The Bordeaux gates are ancient entrances that allowed people to enter and leave the city when it was surrounded by a wall. The first wall was built in the 3rd century, during Roman times, and had four gates:
- The Aquitaine Gate
- The Great Bell Gate
- The Mint Gate
- The Cailhau Gate.
The Porte of Aquitaine is the oldest of Bordeaux's surviving gates and was built on the site of the Saint Julian Gate dating from 1302. It took the name Porte d'Aquitaine in 1753 in order to honor the second son of the Duke of Aquitaine, Xavier of France, who had just been born.
Porte Saint-James was named in honor of the Saint James Way pilgrims it welcomed to Bordeaux, but it is more commonly known as la Grosse Cloche (the "Great Bell") for the belfry which was added in the 17th century.
This has become one of Bordeaux 's most famous landmarks, and is featured on the city's coat of arms. The current bell was cast in 1775, weighs 7,800 kilograms, and is two meters tall and two meters wide. While earlier bells we rung more frequently, such as to mark the beginning of the grape harvest, or in case of fires, the current bell is rung once a year on Armistice Day every November.
Porte de la Monnaie (the "Mint Gate") takes its name from the old mint that was located nearby during the Middle Ages. It served as an important point of entry for goods coming to serve the bustling city and contributed to the economic prosperity of Aquitaine's capital city.
The Porte Cailhau was built in 1748 to honor King Charles VIII, who had just conquered the kingdom of Naples with the help of the Archbishop of Bordeaux, Cardinal d'Epernay. The Porte Cailhau helped protect the Ombrière Palace, which was on an adjoining parcel from the 9th century until 1800. The palace was home to the Dukes of Aquitaine, and housed the regional parliament and law courts during the 15th century reign of Louis XI. It served as both a court of law and prison during the French Revolution, but nothing of the palace remains today.
A second wall was built in the 14th century to extend the perimeter of the city and protect it from English attacks. This wall had two more gates:
- The Burgundy Gate
- The Dijeaux Gate.
The Porte de Bourgogne (the "Burgundy Gate") was named for the Burgundy Region which was an important ally of Bordeaux during the Middle Ages, and it served as the northern gateway to the city. It is intended to represent the modernity and openness of Bordeaux.
Porte Dijeaux was erected in 1748 on a site where one of the Roman gates had been. It is crowned with a sculpted face of Neptune looking out over the River Garonne. “Dijeaux” comes from the Gascon expression “dits geaules”, meaning “icy fingers”, in reference to the cold weather that used to prevail in this part of the city.
Comments
Post a Comment