The collegiate
church can be seen from a good way off
beyond
the Doubs river.
The Rhone
to Rhine canal
and the overflow
channel.
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Promenade along quai Pasteur
The
siege of Dole (1636) : print by Nicolas Labbé showing the
unsuccessful
siege of the city by the troops of Condé.
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A
storm is brooding over the collegiate church
The
flooded "Paquier"
A
fine 18th c derelict Nymphea that would deserve a serious restoration
Fine
18th C basin, The
Arch College street
(Attiret-Cassard).
Dragon's head ?
Fireworks
for Whit-Sunday 2006.
An
unexpected early-morning next-door visitor.
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I
might also advise you to visit the Fine Arts Museum,
the Hôtel Dieu now a multimedia centre
and above all the imposing Collegiate church
which proudly overlooks the old city.
This basilica is the most important religious building in the whole region
of Franche-Comté, and it is of course the main monument in the
city built from 1509 onward.
With
luck -and if you like baroque music- you might enjoy listening to the
exceptional organ which was built in the collegiate
church between 1750 and 1754 by K J Riepp, a German "orgelbauer"
and great amateur and merchant of Burgundy wine. The instrument has miraculously
kept most of its original stops and is considered as one of the most precious
examples of a long tradtion of organ
building in the area still active today with organ builders like Bernard
Aubertin,
master of art at Courtefontaine whose recent works (2005-2010)
at St Louis-en-l'Ile in Paris and the Mariagerkirke in Denmark
are already aknowledged as genuine masterpieces.
Another
example of striking contemporary religious art
: St John's church built in
1964 after Anton Korady's draft and Maurice Calka's iron sculptures has
just been labelled "twentieth century heritage".
The Holy City by M. Calka (transparent effect)
If the weather is fine, you should take the opportunity of wandering along
the numerous canals and rivers animating the city.
Louis XV bridge.
The Rhône to Rhine canal in Autumn
The Tanners' canal
Along
the canal
When in Dole, you could drive to Chevigny (D 475 to Gray,
at about 12 km via Rainans) so as to see what is left of
a somewhat decayed medieval castle
after repeated harmful looting and nondescript building.
The only remains of the castle are a wing which has recently been rebuilt
and is inhabited by the present owner, fortified walls and some impressive
cellars.
On your way to other places of interest along a fine tour, marked out
by some crosses in the area of Auxonne,
Menotey, Frasne, Montmirey, Offlanges, Brans, Thervay, Pesmes, Acey abbey,
Mont Roland, you might admire a unique
natural giant : The oak tree of "La
Manche".
And, if you have time and wish to go a bit farther, you should
drive to Château-Chalon and
Baume-les-Messieurs on the way to Lons-le-Saunier : there you will find
some equally admirable spots.
You
shouldn't fail to visit Arc et Senans, beyond the Chaux forest (
one of the largest in France) so as to sight see the Royal
salt-works, one remarkable masterpiece of neo-classical
industrial architecture of the 18th century by Claude Nicolas Ledoux. |
Aurora
borealis ? No, just a threatening sandy cloud as can at times be
seen in the sky at Dole.
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Cloudy
Summer sunset over the city.
A
slight opening onto the infinite ?
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In
2002 Dole pays a nightly tribute to V. Hugo.
(Report in the German press).
Dole
is twinned with several cities in Europe among which :
TABOR
in the Czech Republic , a middle-sized city with many neo classical monuments
so typical of South Bohemia whose links with Dole were originated
by a university partnership in tourism, LAHR
in Germany,
KOSTROMA
in Russia where the Romanov family found its roots
with the exceptional Ipatiewski monastery on the banks of the Volga river,
SESTRI LEVANTE in Italiy, CARLOW
in Ireland, NORTHWICH in England.
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