Col GKS Reddy Coins: VISIT TO EUROPE - FRANCE - LILLE

CHAPPIDI ABHIRATH REDDY,
C/O COL GKS REDDY,

Secunderabad - 500 015.

Visit Lille (Contd)

Lille (French pronunciation: ( listen); Dutch: Rijsel [ˈrɛi̯səɫ]) is a city in the North of France. It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in France after those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated in French Flanders, on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium. It is the capital of the Nord-Pas de Calais region and the prefecture of the Nord department.

The city of Lille, to which the previously independent town of Lomme was annexed on 27 February 2000, had a population of 226,827 as recorded by the 2009 census. However, Lille Métropole, which also includes Roubaix, Tourcoing and numerous suburban communities, had a population of 1,091,438. The eurodistrict of Lille-Kortrijk, which also includes the Belgian cities of Kortrijk, Tournai and Mouscron, had 1,905,000 residents.

My Colleague and a close friend, Col Sanjay Chibber, who had taken voluntary retirement from the army, is presently settled down in London. When I went to say hello to him in his office, we decided to go for a Tour of Lille, France on Sunday, the 13th Apr 2014. Accordingly, we booked our tickets in Eurostar, with return ticket on the same day evening. We started from St Pancras International Railway station, London at 0900h and reached Lille at 1130h.

The Place Du Theatre

Take a look at the buildings behind the Vieille Bourse by turning into Rue des Manneliers (the basket makers road) or Rues des Sept Agaches (road of 7 magpies) on either side of the Vieille Bourse. Both these roads lead to Place du Théatre situated at the start of Boulevard Carnot.

The Place du Théatre became the venue of the new chamber of commerce Nouvelle Bourse in 1903. It was built by Louis Cordonnier in the new Flemish style architecture. The Bourse comes complete with its own bell tower looming over the building and in fact over the city. The 100 metre high belfry symbolises the power of industrial cities.

Noulle Bourse (The New Chamber of Commerce) complete

with Bell Tower, located at Place Du Theatre

A Closer View of Nouvelle Bourse

A side View of Noulle Bourse

The Rear view of Noulle Bourse

The Opera House

The neighbouring building is the Opera, originally built in 1875 but accidentally burnt down in 1903. The sumptuously decorated replacement was built by Louis Cordonnier in the Louis XVI style. Its inauguration took place in 1923 during which Lalo, Bizet and Massenet had top billing. On the pediment there are figures of Apollo and muses. To the left is an allegorical music band representing music and to the right is a tragedy sculpted by Lernaire.

Frontal view of the Opera House, Place du Theatre

Corner views of the Opera House

Rang De Beuregard

Facing the chamber of commerce is the Rang de Beauregard, a uniform row of elegant terraced houses. These were built in 1687 by order of the Magistrate of Lille to complememt the architectural style of the Chamber of Commerce building.

The three-storey houses, built only in brick and stone, are decorated with pilasters and cartouches and are the most characteristic examples of 17th century architecture in the area. In similar fashion to the Vieille Bourse, the ground floor is home to elegant shops.

Take a moment to scruitnise the walls and search out the small canon balls lodged in the brickwork. These are in fact the canon balls left by the Austrians during their siege some 200 years earlier. Though the buildings may be privately owned, the balls are deemed historical monuments and belong to the city.

A view of Rang De Beuregard (From the Gallery)

An Ancient and Historical Residential Block in Flemish Architecture,

located between the New Stock Exchange and the Opera House

Statue of Leon Trulin

Leon Trulin ( Ath , 1897 - Lille , 1915) is a young patriot shot by the German military authorities for espionage during the First World War .

Trulin Leon was born in Ath in Belgium on 2 June 1897 . He was the penultimate of a family of eight children. His father was a plumber, his mother working in fur. On the death of his father, 43 years old, the family left his hometown and moved to theMadeleine and Lille . Raised a Catholic, however Leon attended secular schools(Victor Hugo La Madeleine and Monge Lille).

In June 1910 to help his family overcome his misery, he was hired as an apprentice in a factory furriers and fur. He is injured in an accident. During his long convalescence (8 months), he reads a lot and acquire a rare culture to a worker at the time. He spied for his homeland, Belgium and France during WW - I.

Statue of Leon Trulin near Place du Theatre, Lille

Hotel Carlton, located across the Road from Place du Theatre

A Corner view of Hotel Carlton, a Heritage Building

Lille Old Town (Vieux Lille)

It's in Vieux Lille, the Old Town of the city, that the Flemish dash to Lille's character can be most clearly seen. The red brick buildings and narrow cobbled lanes have a distinct Belgian feel.

The quarter had fallen into disrepair, but now it's been cleaned up and houses the regular Euro-old town collection of bars, boutiques, and restaurants.

This is where many of the city's premier sites are located: the town museum located in the 13th-century Musée de l'Hospice Comtesse, the Cathedrale Notre Dame de la Treille, and the birthplace of Charles de Gaulle. But sightseeing aside, this is a trés pleasant place to lose yourself on a sunny day, stopping only to test out another restaurant or ogle some designer fashion.

An Ancient Street in the Old Town leading to the

Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille Cathedral

Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille Cathedral is the cathedral of Lille . Style Gothic , it is located in the district of Vieux-Lille and houses a miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Treille, whose existence was already attested in the twelfth century.

Its construction began in 1854 and ended in 1999 with a very modern and sleek facade, gray outside and translucent orange inside.

Simple votive chapel originally Pope Pius X granted him the title of minor basilica in 1904 . The 25 October 1913 , The Archdiocese of Cambrai is divided into two to form the diocese of Lille and Notre-Dame de la Treille becomes cathedral . In 2008, Lille is elevated to the rank of archbishop and Notre-Dame de la Treille becomes Metropolitan Cathedral, seat of the Archbishop who has authority over the diocese of Arras , Cambrai and Lille .

Notre Dame Cathedral, Old Town Lille

Interior Views of Notre Dame Cathedral

Close views of the Intricate Designs on the Main Entrance, located

on the Southern side of the Cathedral, presently closed

Intricate Architecture on the Southern side of the Cathedral

A corner view of the Cathedral from the NW corner, showing

the later Extension on the Northern side

An Old Commercial Building in Place Du Notre Dame (Notre Dame Square)

Rue Des Trois Mollettes, a Street leading further into the Old Town

from Place Du Notre Dame (Notre Dame Square)

The campanile Saint-Nicolas

Built facing south portal provisionally to house the bells, church was provided at the solemn coronation of the miraculous statue, the 21 June 1874 The campanile Saint-Nicolas is hastily constructed of brick on a foundation of just one meter deep. It has three floors. On the first floor are located the ringtone on the fly (6 bells), the cylinder jingles, the carillon (41 bells) and keyboard. On the second floor there are three acute bells ringing and carillon and the third floor, serious bells ringing.

A view of the campanile Saint-Nicolas, located Just in front of the

Main Southern Entrance of the Cathedral

A close up of the campanile Saint-Nicolas

St Maurice Church, Lille

The Église Saint-Maurice is a church on rue de Paris, in the historic centre of Lille. Its construction began at the end of the 14th century and completed at the end of the 19th century, and it was extended over more than four centuries. A hall church in the Gothic style, it was made a monument historique in 1914.

He church is built on one level. There are five Naves each of 17m width and 17m height. The Transept barely extends beyond the naves. The Architecture is an example of the Brabant Gothic style. The 68m Tower supports a very elegant openwork Spire, with an internal bronze staircase.