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Troyes, a town where the past has a future

Sole city of northern France to escape the world wars' destruction...
12th-century trade routes and towns

 

Troyes is turning to its impressive patrimony with dynamism and imagination.

 

Our visit begins with the Middle Ages...

 

 

  • Sounds of hammering recall the 16th century... 

 


Restoration of a 16th-century building

 

...when the town was magnificently rebuilt after a fire (in 1524).

 

If a work site is at a visitable stage, the architect who heads restoration may exceptionally be our guide.

 

 

  • We are welcomed in a workshop that restores stained glass

 

In an establishment that has been family-owned for generations, our host explains the restoration process, which is a hands-on explanation of how stained glass was produced.

 

 

Notice the executioner's whip.
An assistant who loves her work.

 

 

Window that our host restored.
Notice the attention.

     

     

    • Our host guides us to churches and so to the medieval town

     


    Church that our host may open specially.
    "The grand 16th century"

     

    Himself a craftsman, he makes us aware of the practical constraints to which great art too must bend.

     

    He may evoke the traffic jams brought on by thousands of ox-hauled carts carrying stones, or explain that  "regional styles" come from the need to cut expense by repeating the same designs.

     

     

     

     

    "Synagogue Street"
    Salomon ben Isaac ("Rashi", 1040-1105), whose Commentairies on the Talmud are still read.

     

    Troyes was northern Europe's most important center of Jewish erudition. Rashi's Commentairies of the Talmud are still studied and his remarks on the Old Testament remain relevant to Christians.

     

     

     

    We describe the relationship between Jews and Christians then, and explain the secular reasons for expelling Jews from the Western European kingdoms (between about 1390-1490).
    • Hommage to work done by hand

     

     

     

     
    Town notables receive leaders of the guilds, 1480

     

    "The Museum of Tools and Working-class Thought" is dedicated to the memory of craftsmen expert in pre-industrial production. It is impressive in showing the variety of tools that were made to order for people...

     

     

    whose physical strength, hands and arm-lengths differed. Many are adorned with sculptures that their owners carved.

     

    The subtext is pride in work.

     

     

    Thanks to the museum, craftsmen from Troyes restored the Statue of Liberty.

     

     
    • Troyes was famous for hosiery and knitwear until outsourcing appeared...

     

    Now the past provides new opportunities, as our visit will show.

     

     

     

    •Costs: Please CLICK

    ° For the remuneration of our local guide, please ask us.

    ° Déjeuner is best in a traditional restaurant.

    ° The museum charges a modest entrance fee.

     

     

     

    Credits:  map / based on G. Duby, "Atlas historique"; medieval street / Troyes Office Tourism (OT)  - D. de Nove ;  nativity / Chantilly Museum, documentation V. Teboul; Rashi / OT; building restoration / J. Valentin; museum / museum brochure ; other photos / Claude Abron