indicates a profound re-balancing process is underway in the psyche. The result of the process is a more complex and better integrated personality. As Jungian analyst Marie Louise von Franz explains:

 

"The mandala serves a conservative purpose—namely, to restore a previously existing order. But it also serves the creative purpose of giving expression and form to something that does not yet exist, something new and unique….The process is that of the ascending spiral, which grows upward while simultaneously returning again and again to the same point.

 

Creating mandalas helps stabilize, integrate, and re-order inner life.

 

According to the psychologist David Fontana, its symbolic nature can help one "to access progressively deeper levels of the unconscious, ultimately assisting the meditator to experience a mystical sense of oneness with the ultimate unity from which the cosmos in all its manifold forms arises."

 

WIKIPEDIA

Petroleiro ‘Jacob Mærsk (III)’ e seu fim trágico a 29/01/1975 (faz hoje 41 anos) ao largo da praia de Matosinhos (praia Moderna, em frente ao atual bar ‘Lais de Guia’), junto à entrada do porto de Leixões – ATUALIZADO

Características do navio:

navio-tanque petroleiro com uma capacidade para 84 000 toneladas, 261,81 m de compri-mento, 37,1 m de boca e 17,5 m de calado, deslocava 48 252 toneladas brutas (31 284 tone-ladas líquidas) ostentando bandeira / pavilhão dinamarquês;

foi construído no estaleiro ‘Odense Staalskibsværft’, um estaleiro dinamarquês localizado desde 1919 no município de Odense do condado de Fiónia e pertencente ao grupo empre-sarial ‘A. P. Møller - Mærsk Gruppen’, tendo sido entregue em maio de 1966 à empresa sua proprietária (a companhia dinamarquesa de navegação marítima ‘Maerskline Navigation Company’ que foi constituída em 1904 e também pertence ao mesmo grupo empresarial).

Fim trágico do navio –

A 29/01/1975, o petroleiro dinamarquês ‘Jacob Mærsk (III)’ chegou de manhã à entrada do porto de Leixões com 17 tripulantes e a esposa do Comandante, contratado pelo armador ‘Shell Oil Company’ e carregado com 80 mil toneladas de Crude proveniente de Kharg Is-land no Irão via Golfo Pérsico e Mar Mediterrâneo, com destino à refinaria petrolífera de Le-ça da Palmeira, a então 'Sociedade Anónima de Combustíveis e Óleos Refinados, SARL' (SACOR) que tinha sido inaugurada em 1970:

ao contrário do que vi na Internet nos mais de 10 sítios que consultei, e acreditando nas pa-lavras da minha mãe quando cheguei a casa para almoçar por volta das 12:40 vindo do Li-ceu Nacional de Matosinhos, eram 11:00 ou 11:30 quando a minha mãe chegou das com-pras e ela ficou admirada de ver o petroleiro no exato local onde explodiu ‘tão perto da praia’ (ela nunca tinha visto nenhum naquele local, tal como eu quando cheguei a casa e comen-tei com ela a minha admiração pelo mesmo que vi das janelas da nossa sala de jantar);

nas manobras de atracagem ao posto A do Terminal de Petroleiros do Molhe Norte do porto de Leixões durante a manhã, um erro humano terá levado o navio a aproximar-se da zona onde se encontra o rochedo submerso ‘Esfarrapada’, bem como os destroços do vapor Gre-go ‘Virginia’ (com 100 m de comprimento e 2350 toneladas brutas) que ali afundou a 24/11/1928 (o vapor sofreu uma colisão quando em viagem ao largo da costa, e na eminên-cia de afundamento, foi abandonado pela tripulação que terá sido possivelmente recolhida por outro vapor e então várias traineiras de Matosinhos rebocaram-no para ele entrar no por-to de Leixões, o que não foi autorizado pela APDL, e então essas traineiras tentaram levá-lo para local não prejudicial à navegação ou vará-lo na praia de Matosinhos a fim de o consi-derar ‘Salvado de mar’, mas ele acabou por se afundar ao embater na ‘Esfarrapada’ – em junho de 1929, o NRP ‘PATRÃO LOPES’ foi trabalhar no local onde jazia o casco do vapor grego ‘Virginia’ que, encontrado abandonado ao largo da costa, foi trazido por várias trainei-ras a 24/11/1928 acabando por submergir próximo do 'Castelo do Queijo');

embatendo na ‘Esfarrapada’, nos destroços do ‘Virginia’ ou num banco de areia por volta das 11 ou onze e meia da manhã, começou a entrar água nos tanques que começaram a expulsar, a partir do tanque de ventilação, crude para o ventilador da casa das máquinas;

os vapores que foram entrando na casa das máquinas acabaram por originar uma 1.ª ex-plosão da qual vi pela minha janela apenas fumo branco a sair do navio e, daí a uns minu-tos, 2 ou 3 fortíssimas explosões (que foram audíveis em toda a vila de Matosinhos e fize-ram estremecer a minha casa, a 50 m, quando eu ia começar a comer uma maçã de sobre-mesa) iniciaram entre as 12:55 e as 13:05 o incêndio que se propagou de imediato às 80 mil toneladas de crude nos vários tanques de carga, tendo eu deixado a maçã em cima da me-sa e corrido escadas abaixo (vivia no 3.º andar do prédio ainda existente na esquina da R. Roberto Ivens com a Av. Menéres) em direção à praia Moderna aonde cheguei a tempo de ainda ver o crude em chamas a chegar a arder junto à areia e pelo menos 2 tripulantes a saltarem para o mar naquele dia de sol, mas frio e sem vento, tendo de repente ficado bem quente na praia junto à beira-mar onde as ondas rebentavam com para aí meio metro de al-tura estando a maré, penso eu, a subir (é que essas explosões ‘partiram’ / ‘romperam’ todos os tanques e reservatórios do petroleiro que ficou ‘rompido’ e a derramar para o mar crude que ficou espalhado a arder por uma grande extensão de mar até à costa junto às praias);

o rebocador ‘Monte da Luz’ da APDL (Administração dos Portos do Douro e Leixões) apro-ximou-se corajosamente do petroleiro em chamas, tendo conseguindo salvar os 2 pilotos da barra e 11 tripulantes que se atiraram para a água devido ao navio ter começado a fundar-se lentamente (dos 17 tripulantes e a mulher do Comandante, os 6 que estavam na casa das máquinas tiveram morte imediata, a maioria deles engenheiros de máquinas, e os seus corpos nunca chegaram a ser resgatados do mar, 1 morreu afogado e os restantes 11 foram salvos tendo havido 7 feridos, 4 deles gravemente queimados);

de imediato, foram feitos voos de reconhecimento sobre o local do acidente por helicópteros ALIII modelo SE-360 (Os SE-3160 Alouette III ou ALIII foram adquiridos pela Força Aérea Portuguesa a partir de abril de 1963 como complemento aos poucos aparelhos Alouette II já em serviço, para atuarem nas operações militares a decorrer em Angola, Guiné Portuguesa e Moçambique.) da Força Aérea Portuguesa, de fabrico francês, mas as chamas que dura-ram dias não permitiam qualquer tipo de ação de recolha do crude que estava no mar, pelo que a contenção do derramamento de crude começou com a colocação de uma barra flutu-ante na entrada do porto de Leixões e de uma barreira de palha ao redor do naufrágio para conter o derramamento de uma forma breve enquanto os rebocadores da APDL e outros barcos da Marinha espalhavam dispersantes, como resultado da pronta e rápida colabora-ção entre o Ministro das Pescas, a Marinha, o Exército, o armador do navio e parte da popu-lação local (o que permitiu que a poluição não atingisse níveis ainda mais graves) tendo as 10 Corporações de Bombeiros Voluntários que acorreram ao local se sentido impotentes pa-ra combater o incêndio, dada a sua dimensão;

seguiram-se nessa tarde outras explosões no convés e na casa das máquinas, a ponto de o navio ter primeiro ficado partido em 2 (popa / zona central e proa) e, mais tarde, em 3 (popa e zona central que se afundaram no fundo de areia entre os 12 e os 15 metros de profundi-dade tendo a popa do navio sido mais tarde parcialmente removida para não haver perigo de colisão com outras embarcações, e a 3.ª parte foi a proa do navio que ficou a flutuar e se foi deslocando lentamente para sul por força das correntes até encalhar algumas semanas depois nas rochas em frente ao Forte de S. Francisco Xavier (‘Castelo do Queijo’) tendo aí permanecido como um triste memorial de uma das mais horríveis tragédias ocorridas no Grande Porto e também como um verdadeiro ícone involuntário e temporário de atração tu-rística durante 20 anos, até 1995 (por volta deste ano, o que restava da proa foi desmantela-do e retirado);

durante as 58 horas (2 dias e 10 h) que o incêndio durou no navio e na sua área envolven-te, estimou-se que entre 40 e 50 000 toneladas de crude arderam no mar, entre 15 e 25 000 toneladas ficaram à deriva no mar e cerca de 15 000 toneladas deram à costa poluindo as praias num comprimento de 50 km com graves danos ecológicos e na poluição ambiental local e regional, as chamas chegaram atingir os 100 m de altura e a nuvem de fumo espes-so e preto criada foi visível de Aveiro a Viana do Castelo porque o seu cone de fumo che-gou a atingir os 750 m (proporcionando uma cena dantesca a todos os que assistiram à sua longa agonia ao largo da praia de Matosinhos e arredores), dezenas de moradores na zona mais próxima do acidente tiveram que ser internados com problemas respiratórios devido aos fumos tóxicos, o ar tornou-se quase irrespirável em Matosinhos sendo necessário man-ter portas e janelas fechadas, muitos estabelecimentos comerciais de Matosinhos foram obrigados a fechar e chegou a aventar-se a hipótese de dezenas de milhares de pessoas terem de ser evacuadas da vila pelo perigo de exposição aos gases tóxicos e dificuldades respiratórias.

Consequências deste trágico acidente que, até 1996, esteve classificado em 12.º lugar na lista dos maiores derramamentos de crude a nível mundial:

o custo da catástrofe foi estimado pela OCDE (Organização para a Cooperação Económica e Desenvolvimento) em 2,8 milhões de dólares;

as praias mais afetadas foram as da orla imediatamente adjacente à destruição, em Matosi-nhos, mas também em Nevogilde e Foz do Douro, onde a limpeza começou com a remoção da camada superior da areia e com a aplicação de dispersantes;

embora os destroços do ‘Virginia’ estejam fora do canal de navegação, tal como os do ‘Ja-cob Mærsk (III)’, eles continuam a causar perigo para a navegação que se aproxime muito da costa, mais ou menos perigo conforme a altura das águas;

uma âncora do ‘Jacob Mærsk (III)’ foi recuperada dos destroços e ficou guardada num dos armazéns da APDL em S. Gens, até que foi aproveitada para ser exposta como uma evoca-ção do trágico acidente junto da Marina de Leça da Palmeira (suportada por um cubo onde está afixada uma placa com algumas das características do petroleiro escritas em português e em inglês);

para quem quiser reviver o passado, poderá agora visitar os poucos restos do ‘Jacob Mærsk (III)’ no fundo do mar seguindo os dados seguintes para o mergulho subaquático -

Tipo de mergulho: Naufrágio; Experiência: CMAS; Vida marinha: Pouca; Profundidade mé-dia: 12m; Profundidade máxima: 15m; Corrente: Inferior 2 nós; Visibilidade: Inferior a 5 m; Perigos: Tráfego de barcos e redes; Coordenadas GPS: Latitude 41° 10.178' N / Longitude 8° 42.066' W.

Fatehpur Sikri (Hindi: फ़तेहपुर सीकरी, Urdu: فتحپور سیکری‎) is a city and a municipal board in Agra district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city was founded in 1569 by the Mughal emperor Akbar, and served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585. After his military victories over Chittor and Ranthambore, Akbar decided to shift his capital from Agra to a new location 37 km WSW on the Sikri ridge, to honor the Sufi saint Salim Chishti. Here he commenced the construction of a planned walled city which took the next fifteen years in planning and construction of a series of royal palaces, harem, courts, a mosque, private quarters and other utility buildings. He named the city, Fatehabad, with Fateh, a word of Arabic origin in Persian, meaning "victorious." it was later called Fatehpur Sikri. It is at Fatehpur Sikri that the legends of Akbar and his famed courtiers, the nine jewels or Navaratnas, were born. Fatehpur Sikri is one of the best preserved collections of Indian Mughal architecture in India.

 

According to contemporary historians, Akbar took a great interest in the building of Fatehpur Sikri and probably also dictated its architectural style. Seeking to revive the splendours of Persian court ceremonial made famous by his ancestor Timur, Akbar planned the complex on Persian principles. But the influences of his adopted land came through in the typically Indian embellishments. The easy availability of sandstone in the neighbouring areas of Fatehpur Sikri, also meant that all the buildings here were made of the red stone. The imperial Palace complex consists of a number of independent pavilions arranged in formal geometry on a piece of level ground, a pattern derived from Arab and central Asian tent encampments. In its entirety, the monuments at Fatehpur Sikri thus reflect the genius of Akbar in assimilating diverse regional architectural influences within a holistic style that was uniquely his own.

 

The Imperial complex was abandoned in 1585, shortly after its completion, due to paucity of water and its proximity with the Rajputana areas in the North-West, which were increasingly in turmoil. Thus the capital was shifted to Lahore so that Akbar could have a base in the less stable part of the empire, before moving back to Agra in 1598, where he had begun his reign as he shifted his focus to Deccan. In fact, he never returned to the city except for a brief period in 1601. In later Mughal history it was occupied for a short while by Mughal emperor, Muhammad Shah (r. 1719 -1748), and his regent, Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan Barha, one of the Syed Brothers, was murdered here in 1720. Today much of the imperial complex which spread over nearly two mile long and one mile wide area is largely intact and resembles a ghost town. It is still surrounded by a five mile long wall built during its original construction, on three sides. However apart from the imperial buildings complex few other buildings stand in the area, which is mostly barren, except of ruins of the bazaars of the old city near the Naubat Khana, the 'drum-house' entrance at Agra Road. The modern town lies at the western end of the complex, which was a municipality from 1865 to 1904, and later made a "notified area", and in 1901 had a population of 7,147. For a long time it was still known for its masons and stone carvers, though in Akbar time it was known and 'fabrics of hair' and 'silk-spinning'. The village of Sikri still exists nearby.

 

ARCHITECTURE OF FATEHPUR SIKRI

Fatehpur Sikri sits on rocky ridge, 3 kilometres in length and 1 km wide, and palace city is surrounded by a 6 km wall on three side with the fourth being a lake at the time. Its architect was Tuhir Das and Dhruv Chawla and was constructed using Indian principles. The buildings of Fatehpur Sikri show a synthesis of various regional schools of architectural craftsmanship such as Gujarat and Bengal. This was because indigenous craftsmen were used for the construction of the buildings. Influences from Hindu and Jain architecture are seen hand in hand with Islamic elements. The building material used in all the buildings at Fatehpur Sikri, palace-city complex, is the locally quarried red sandstone, known as 'Sikri sandstone'. It is accessed through gates along the five-mile long fort wall, namely, Delhi Gate, the Lal Gate, the Agra Gate, Birbal's Gate, Chandanpal Gate, The Gwalior Gate, the Tehra Gate, the Chor Gate and the Ajmere Gate.

 

Some of the important buildings in this city, both religious and secular are:

 

Buland Darwaza: Set into the south wall of congregational mosque, the Jama Masjid at Fatehpur Sikri, this stupendous piece of architecture is 55 metre high, from the outside, gradually making a transition to a human scale in the inside. The gate was added some five years later after the completion of the mosque ca. 1576-1577 as an 'victory arch', to commemorate the Akbar's successful Gujarat campaign. It carries two inscriptions in the archway, one of which reads: "Isa, Son of Mariam said: The world is a bridge, pass over it, but build no houses on it. He who hopes for an hour may hope for eternity. The world endures but an hour. Spend it in prayer, for the rest is unseen".

The central portico comprises three arched entrances, with the largest one, in the centre, is known locally as the Horseshoe Gate, after the custom of nailing horseshoes to its large wooden doors for luck. Outside the giant steps of the Buland Darwaza to left is deep well.

Jama Masjid: It is a Jama Mosque meaning the congregational mosque, and was perhaps one of the first buildings to come up in the complex, as its epigraph gives AH 979 (AD 1571-72) as the date of its completion, with a massive entrance to the courtyard, the Buland-Darwaza added some five years later. It was built in the manner of Indian mosques, with iwans around a central courtyard. A distinguishing feature is the row of chhatri over the sanctuary. There are three mihrabs in each of the seven bays, while the large central mihrab is covered by a dome, it is decorated with white marble inlay, in geometric patterns.

Tomb of Salim Chishti: A white marble encased tomb of the Sufi saint, Salim Chisti (1478–1572), within the Jama Masjid's sahn, courtyard. The single-storey structure is built around a central square chamber, within which is the grave of the saint, under an ornate wooden canopy encrusted with mother-of-pearl mosaic. Surrounding it is a covered passageway for circumambulation, with carved Jalis, stone pierced screens all around with intricate geometric design, and an entrance to the south. The tomb is influenced by earlier mausolea of the early 15th century Gujarat Sultanate period. Other striking features of the tomb are white marble serpentine brackets, which support sloping eaves around the parapet.

On the left of the tomb, to the east, stands a red sandstone tomb of Islam Khan I, son of Shaikh Badruddin Chisti and grandson of Shaikh Salim Chishti, who became a general in the Mughal army in the reign of Jahangir. The tomb is topped by a dome and thirty-six small domed chattris, and contains a number of graves, some unnamed, all male descendants of Shaikh Salim Chisti.

Diwan-i-Aam : Diwan-i-Am or Hall of Public Audience, is a building typology found in many cities where the ruler meets the general public. In this case, it is a pavilion-like multi-bayed rectangular structure fronting a large open space. South west of the Diwan-i-Am and next to the Turkic Sultana's House stand Turkic Baths.

Diwan-i-Khas: the Diwan-i-Khas, or Hall of Private Audience, is a plain square building with four chhatris on the roof. However it is famous for its central pillar, which has a square base and an octagonal shaft, both carved with bands of geometric and floral designs, further its thirty-six serpentine brackets support a circular platform for Akbar, which is connected to each corner of the building on the first floor, by four stone walkways. It is here that Akbar had representatives of different religions discuss their faiths and gave private audience.

Ibadat Khana: (House of Worship) was a meeting house built in 1575 CE by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, where the foundations of a new Syncretistic faith, Din-e-Ilahi were laid by Akbar.

Anup Talao: A ornamental pool with a central platform and four bridges leading up to it. Some of the important buildings of the royal enclave are surround by it including, Khwabgah (House of Dreams) Akbar's residence, Panch Mahal, a five-storey palace, Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience), Ankh Michauli and the Astrologer's Seat, in the south-west corner of the Pachisi Court.

Hujra-i-Anup Talao: Said to be the residence of Akbar's Muslim wife, although this is disputed due to its small size.

Mariam-uz-Zamani's Palace: The building of Akbar's Rajput wives, including Mariam-uz-Zamani, shows Gujarati influence and is built around a courtyard, with special care being taken to ensure privacy.

Naubat Khana: Also known as Naqqar Khana meaning a drum house, where musician used drums to announce the arrival of the Emperor. It is situated ahead of the Hathi Pol Gate or the Elephant Gate, the south entrance to the complex, suggesting that it was the imperial entrance.

Pachisi Court: A square marked out as a large board game, the precursor to modern day Ludo game where people served as the playing pieces.

Panch Mahal: A five-storied palatial structure, with the tiers gradually diminishing in size, till the final one, which is a single large-domed chhatri. Originally pierced stone screens faced the façade, and probably sub-divided the interior as well, suggesting it was built for the ladies of the court. The floors are supported by intricately carved columns on each level, totalling to 176 columns in all.

Birbal's House: The house of Akbar's favorite minister, who was a Hindu. Notable features of the building are the horizontal sloping sunshades or chajjas and the brackets which support them.

 

Recent excavation done by ASI in 2000 led to unearthing of an ancient jain city very near to the fort complex.

 

Other buildings included Taksal (mint), 'Daftar Khana (Records Office), Karkhanas (royal workshop), Khazana (treasury), Turkic styled Baths, Darogha's Quarters, stables, Caravan sarai, Hakim's quarters etc.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

Fatehpur Sikri has a population of 28,757. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Fatehpur Sikri has an average literacy rate of 46%, lower than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 57%, and female literacy is 34%. In Fatehpur Sikri, 59% of the population is under 6 years of age.

 

ADMINISTRATIVE ESTABLISHMENT

Fatehpur Sikri is one of the fifteen Block headquarters in the Agra district it has 52 Gram panchayats (Village Panchayat) under it.

 

The Fatehpur Sikri, is a constituency of the Lok Sabha, Lower house of the Indian Parliament, and further comprises five Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) segments:

 

Agra Rural

Fatehpur Sikri

Kheragarh

Fatehabad

Bah

 

In all there are 12 villages of Sisodia Rajputs near Fatehpur Sikri fort in Agra district. These are Daultabad, Nayavas, Satha, korai, Behrawati, Byara, Undera, Kachora, Singarpur, Vidyapur, Onera, Arrua.

 

TRANSPORT

Fatehpur Sikri is about 39 km. from Agra. The nearest Airport is the Agra Airport (also known as Kheria Airport), 40 km from Fatehpur Sikri. The nearest railway station is the Fatehpur Sikri Railway Station, about one km. from the city centre . It is suitably connected to Agra and neighbouring centres by road, where regular bus services of UPSRTC ply, apart from Tourist buses and taxies.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Batman: Arkham Origins

'Origins'

The roses in the People's Garden

Plan

Rosarium History - Classification

Floribunda - new color range - Casting

Tree roses - new plantings - Pests - Winter Care

Rambling Roses - fertilizing, finishes

Shrub Roses - Rose Renner - Sponsorship - variety name

The history of roses in the People's Garden

The People's Garden, located between the Imperial Palace and the ring road is famous for its beautiful roses:

1000 standard roses

4000 Floribunda,

300 rambling roses,

(Also called Rose Park) 200 shrub roses.

Noteworthy is the diversity: there are about 400 varieties, including very old plants:

1859 - Rubens

1913 - Pearl of the Vienna Woods

1919 - Jean C.N. Forestier

The above amounts are from the Federal Gardens. My own count has brought other results:

730 tree roses

2300 Floribunda

132 rambling roses

100 shrub roses

That's about 3300 roses in total. Approx. 270 species I was able to verify. Approx. 50 rose bushes were not labeled. Some varieties come very often, others only once or twice.

Molineux 1994

Rubens 1859

Medialis 1993

Swan lake 1968

Once flourished here Lilac and Rhododendron bushes

1823 People's Garden was opened with the Temple of Theseus. Then made ​​multiple extensions.

The part of today's "Rosarium" along the Ring Road was built in 1862. (Picture fence 1874)

What is so obvious to today's Vienna, was not always so: most of the beds in the People's Garden originally were planted with lilac and rhododendron.

Only after the second World War II it was converted to the present generous rose jewelry.

Since then grow along the ring side creepers, high stem and floribunda roses. On the side of Heroes Square, with the outputs, shrub roses were placed, among which there are also some wild roses.

1889 emerged the Grillparzer Monument.

(All the pictures you can see by clicking the link at the end of the side!)

Rhododendrons, output Sisi Avenue, 1930

Classifications of roses

(Wild roses have 7 sheets - prize roses 5 sheets)

English Rose

Florybunda

Hybrid Tea Rose

Rambling Rose

At the Roses in the People´s Garden are hanging labels (if they do not fall victim to vandals or for souvenirs) with the year indication of breeding, the name of breeding and botanical description:

Hybrid Tea Rose (TB): 1 master, 1 flower;

Florybunda (Flb): 1 strain, many flowers;

English Rose (Engl): mixture of old and modern varieties Tb and Flb.

Called Schlingrose, also climbing rose

Florybunda: 1 strain, many flowers (Donauprinzessin)

Shrub Roses - Floribunda - Tree roses - Climbing Roses

Even as a child, we hear the tale of Sleeping Beauty, but roses have no thorns, but spines. Thorns are fused directly to the root and can not be easily removed as spines (upper wooden containers called).

All roses belong to the bush family (in contrast to perennials that "disappear" in the winter). Nevertheless, there is the term Shrub Rose: It's a chronological classification of roses that were on the market before 1867. They are very often planted as a soloist in a garden, which them has brought the name "Rose Park".

Hybrid Tea Rose: 1 master, 1 flower (rose Gaujard )

Other classifications are:

(High) standard roses: roses are not grafted near the ground, but at a certain strain level. With that, the rose gardener sets the height of the crown.

Floribunda roses : the compact and low bushy roses are ideal for group planting on beds

Crambling roses: They have neither roots nor can they stick up squirm. Their only auxiliary tool are their spines with which they are entangled in their ascent into each other

English Rose: mixture of old varieties, hybrid tea and Florybunda (Tradescanth)

4000 Floribunda

Floribunda roses are hardy, grow compact, knee-high and bushy, are durable and sturdy

There are few smelling varieties

Polyantha classification: a tribe, many small flowers; Florybunda: a tribe, many big blossoms

New concept of color: from red to light yellow

The thousands Floribunda opposite of Grillparzer Monument shimmer (still) in many colors. From historical records, however, is indicated that there was originally a different color scheme for the Floribunda than today: At the entrance of the Burgtheater side the roses were dark and were up to Grillparzer monument ever brighter - there they were then already white.

This color range they want again, somewhat modified, resume with new plantings: No white roses in front of the monument, but bright yellow, so that Grillparzer monument can better stand out. It has already begun, there was heavy frost damage during the winter 2011/12.

Colorful roses

2011: white and pink roses

2012: after winter damage new plantings in shades of yellow .

Because the domestic rose production is not large enough, the new, yellow roses were ordered in Germany (Castor).

Goldelse, candlelight, Hanseatic city of Rostock.

Watering

Waterinr of the Floribunda in the morning at 11 clock

What roses do not like at all, and what attracts pests really magically, the foliage is wet. Therefore, the Floribunda roses are in the People's Garde poured in the morning at 11 clock, so that the leaves can dry thoroughly.

Ground sprinklers pouring only the root crown, can not be used because the associated hoses should be buried in the earth, and that in turn collide with the Erdanhäufung (amassing of earth) that is made for winter protection. Choosing the right time to do it, it requires a lot of sense. Is it too early, so still too warm, the bed roses begin to drive again, but this young shoots freeze later, inevitably, because they are too thin.

1000 Tree roses

Most standard roses are found in the rose garden.

During the renovation of the Temple of Theseus the asphalt was renewed in 2011, which was partially only a few centimeters thick, and so was the danger that trucks with heavy transports break into. Due to this construction site the entire flower bed in front had to be replaced.

Now the high-stem Rose Maria Theresia is a nice contrast to the white temple, at her feet sits the self-cleaning floribunda aspirin. Self-cleaning means that withered flowers fall off and rarely maintenance care is needed.

Pink 'Maria Theresa' and white 'aspirin' before the temple of Theseus

Standard tree rose Maria Theresa

Floribunda aspirin

The concept of the (high) standard roses refers to a special type of rose decoration. Suitable varieties of roses are not grafted near the ground, but at a certain height of the trunk. With that the rose gardener sets the height of the crown fixed (60 cm, 90 cm, 140 cm)

Plantings - Pests - Winter Care

Normally about 50 roses in the People's Garden annually have to be replaced because of winter damages and senility. Till a high standard rose goes on sale, it is at least 4 years old. With replantings the soil to 50 cm depth is completely replaced (2/3 basic soil, 1/3 compost and some peat ).

Roses have enemies, such as aphids. Against them the Pirimor is used, against the Buchsbaumzünsler (Box Tree Moth, Cydalima perspectalis) Calypso (yet - a resistance is expected).

In popular garden roses are sprayed with poison, not only when needed, but also as a precaution, since mildew and fire rose (both are types of fungi) also overwinter.

Therefore it is also removed as far as possible with the standard roses before packing in winter the foliage.

Pest Control with Poison

The "Winter Package " first is made with paper bags, jute bags, then it will be pulled (eg cocoa or coffee sacks - the commercially available yard goods has not proven).

They are stored in the vault of the gardener deposit in the Burggarten (below the Palm House). There namely also run the heating pipes. Put above them, the bags after the winter can be properly dried.

Are during the winter the mice nesting into the packaged roses, has this consequences for the crows want to approach the small rodents and are getting the packaging tatty. It alreay has happened that 500 standard roses had to be re-wrapped.

"Winter Package" with paper and jute bags

300 ambling roses

The Schlingrosen (Climbing Roses) sit "as a framing" behind the standard roses.

Schlingrose pearl from the Vienna Woods

Schlingrose Danube

Schlingrose tenor

Although climbing roses are the fastest growing roses, they get along with very little garden space.

They have no rootlets as the evergreen ivy, nor can they wind up like a honeysuckle. Their only auxiliary tool are their spines with which they are entangled in their ascent mesh.

Climbing roses can reach stature heights of 2 to 3 meters.

4 x/year fertilizing

4 times a year, the soil is fertilized. From August, but no more, because everything then still new drives would freeze to death in winter. Well-rotted horse manure as fertilizer was used (straw mixed with horse manure, 4 years old). It smelled terrible, but only for 2 days.

Since the City of Vienna may only invest more plant compost heap (the EU Directive prohibits animal compost heap on public property), this type of fertilization is no longer possible to the chagrin of gardeners, and roses.

In the people garden in addition is foliar fertilizer used (it is sprayed directly on the leaves and absorbed about this from the plant).

Finishes in the Augarten

Old rose varieties are no longer commercially available. Maybe because they are more sensitive, vulnerable. Thus, the bud of Dr. F. Debat already not open anymore, if it has rained twice.

 

Roses need to be replaced in the People's Garden, this is sometimes done through an exchange with the Augarten Palace or the nursery, where the finishes are made. Previously there were roses in Hirschstetten and the Danube Park, but the City of Vienna has abandoned its local rose population (not to say destroyed), no exchange with these institutions is possible anymore.

Was formerly in breeding the trend to large flowers, one tends to smell roses again today. Most varieties show their resplendent, lush flowers only once, early in the rose-year, but modern varieties are more often blooming.

200 shrub roses

Some shrub roses bloom in the rose garden next to the Grillparzer Monument

Most of the shrub or park roses can be found along the fence to Heroes' Square. These types are so old, and there are now so many variations that even a species of rose connoisseurs assignment is no longer possible in many cases.

The showy, white, instensiv fragrant wild rose with its large umbels near des Triton Fountain is called Snow White.

Shrub roses are actually "Old Garden Roses" or "old roses", what a time

classification of roses is that were on the market before 1867.

Shrub roses are also called park roses because they are often planted as a soloist in a park/garden.

They grow shrubby, reaching heights up to 2 meters and usually bloom only 1 x per year.

The Renner- Rose

The most famous bush rose sits at the exit to Ballhausplatz before the presidential office.

It is named after the former Austrian President Dr. Karl Renner

When you enter, coming from the Ballhausplatz, the Viennese folk garden of particular note is a large rose bush, which is in full bloom in June.

Before that, there is a panel that indicates that the rose is named after Karl Renner, founder of the First and Second Republic. The history of the rose is a bit of an adventure. President Dr. Karl Renner was born on 14 in December 1870 in the Czech village of Untertannowitz as the last of 18 children of a poor family.

Renner output rose at Ballhausplatz

He grew up there in a small house, in the garden, a rose bush was planted.

In summer 1999, the then Director of the Austrian Federal Gardens, Peter Fischer Colbrie was noted that Karl Renner's birthplace in Untertannowitz - Dolni Dunajovice today - and probably would be demolished and the old rosebush as well fall victim to the demolition.

High haste was needed, as has already been started with the removal of the house.

Misleading inscription " reconstruction"?

The Federal Gardens director immediately went to a Rose Experts on the way to Dolni Dunajovice and discovered "as only bright spot in this dismal property the at the back entrance of the house situated, large and healthy, then already more than 80 year old rose bush".

After consultation with the local authorities Peter Fischer Colbrie received approval, to let the magnificent rose bush dig-out and transport to Vienna.

Renner Rose is almost 100 years old

A place had been found in the Viennese People´s Garden, diagonal vis-à-vis the office where the president Renner one resided. On the same day, the 17th August 1999 the rosebush was there planted and in the following spring it sprouted already with flowers.

In June 2000, by the then Minister of Agriculture Molterer and by the then Mayor Zilk was a plaque unveiled that describes the origin of the rose in a few words. Meanwhile, the "Renner-Rose" is far more than a hundred years old and is enjoying good health.

Memorial Dr. Karl Renner : The Registrar in the bird cage

Georg Markus , Courier , 2012

Sponsorships

For around 300 euros, it is possible to assume a Rose sponsorship for 5 years. A tree-sponsorship costs 300 euros for 1 year. Currently, there are about 60 plates. Behind this beautiful and tragic memories.

If you are interested in sponsoring people garden, please contact:

Master gardener Michaela Rathbauer, Castle Garden, People's Garden

M: 0664/819 83 27 volksgarten@bundesgaerten.at

Varieties

Abraham Darby

1985

English Rose

Alec 's Red

1970

Hybrid Tea Rose

Anni Däneke

1974

Hybrid Tea Rose

aspirin

Florybunda

floribunda

Bella Rosa

1982

Florybunda

floribunda

Candlelight

Dagmar Kreizer

Danube

1913

Schlingrose

Donauprinzessin

Doris Thystermann

1975

Hybrid Tea Rose

Dr. Waldheim

1975

Hybrid Tea Rose

Duftwolke

1963

Eiffel Tower

1963

English Garden

Hybrid Tea Rose

Gloria Dei

1945

Hybrid Tea Rose

Goldelse

gold crown

1960

Hybrid Tea Rose

Goldstar

1966

deglutition

Greeting to Heidelberg

1959

Schlingrose

Hanseatic City of Rostock

Harlequin

1985

Schlingrose

Jean C.N. Forestier

1919

Hybrid Tea Rose

John F. Kennedy

1965

Hybrid Tea Rose

Landora

1970

Las Vegas

1956

Hybrid Tea Rose

Mainzer Fastnacht

1964

Hybrid Tea Rose

Maria Theresa

medial

Moulineux

1994

English Rose

national pride

1970

Hybrid Tea Rose

Nicole

1985

Florybunda

Olympia 84

1984

Hybrid Tea Rose

Pearl of the Vienna Woods

1913

Schlingrose

Piccadilly

1960

Hybrid Tea Rose

Rio Grande

1973

Hybrid Tea Rose

Rose Gaujard

1957

Hybrid Tea Rose

Rubens

1859

English Rose

Rumba

snowflake

1991

Florybunda

snow white

shrub Rose

Swan

1968

Schlingrose

Sharifa Asma

1989

English Rose

city ​​of Vienna

1963

Florybunda

Tenor

Schlingrose

The Queen Elizabeth Rose

1954

Florybunda

Tradescanth

1993

English Rose

Trumpeter

1980

Florybunda

floribunda

Virgo

1947

Hybrid Tea Rose

Winchester Cathedral

1988

English Rose

Source: Federal leadership Gardens 2012

Historic Gardens of Austria, Vienna, Volume 3 , Eva Berger, Bohlau Verlag, 2004 (Library Vienna)

Index Volksgartenstraße

www.viennatouristguide.at/Altstadt/Volksgarten/volksgarte...

Origin made a reappearance at The Creators Project San Francisco.

Photographie montrant la façade de l'édifice à logement au 2250 rue Coursol.

Numéro d'origine : D9F-1-30

DC Collectibles Arkham Origins Joker and Black Mask action figures.

Northbound Forrest Highway, Lake Clifton area, WA. RAC Sign highlighting joining their vehicle breakdown club. Excellent replicas of vultures above, becoming a roadside attraction

Le cœur de Voltaire : un secret bien gardé

Nathalie Buisson 1

BnF, département de la Conservation, laboratoire

1. Introduction

La statue de Voltaire, initialement située dans le Salon d’honneur de la Bibliothèque nationale

de France sur le site Richelieu (2e

arr.) renferme en son socle le cœur du philosophe. Lors de son

déménagement vers le palier du musée des Monnaies et médailles en prévision des travaux, une odeur

forte et inhabituelle a été remarquée par les déménageurs et l’ensemble des personnes présentes. Cette

odeur ayant persisté plusieurs jours, la responsable du projet Richelieu a saisi le laboratoire afin

d’étudier l’origine de cette émanation et d’effectuer un constat d’état du cœur de Voltaire.

La nécessité d’intervenir sur le mode de conservation du cœur de Voltaire a offert une

opportunité exceptionnelle de réaliser une étude archéométrique et historique.

 

2. Contexte : retour sur les faits

Voltaire meurt le 30 mai 1778 à quatre-vingt-quatre ans, dans l’hôtel de son ami le marquis de

Villette. A la suite de l’autopsie du corps, le cœur extrait par ordre du marquis est placé dans un coffret

en métal doré, rempli d’une préparation alcoolique et qui porte une inscription : «Cœur de Voltaire,

mort à Paris, le 30 mai 1778 ». Ce cœur est ensuite transporté au château de Ferney, où il reste exposé

dans une chambre dite « chambre du cœur de Voltaire » jusqu’à la Révolution. Dans cette pièce est

placé un mausolée pyramidal avec un petit autel détaché, et sur cet autel un coussin de velours sur

lequel repose le cœur. Aux murs sont accrochés quarante-et-un portraits d’amis de Voltaire veillant sur

son souvenir.

le propriétaire de l’illustre organe. A sa mort, en 1864, aucun héritier ne souhaite revendiquer

le cœur. Le notaire des héritiers les tire d’affaire, invoquant la loi du 30 mars 1791 qui avait ordonné le

transfert du corps de Voltaire au Panthéon, après avoir décidé que la dépouille de Voltaire était

propriété de l’Etat. Le notaire présente alors une requête à l’empereur Napoléon III, lui demandant

d’accepter le cœur.

Napoléon III veut placer le cœur à la Bibliothèque impériale. Victor Duruy, ministre de

l’Instruction publique, reçoit des mains du notaire le précieux organe le 16 décembre 1864. Le cœur

est placé provisoirement au département des Monnaies et médailles. Le projet initial était de présenter

le cœur de Voltaire avec le modèle en plâtre de sa statue par Houdon, les médailles frappées en son

honneur et les correspondances manuscrites et œuvres imprimées de l’écrivain. Cet ensemble devait

être installé entre les départements des Manuscrits et des Imprimés, au premier étage de la rotonde, qui

se trouve à la jonction des rues de Richelieu et Neuve-des-Petits-Champs (actuelle rue des PetitsChamps).

Ce projet ne fut que partiellement réalisé : seul le cœur et la statue ont été réunis, le premier

placé dans un coffret en métal conservé dans le socle en bois de la statue, avec cette inscription :

« Cœur de Voltaire remis à la Bibliothèque impériale par les héritiers du marquis de Villette ».

Plus de cinquante ans s’écoulent. L’administrateur de la Bibliothèque nationale, Pierre

Roland-Marcel remarque la statue couverte de poussière à l’entrée de la Réserve et la fait installer

après nettoyage dans le salon d’honneur, dit aussi salon Voltaire, qui donne sur la cour face à l’entrée

principale. En février 1924, il convie les personnalités du moment à venir voir si le cœur s’y trouve toujours (fig. 1) . Un serrurier descelle la plaque du socle d’où est extrait le coffret en bois. Le cœur est

découvert sous un morceau d’étoffe fanée. Le ministre de l’Instruction publique lit à haute voix le

procès-verbal, placé dans le coffret, lors de la remise du cœur en 1864. Un nouveau procès-verbal est

joint au premier et le coffret reprend sa place dans le socle.

La statue et son contenu resteront dans le Salon d’honneur jusqu’à leur déplacement en mai

2010.

3. Travaux en cours

Le dégagement d’odeur perçu au moment du déménagement de la statue laisse supposer que le

cœur était conditionné dans une solution de conservation et que le coffret de métal a pu fuir ou se

casser au cours de la manutention du socle. L’étude que nous menons actuellement a pour objet de

trouver une solution pérenne qui permettra de conserver le cœur de Voltaire. Le cœur et son

conditionnement initial sont en cours d’analyse au laboratoire du département de la Conservation du

site Richelieu. Des spécialistes du Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN), de l’hôpital

Georges-Pompidou et de la société Useful Progress (spécialisée en imagerie médicale 3D)

interviennent dans cette recherche.

Origin: Peninsular Malaysia

Origin made a reappearance at The Creators Project San Francisco.

La basilique Saint-Nazaire est une église d'origine romane datant du XIe siècle. C'est tout d'abord une simple église bénie et consacrée cathédrale par le pape Urbain II en 1096[89],[90]. Sur son emplacement se trouvait une cathédrale carolingienne dont il ne reste aucune trace aujourd'hui. La crypte date aussi de l'époque de la construction de la nouvelle cathédrale par la famille Trencavel malgré son état dégradé qui fait penser le contraire. Les vitraux originaux de la basilique se trouvent dans la Saint-Chapelle à Paris.

La basilique Saint Nazaire au coeur de la CitéLa cathédrale est construite en grès à l'extérieur. Elle est agrandie entre 1269 et 1330 dans le style gothique imposé par les Français devenus maîtres de la région, avec un transept et un chœur très élancés, un décor de sculptures et un ensemble de vitraux qui comptent parmi les plus beaux du sud de la France. Un prélat bâtisseur, Pierre de Rochefort, est à l'origine financière d'une grande partie des décors et de l'achèvement des voûtes. Ses armoiries sont visibles dans le chœur, l'abside et le bras sud du transept, tandis que la chapelle du collatéral nord contient le monument commémoratif de la mort du contributeur. Un autre personnage, Pierre Rodier archevêque de Carcassonne, possède son blason dans la chapelle du collatéral sud.

Les rénovations d'Eugène Viollet-le-Duc ont largement transformé son extérieur, mais l'intérieur est le plus remarquable. On observe alors les deux styles, gothique et roman, sur les vitraux, les sculptures et tous les décors de l'église. De nombreux vitraux du XIIIe siècle et du XIVe siècle sont présents sur les façades. Elles représentent des scènes de la vie du christ et de ses apôtres. En 1801, l'église est déchue de son rang de cathédrale de Carcassonne au profit de l'église Saint-Michel, située dans la bastide. Ce transfert se déroule dans un contexte de changements avec l'abandon de la cité et l'expansion de la ville basse. Elle devient basilique en 1898, par un bref du pape Léon XIII.

Une communauté de chanoines vivait à proximité de la cathédrale avec une salle capitulaire et le dortoir à l'est, le réfectoire et les cuisines au sud et les caves et écuries à l'ouest. Mais l'ensemble des bâtiments est démoli en 1792.

 

fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcassonne

 

Carcassonne (Carcassona [karka'suno] en occitan) est une commune française située dans le département de l'Aude et la région Languedoc-Roussillon. La ville est la préfecture de l'Aude, elle est connue pour la Cité de Carcassonne, un ensemble architectural médiéval restauré par Viollet-le-Duc au XIXe siècle et inscrit au patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO depuis 1997.

Carcassonne est située sur les bords du fleuve de l'Aude. La commune est traditionnellement divisée en deux, la ville basse qui occupe les berges du fleuve à l'ouest et la ville haute (ou cité) qui occupe la colline surplombant l'Aude. La cité est construite sur un petit plateau constitué par le creusement de l'Aude à environ 150 mètres d'altitude au-dessus de la ville basse[12]. La ville basse se situe au niveau de l'Aude dont l'altitude est de 100 m.

L'Aude arrive à Carcassonne après son périple montagneux dans les gorges de la haute vallée de l'Aude et devient alors un fleuve plus tranquille. Elle passe au Païcherou, longe le cimetière Saint-Michel puis se sépare en deux bras formant une île appelée « l'île du Roy ». Quatre ponts permettent de la franchir : le pont Garigliano, le pont-Vieux accessible qu'aux piétons, le pont Neuf et le pont de l'Avenir. Le canal du Midi passe également au nord de la ville entre la gare et le jardin André-Chénier jouxtant la bastide Saint-Louis.

La ville se situe dans un couloir entre la montagne Noire au nord et la chaîne des Pyrénées au sud. La plaine est constituée de dépôts récents amenés par l'Aude et provenant des Pyrénées. Il s'agit de la molasse de Carcassonne, qui se caractérise par une alternance de grès, de conglomérats et de marnes gréseuses fluviatiles datant de l'éocène.

Légende :

La ville de Carcassonne entretient la légende selon laquelle le nom de la ville de Carcassonne daterait du début du IXe siècle. Au moment des faits, la ville aurait été Sarrasine. Charlemagne aurait fait le siège, mais la maitresse des lieux, Dame Carcas, aurait fort résisté. Les deux armées seraient devenues affamées. Tandis qu'il n'aurait resté qu'une mesure de blé et un petit cochon dans la cité, la Dame Carcas aurait eu l'idée de démoraliser ses adversaires.

Le porcelet aurait été engraissé, puis projeté par dessus les remparts. Pensant que la ville avait encore beaucoup de nourriture, Charlemagne aurait fait lever le siège. À ce moment, Dame Carcas aurait fait sonner les trompettes et, Charlemagne revenant sur ses pas, la Dame Carcas lui aurait proposé la paix. D'où l'expression Carcas sonne.

Historiquement, la reconquête des terres du Languedoc par Charlemagne remonte à Pépin le Bref, au milieu du VIII° siècle.

 

La Cité de Carcassonne, sur la rive droite de l'Aude a été classée au patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO en 1997. C'est le haut lieu touristique de la ville avec plus de deux millions de visiteurs chaque année dont 300 000 visites du château comtal et des remparts[88]. C'est le deuxième site touristique le plus visité de France après le Mont-Saint-Michel.

C'est un ensemble médiéval unique en Europe de par sa taille et son état de conservation. La cité est ceinturée de deux rangées de remparts et possède un château, le château comtal, et la basilique Saint-Nazaire.

Norwegian Esso, with origins in the US Standard Oil Company, have operated in Norway since 1893 and is thus the oldest of the oil companies in the country. Originally the company was founded in the early 1890s - by A/S Vestlandske Petroleum company based in Bergen and A/S Østlandske Petroleum company based in Christiania.

The two companies began to promote their gasoline with their own individual trademarks. Østlandske chose "Elephant", while Vestlandske used the "Tiger".

 

And it was the tiger mascot which came out on top, not only in Norway, but eventually also abroad. Who does not remember Esso's slogan, "Put a tiger in the tank" from the 1960s.

 

In 1999 Esso and Mobil merged to become Esso Norway AS. In 2005 there were approximately 330 Esso stations in this country.

The colourful annual procession of Bonalu Festival in the Old city of Hyderabad.

Origin of Bonalu festival

 

Bonalu is an important festival celebrated in Hyderabad and Secunderabad in Andhra Pradesh in the month of Ashada (July – August). Bonalu means ‘food’ and is a ritual in honor of Mother Goddess - Mahankali. The ritual consists of an offering of food made to the Goddess by women which is later shared by the family and friends as ‘prasad.’ The festival is a month long affair and includes colorful processions and community feasts.

  

Bonalu on Sundays in the Ashada month: The first main festival is held on the first Sunday of the Ashada month at the Sri Jagadamba temple in Golconda Fort, the next main festival on the second Sunday at the Ujjain Mahankali Temple in Secunderabad and the third main festival on the third Sunday at the Matheswari Temple of Laldarwaja. The rituals are also performed in all the other Mother Goddess temples in the twin cities.

© Rajesh Pamnani 2013

 

• Object: Coat of arms

• Place of origin: Florence (made)

• Date: early 16th century (made)

• Artist/Maker: della Robbia (workshop, maker)

• Materials and Techniques: Polychrome, enamelled terracotta

• Museum number: 7397A-1860

• Gallery location: Medieval and Renaissance, room 50a

 

Physical description: Within a rectangular recess frame at the top and sides with egg-and-dart moulding is set a Tusacan shield bearing the charge: Barry nubuly gules and or. On either side of the inner frame is a painted bramble or thorn. The lower sides are ornamented with a pattern of flowers and leaves; between them runs the inscription: SIMONETTO.DI/CHORSO.DALL/ARENA.PodestA.M.D.XII. The face is enamelled in white, yellow, blue and black, part of the shield being left unglazed (presumably for painting in red).

This stemma or shield of arms is made by the workshop of the Della Robbia, in Florence in the early 16th century.

 

The relief is composed of fragments from two separate works. The upper part carries the arms of the Spini family (a Tuscan shield bearing the charge: Barry nebuly gules and or), and the lower part an inscription with the name of Simonetto di Corso and the date 1512.

The Della Robbia family was an Italian family of sculptors and potters. They were active in Florence from the early 15th century and elsewhere in Italy and France well into the 16th. Family members were traditionally employed in the textile industry, and their name derives from rubia tinctorum, a red dye.

Luca della Robbia founded the family sculpture workshop in Florence and was regarded by contemporaries as a leading artistic innovator, comparable to Donatello and Masaccio. The influence of antique art and his characteristic liveliness and charm are evident in such works as the marble singing-gallery for Florence Cathedral. He is credited with the invention of the tin-glazed terracotta sculpture for which the family became well known.