We're traveling around in France for the past two weeks. After we have visited Fréjus (the east coast) and the Auvergne (the Vulcan region in the middle of France), we now moved to the Loire Valley between Tours and Orléans. This region is well known for its castles, historic towns, and of course, the Loire River. The area is often referred to as the Garden of France.

Orléans and the story of Jeanne d'Arc

Yesterday we decided to pay a visit to the city of Orléans. This city is well known for the story of Jeanne d'Arc. I did know that Jeanne d'Arc was famous in France, but I didn't know the exact story.
That is why I dug into it by asking ChatGPT and listening to a podcast.
Here is the story in short:

Jeanne d'Arc was born as a farmer’s daughter in 1412 in a small village in the east of France. At age 13 she said she heard voices from God. She was told to help the French king, fight the English in the 100 year war.
When she was 17 she went to the court of Charles VII of France. She dressed like a boy, cut her hair short, and wore armor. At first, people didn’t believe her, but she must have been very charismatic, because she convinced the king to give her a small army. As a test she should free the city of Orléans from the English that had laid siege to the city.
Jeanne d'Arc and het army managed to break the siege in May 1429. It was her first major victory and a turning point in the war.

After the war she played a less important role. She did free some smaller towns, but was eventually captured by the Burgundians. They sold her to the English that put on trial. In 1431 she was burned at the stake when she was only 19 years old.
The Church later said the trial was unfair. She was made a saint in 1920. Today, she is a French national hero and a symbol of courage.

Jeanne d'Arc in modern-day Orléans

When you're in Orléans, Jeanne d'Arc is all over the place. Of course she has a statue on the Place du Martroi.

It's crazy to think that this was just a 17 year old farmers daughter, fully dressed in armour, riding a horse and carrying a heavy sword.
The story goes that she really did join the battle herself.

Near the square there is a house where Jeanne d'Arc stayed during the siege of Orléans. At least, that is what you might think when you see it. The original house from the middle ages was destroyed during WW2 and was rebuilt in the old style.

You can find her name and the symbol of her riding her horse everywhere in Orléans. On shops, banners, bars, shopping centers. And also the road heading to the cathedral has her name.
Is shows how important she was for this city and France as a whole.

Cathédrale Sainte-Croix d'Orléans

And that brings us to the cathedral of Orléans. When walking though the Jeanne d'Arc streets you can see the giant towers of the cathedral in the distance.
The Gothic style cathedral consist of two, 88 meters high towers. They started building it 1278, but it was damaged during the wars of religion. It then was rebuilt in the 17th century.

_{This picture is my entry for the #aroundtheworld photo challenge by @bucipuci}

The front of the church has multiple portals which are very richly decorated. It is really an impressive building made out of white limestone.

The inside of the church is just asa impressive. The ceiling is so high and it is so long. I always find it fascinating how people could build these amazing structures before there were mechanic cranes. And these cathedrals all have so many details, both on the outside as on the inside. Just amazing!

The cathedral has numerous stained glass windows that all tell different religious stories. The bright colors and the light from the outside really make it look like paintings.

The old city center

In the historic city center there are a lot of timber-framed houses. The center has quite a lot of shops (although most of them were still closed because it was Monday) and cosy terraces. The streets are paved with light colored stones. There is a really nice atmosphere.

Here is a view on one of the smaller squares in the city with a nice terrace. In the back you see the bell tower Tour Saint-Paul.

There are so many beautiful buildings. A lot of them have beautifully decorated façades and balconies like the one below.

Here is another interesting building in one of the shopping streets. I noticed this building where the female statues were holding the balcony.
On the ground floor of the building is a bar and you might be able to guess the name; Café Jeanne d'Arc.

A bit further on in the street there was this bank building. There is actually a real bank (Credit Lyonnais) in this beautifully decorated building.

After we had visited some shops, had a nice lunch and grabbed a coffee, we headed back to the square Place du Martroi where we started our journey in Orléans.

What a lovely city this is. The buildings are beautiful, the atmosphere is very nice and you can feel the history when you're walking down the streets where once a young lady named Jeanne d'Arc was riding her horse.

FriendlyMoose

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