2010 Arles - St-Guilhem Walking

The facade of Saint-Trophime with it´s portal - in shadow. Here are some of the finest examples of romanesque carvings existing in southern France. I´ll upload details later. The structure of the church behind, seen here like an architectural model, is that of a basilica (a high nave, two low aisles). This church was the center of a diocese upto the french revolution. End of July 1178 Frederick I Barbarossa, was crowned here "King of Burgundy". His wife Beatrix was crowned a month later in the Cathedral St. Maurice - in Vienne. This was the point, where I started the Via Tolosana.

A little closer look onto the portal of Saint-Trophime. Here are some of the finest examples of romanesque carvings existing in southern France. I´ll upload details later. End of July 1178 Frederick I Barbarossa, walked through this portal, when he was crowned here "King of Burgundy". His wife Beatrix was crowned a month later in the Cathedral St. Maurice - in Vienne. This was the point, where I started the Via Tolosana.

The river Rhône forms two arms. I had crossed the eastern arm, the "Grand Rhône", in Arles and was on my way to the the western arm, the "Petit Rhône". Inbetween these arms, forming a great delta, lies the "Camargue", a formerly marshy and hostile area. Now most of the land is cultivated, even rice is grown here. The Camargue is as well known for black bulls, white horses and pink flamingos. I walked a long and pretty boaring road. No shadow, no bulls, no horses no flamingos. Not even cars for hours.

The by far most interesting building in the very small village of Saliers is this. Nowadays mostly ugly silos or modern barns are used to to store crops. In former times crops were stored in such elegant structures. Obviously wine was kept here as well. See the barrel on the gable.

Crossing the Rhône´s western arm, Le Petit Rhône, via a modern bridge and so leaving the Camargue and entering Gard. On the horizont the water tower of St. Gilles.

The immense portal of the former benedictine monastry St. Gilles, founded within the 7th century. A hermit of noble, greek descendance (later St. Gilles) lived here - with a hind. After Visigothic King Wamba had injured this hind during a hunt (other legends tell, he injured St. Gilles himself) Wamba founded a monastry - and St. Gilles was the first abbot there. St. Gilles was one of the most popular saints in the middle ages, pilgrims flocked to his tomb in the crypt of this church - and continued to Santiago from here. St. Gilles today is still one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. During the Wars of Religion the abbey and the church were totally destroyed and burnt down, what was in 1562. 1622 the campanile got demolished. After that only the crypt, part of the clocher, some eastern walls of the choir existed. The portal, which reminds on roman Triumph-arches (like St. Trophime, Arles) got demolished after the french revolution, - but puzzled together again within the 19th century, when the parish church was built.. This may not be the original version, but even though, it is a masterpiece.

The huge crypt of the former benedictine monastry St. Gilles. In the foreground the tomb of St. Gilles. Three walking sticks are placed there, as still pilgrims flock here - as they did in the middle ages. This crypt has not been destroyed during the Wars of Religion and the Revolution, but was used as a cellar. The most walls around are covered with graffittis dating back to that "secular" times.

In a niche of the crypt is the grave of Pierre de Castelnau, his remains were burnt during the Regilious Wars in 1562, so it is probably empty. - 1202 he was appointed by Pope Innocent III. as a legat for the suppression of the Cathar heresy in Southern France. What he did, he suspended the bishops of Toulouse and Béziers and excommunicated Raymond VI. of Toulouse. Pierre de Castelnau was assassinated on 15.01.1208, allegedly by an agent of Raymond, in the nearby village of Trinquetaille. This assassination triggered the Albigensian Crusade, as now Innocent III declared a crusade, offering the lands of the Cathars to any French nobleman willing to take up arms. This War lasted for 20 years. After that decades many villages and towns were totally destroyed and vast areas in Southern France were depopulated.

Having crossed lots of orchards (peaches and nectarines) I walked next to vinyards again. Straight on. On the right the irrigation channel "Bas-Rhône Languedoc". The water from this channel forms the landscape.