Audio guided tour of Orleans : Part 1 - Hôtel Groslot & Cathédrale Sainte-Croix.

 

On Wednesday morning we took the self guided audio tour of Orleans, picking up the map and guide and setting off from in front of the Tourist Office on Place du Martroi. The 2.5-hour tour covers key historical landmarks sequentially from Place du Martroi to the Jardin Jacques Boucher. The physical rental device's commentary details the history, architecture, and anecdotes associated with Joan of Arc, the Renaissance Hôtel Groslot, the Sainte-Croix Cathedral, and the medieval university district.

First stop Hôtel Groslot built for Jacques Groslot, bailli of Orléans, between 1549 and 1553. The design is attributed to the celebrated Renaissance architect Jacques Androuet du Cerceau.The original building was considerably smaller than what you see today: the central Renaissance block is the oldest part, with its distinctive combination of brick and stone and three gables.

In 1560, the young King François II came to Orléans with his court during the Estates General. He stayed at the Hôtel Groslot, partly because of the political conflict with Jérôme Groslot, Jacques's son and a supporter of the Reformation.

François II died here on 5 December 1560, aged only 15. His mother, Catherine de Médicis, was with him, as was his wife Mary Stuart (Marie Stuart). That makes the present-day salle des mariages rather extraordinary: it is traditionally identified as the room where the king died, yet it is still used for civil weddings.

Other royal visitors included Charles IX, Henri III and Henri IV. After the Revolution, the Hôtel Groslot became Orléans town hall in 1790. It remained the Hôtel de Ville for many years and was extensively remodelled in the 19th century.

Joan double feature...outside and in.

The bronze Jeanne d'Arc on the steps is not medieval, despite how naturally it fits the setting, she still bears the marks of bullets she received during the liberation of Orléans in 1944. 

It was made by Marie d'Orléans, daughter of Louis-Philippe and was presented to the city by her father in 1839. It is therefore another 19th-century layer added to this much older building.

The guide doesn't mention the gardens but you should have a look in as you pass.

 Next stop Cathédrale Sainte-Croix.The first thing to understand about Sainte-Croix is that it is not a cathedral built in one continuous campaign. Its present appearance is the result of almost six centuries of construction, destruction and rebuilding. The Gothic cathedral was begun in 1287, work was interrupted by the Hundred Years' War and much of the building was destroyed during the Wars of Religion in 1568. Henri IV laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction on 18 April 1601 and the cathedral was finally inaugurated by Charles X on 8 May 1829. 

The present building is consequently an architectural mixture rather than a textbook example of one period. You can see Gothic, Classical and later Neo-Gothic influences, reflecting the different periods of rebuilding.

Jeanne d'Arc came to Sainte-Croix to pray on 8 May 1429, during the campaign that lifted the English siege of Orléans. She would have seen the medieval cathedral, although not the building you see today: the transept and western towers of her time were subsequently destroyed and rebuilt.

Look particularly at the ten stained-glass windows in the lower aisles devoted to Jeanne d'Arc. They were created in 1893 by the glass artists Galland and Gibelin and tell the story of her life right up to her burning at the stake.

The dimensions of the cathedral are impressive: about 140 metres long, 53 metres wide, with the principal spire reaching 106 metres. It is among France's largest Gothic cathedrals.

More from our guided tour tomorrow.