Bordeaux: a city delayed by wine
Text, photo/Ye Kefei
Published in China News Weekly, No. 1018 on November 1, 2021
Standing in front of the "water mirror" in Bordeaux, France, I saw people's heads surging. Both adults and children step barefoot into the water, children are playing, and even laughing and rolling naked in the water. Sunlight hits the surface of the water, casting the color of the sky, so that as far as the eye can see, the water surface seems to meet the blue sky. On one side of the "water mirror" is the Garonne River that crosses Bordeaux, and on the other side, the Avenue louis VIII draws a beautiful arc along the curve of the Garonne, and a row of quaint buildings stand along the street, and the church spires are scattered in it. Because of this beautiful arc, the old town of Bordeaux on the banks of the Garonne River is called the "Port of the Moon" and has been listed by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site due to its large number of historical buildings.
This 3,500-square-meter "water mirror", the water surface is actually only a few centimeters deep, but it is the favorite paradise of Pol people. In summer, the artificial fountain turns the square into a "water mirror" for people to splash in.
The curvature of the "water mirror" with the banks of the Garonne River.
The "Water Mirror" is part of the Place de la Bourse, designed by the French royal designer Angie-Jacques Gabriel, originally dedicated to King Louis XV of France, the Royal Place, built in 1730-1775, when it was mainly used to receive VIPs who came by boat from the Garonne. This is a square of French classicism, with three perfectly symmetrical 18th-century court-style buildings facing the Garonne River. On one side of the exchange is the former International Trade Centre of Bordeaux, while the opposite tax office is still used by the Bordeaux tax authorities today, and some of them are dedicated to the Customs Museum. In the center of the square is a fountain of the Three Goddesses, placed in 1869 by Visconti, the Italian-born French sculptor whose most famous design work is napoleon's mausoleum.
In addition to being playful, the "water mirror" has another function: every night, the exchange, the tax office and the main building in the middle of the two are illuminated together, and then reflected on the "mirror", becoming the most charming night sign of Bordeaux.
When it comes to Bordeaux, many people's first reaction is wine. Bordeaux, located in the southwest of France, and Burgundy in the east of France, are called the world's wine "double bi", and are also the two most well-known appellations. Surrounded by Bordeaux, there are many charming wineries and top wineries, which can be called unstoppable charm. But because of this, many people ignore Bordeaux itself and simply use it as a starting point for a wine journey. This city, somewhat delayed by wine, was once named one of the best places to travel in the world by Lonely Planet.
Hugo, a keen critic of the city, once said: "Put Versailles and Antwerp together and you get Bordeaux." "In my guess, he was referring to the grace of Versailles and the delicacy of Antwerp, which was really appropriate for Bordeaux.
Bordeaux's most famous square is not the Exchange Square, which is exquisite and beautiful, but the Plum Blossom Square, which is famous for its large size. It is just a few minutes away from the Exchange Square, with an area of 126,000 square meters, making it the largest square in France and the second largest in the European Union. Compared with the exchange square, plum blossom square is really "primitive", is an unobstructed sand square. But if you're lucky enough to bump into the Plaza Bazaar, the liveliness is also counted in the Plaza des Europe Bazaar.
Selfie on the Exchange Square.
Stepping into the square in the scorching sun, your eyes could hardly be opened. The special shape of the square must be photographed aerialally, and the trees around the square circle it into a rectangular and semicircular combination. Because the original name Quinconce means "the road where the tree is cultivated in the shape of a plum blossom" in French, the name "Plum Blossom Square" is derived from this.
On the east side of the square, near the Garonne River, there are two huabiao columns with sculptures symbolizing commerce and navigation, and the marble statues of Montaigne and Montesquieu were added in 1858 to honor these two ancestors born in Bordeaux.
On the other side of the square there is a taller and more ornate column, surrounded by sculptures and pools of water. At the top is a bronze statue of the Goddess of Liberty, with a white and slender column, a rooster symbolizing France on each side of the pedestal, and an anthropomorphic statue of Bordeaux, and the two fountains below represent the Garonne and Dordogne rivers flowing through Bordeaux. The column, built between 1894 and 1902, is the famous Girondin monument that commemorates members of the Girondins who were killed during the French Revolution and celebrates the founding of the Republic.
Before the French Revolution, Bordeaux had a long history of founding. Around 300 BC, the Celts built the city here, originally named "Burdigala", which means "to live in a low-lying place".
In 60 BC, Bordeaux was ruled by the Romans as a bustling port with frequent links to Spain and the British Isles. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Bordeaux fell into turmoil and suffered several invasions, until it regained stability in the early 10th century AD and became the domain of the Duke of Aquitaine. In the 12th century, Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, married Count Henry of the Plantagenet dynasty, who succeeded to the throne of England in 1154, Henry II, and Bordeaux became Anglo-English territory. During the Hundred Years' War, Edward the Black Prince used Bordeaux as his base, and his son Richard II was born here. During the reign of the English, Bordeaux enjoyed great freedom. From 1235 onwards, the mayor of Bordeaux was elected and trade flourished.
In 1453, Bordeaux was incorporated into France. The 18th century was the golden age of Bordeaux's trade, becoming a triangular trading town, wine used the advantage of the harbor to bring Great wealth to Bordeaux, including the Trading Palace, a large number of old town buildings were born in that period. By the 19th century, wine had brought Bordeaux countless glories, especially the first wine grading in 1855, Louis Pasteur's discovery of the principle of alcoholic fermentation in 1857, and the subsequent creation of the Bordeaux Wine Academy, which made Bordeaux wines self-contained.
The best way to show Bordeaux's glorious history today is the Grand Theatre, which opened on 17 April 1780 and was designed by Victor? Louis won the grand prize for this work, which also included the Royal Palace in Paris and the Théâtre de France. The temple façade is neoclassical, with 12 Corinthian columns forming a colonnade topped by 12 statues of nine muses, as well as Juno, Venus and Minerva. It is the oldest unburned or need-to-be-rebuilt timber-frame opera house in Europe, and is therefore invaluable.
Opposite the Grand Theatre, the bow-shaped building is the Bordeaux Wine House. Bordeaux is blessed with a unique geographical location, where the Garonne and Dordogne rivers intersect and merge into the vast Atlantic Ocean. The combination of many rivers and offshore waters, combined with a stable and mild climate, combined with strong sea breezes and well-drained limestone soils, constitutes a viticulture and winemaking environment that is unparalleled in the world. Originally an 18th-century mansion, the House of Wine offers an extensive wine list and an elegant wine tasting environment, as well as information on wineries in the Bordeaux region, making it a starting point for many visitors.
St. Catharines Walking Street.
The Piazza Bückteval, where the Grand Theatre and the House of Wines are located, radiate to the periphery, the most famous of which is the most lively pedestrian street in the area, St. Catharines' Road. The intersection square has a fountain built in 1715 and decorated with statues of four guardian saints, which is now hard to see.
This neighbourhood is made up of narrow old streets and is one of the most fascinating features of Bordeaux. The buildings with their earthy yellow stone walls are located on both sides of the road, mostly in classicist and neoclassical styles, with exquisite wrought iron balustrades. Of course, this quaint sense of history and glamorous neighborhood style is also not easy to come by, bordeaux has historically been called "Sleeping Beauty", which is not a compliment, but because all its beauty and prosperity are obscured by traffic jams, dirty environments and poor planning. It was not until recent decades that the Bordeans made up their minds to vigorously transform them, so that the pearls of the old times were no longer dusted.
Stepping out of this neighborhood is even more open to the most open area of bordeaux's old town. The Bordeaux Town Hall is located here, and the opposite Basilica of Saint-André stands on the side of the road, occupying the commanding heights of the Old Town. It is the largest main church in Bordeaux and the first in history to commemorate St. Andrew, one of the twelve apostles.
Basilica of St. Andre with Pebellan Tower.
Unlike most churches, the bell tower of St. Andrew's Cathedral is not one with the main church building, but a separate building standing next to the church, the Pebelon Tower, the favorite of the Bordeaux, named after Peberan, Bishop of Bordeaux in the 15th century. The bell tower is 66 meters high and is topped with a statue of our Lady. The reason why it is separated from the church body is because the giant bell inside the bell tower is too "powerful", so that it is set up to prevent the vibration of the bell from destroying the church building.
Beneath the blue skies, st. Andre Cathedral and Peberon Tower are majestic and beautiful. The buildings on the side of the town hall are mostly restaurants and cafés, and for me, the most pleasant thing to do in Bordeaux is to sit in an open-air seat and enjoy every detail of the two Gothic buildings while pairing Bordeaux wines with local cuisine.