Amiens

After just one full day in Tours we were on the train again and on our way to Amiens and once again we were travelling through flat cropping country.  On arriving in Amiens we saw an abundance of red brick buildings, this is a change from what we have seen in other French cities.   

Amiens is home to the largest Gothic edifice in France, the Notre Dame cathedral; it's 145m long, 70m wide and the vault is 42m high.  It was completed in 1288 and has survived two worlds wars.  60% of Amiens was destroyed during WWII but the cathedral was spared.

We have been in some big cathedrals but the height of the nave here was impressive and the side aisles seemed almost as big as some naves in other cathedrals we have visited.  

 Nave

Side aisle

On a pillar we found a tribute to the NZ soldiers who died in the Somme.  

Outside we admired the many statues and the cathedral’s design. We enjoy getting a view over the cities we visit so we climbed the 300 steps to the top of the tower.  As well as a view of the flat landscape we had a good view of the 112 metre spire, which is made of oak and is covered in lead ( made 1529 - 1533).  When you look at the detail in the spire it's hard to imagine how it was made let alone how it was then covered in lead.

A gargoyles view of the city

The spire

We were told there was a light show at the cathedral in the evening and not knowing what to expect we went for a look.  We were amazed!  In the 1990s when the cathedral was being cleaned the laser process used to clean up the blackened stone showed that the sculptures had once been coloured, with multiple colours highlighting different features of the figures and their clothing. The light show recreated the medieval colours of the sculptures.

How they once were

As you see them today 

A purpose of our trip to Amiens was to visit the Heilly Station Cemetery where Al’s uncle Ollie (John Oliver Wilson) is buried.  Ollie died in September 1916, aged 21, after being wounded in the battle of the Somme.  Heilly was a Casualty Clearing Station from April 1916 and the cemetery was begun in May 1916 with the last burial in May 1919.

There are 2,890 Commonwealth servicemen of WWI buried or commemorated in this cemetery and 83 German graves. The burials in the cemetery were carried out under extreme pressure and many of the graves are either too close together to be marked individually or they contain multiple burials. Some headstones carry as many as three sets of casualty details.  Even though this cemetery is small compared to the many others in the area, to see it was sobering especially as many of the men who died were very young.

Around the town of Amiens they were many photos taken during WWI and there were signs of appreciation of the allied efforts.  Even though it is 100 years since the battle of the Somme the sacrifice of those of involved is not forgotten.

Sometimes my photography isn't as straight as it should be but I couldn't find much that was straight in these buildings.