Flashback to 31st may 2007...
Bette Midler sang "Song of Bernadette" in which she recounted the story of a girl who once saw the Queen of Heaven...I always wondered what she meant by all this until I came across the story of Saint Bernadette in the Holiest Town in France - Lourdes.
It is the site of the miracle in which The Holy Mary appeared to the then little Bernadette and the rest is subject of theological studies.
Well, I didn't visit Lourdes for religious reasons but since Toulouse was not that far away, I thought it would be interesting to visit the city that receive huge amount of pilgrims each year. Even the Pope comes here...
The town is dominated by a small hill that overlooks the town, severed by two rivers gushing with icy-cold water. On top of this hill sits the Chateau Fort that now functions as a Pyreneen Museum. It is one of the oldest structure in town, dating back to Roman times. For a French tourist town, things are unusually cheap here, especially the trinklets but then again, they are mostly conceived for religious purposes. Everything on sale has one image or another that is connected to Catholicism or the Mother Mary. Even blessed water can be bought in bottles from the souvenir shops (water from the Grotto reputated to have miraculous effects). even public toilets are unusually numbrous here, a real rarity in France as far as tourist sites are concerned.
I did not make the bee-line to the Grotto by the river but managed to visit the Basilica, the underground congregation, I'm not so sure if I didn't confuse it with the Grotto...well, it was supposed to be the single largest congregation hall in the world, that's all that I could retain. However, the visit to the museum was quite an event as the impressive height of the escalator leading to the chateau was something to remember. Inside, there were displays of the ancient way of life here in the Pyreneen culture as well as scaled-down models of chateaux in the region of Midi-Pyrenees.
The general ambiance of this town is remarkably calm despite the amount of tourists. As our visit did not coincide with any religious festivities, I suppose the traffic was not there...
Bette Midler sang "Song of Bernadette" in which she recounted the story of a girl who once saw the Queen of Heaven...I always wondered what she meant by all this until I came across the story of Saint Bernadette in the Holiest Town in France - Lourdes.
It is the site of the miracle in which The Holy Mary appeared to the then little Bernadette and the rest is subject of theological studies.
Well, I didn't visit Lourdes for religious reasons but since Toulouse was not that far away, I thought it would be interesting to visit the city that receive huge amount of pilgrims each year. Even the Pope comes here...
The town is dominated by a small hill that overlooks the town, severed by two rivers gushing with icy-cold water. On top of this hill sits the Chateau Fort that now functions as a Pyreneen Museum. It is one of the oldest structure in town, dating back to Roman times. For a French tourist town, things are unusually cheap here, especially the trinklets but then again, they are mostly conceived for religious purposes. Everything on sale has one image or another that is connected to Catholicism or the Mother Mary. Even blessed water can be bought in bottles from the souvenir shops (water from the Grotto reputated to have miraculous effects). even public toilets are unusually numbrous here, a real rarity in France as far as tourist sites are concerned.
I did not make the bee-line to the Grotto by the river but managed to visit the Basilica, the underground congregation, I'm not so sure if I didn't confuse it with the Grotto...well, it was supposed to be the single largest congregation hall in the world, that's all that I could retain. However, the visit to the museum was quite an event as the impressive height of the escalator leading to the chateau was something to remember. Inside, there were displays of the ancient way of life here in the Pyreneen culture as well as scaled-down models of chateaux in the region of Midi-Pyrenees.
The general ambiance of this town is remarkably calm despite the amount of tourists. As our visit did not coincide with any religious festivities, I suppose the traffic was not there...
Part of the town view from the route to the underground church...
This impressive basilica is in fact really a tw0-in-one as the front portion is actually the Basilique de Notre-Dame de Rosarie (Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary) and the rear structure (connected) is actually the Basilique de Notre Dame de la Conception Immaculee (Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception).
a closer view from the entrance
Outside, on the square of the basilica
The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary - beautiful adornement with Byzantine-inspired decors
The coupole, or the domed ceiling of the basilica. Observe the rich decor inspired by Byzantine esthetics
View from the roof of the basilica
The crown of Heaven, decorating the roof-top of the basilica
Can't resist a good photo-op
A beautiful building on the hill on the other side of the river from the basilica
view of the Chateau Fort
View from the top of the Chateau Fort
The river that runs through the town...
a display inside the museum
Another view of the town. Notice the fanciful architecture
The humonguos underground congregation hall. Pilgrims on wheelchairs are aplenty in this town...even inside this cave.
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