Amiens Things to Do

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Saint Firmin was the first bishop of Amiens in the 3rd century. (Amiens was at that time a Roman town called Samarobriva.) The reliefs tells about his life and doings, until he got caught by the roman soldiers and is beheaded.
The reliefs were sculptured between 1490 and 1530.

Juls Verne had married a woman from Amiens in 1857 and moved to the town in 1871, where he also died in March 1905. The house where they lived was known as "the house with the tower" because of the eyes-cathing tower which can still be seen.

The link to the website, which I have posted belove, stems from 2007 so the entrance fee is wrong. Today (at least in December 2009) it costs 7 Euros for adults to get in. I wasn't tempted by that price, so I just left without going in, therefore no pictures and not much information, alas.

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In 1406 was one of the first belfries in France built by wood. It was destroyed several times by fire, so in 1742 was this edifice built which we now can see. A belfry was the symbol of a free city.
It is open to visitors Sundays at 10.30 in the morning.

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Along the canal will you find the oldest houses in Amiens. They are called "maisons à pignon" in French, gabled houses in English. In the 17th century, the ground floor housed merchant's stands or workshops.

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We only walked through a part of Amiens and missed several town sites. Almost immediately after leaving the Cathedral, in the Pl. Dusevel we encountered “Marie sans chemise”, a figure of “Spring” once a part of a monumental clock by A. Roze in the Pl. Gambetta, whick was destroyed by a bomb in WW II . She seems to have survived quite well! Further on we passed the Hotel Berny, of 1634 in Louis XIII style, named for its last owner who was a collector of local art objects (furniture, pictures,etc.). He donated the collections and the building as an Art-Historical Museum. We did not enter. Although half of Amiens was destoyed in WW II many narrow streets and old buildings survive or have been restored as businesses or official institutions.

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There are more sculptural treasure at Amiens Cathedral. Near the west end of the nave are two 13C bronze gisants of the founding bishops. The one we picture (we do not have the other Geoffrey d’EU) is Evrard de Fouilloy; note that he is supported by crouching lions peering out from his sides. In the transepts are carved stones of the early 16C like those on the choir walls. One depicts the scenes of Jesus expelling the money changers from the Temple and the other the conversion of a notorious magician.

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In preparation for the immense set of choir stalls, the area was enclosed and its outer sides decorated by two sets of polychromed stone carvings (similar to the enclosure at Notre Dame de Paris of the 1300’s). The ones on the south side were from 1488 and tell the St. Firmin story in several canopy-topped sets of four scenes. A similar treatment on the north side is about the life of John the Baptist.

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This is the name of the regional art museum. It had itsbeginnings as an Anitquarian Society which used ingenious methods (at that time) for raising money (eg, a lottery, etc) and successfully built this Second Empire palace (opened in 1870). For it they commissioned Puvis de Chavannes to do the murals at the entrance and up the staircase. The original society also collected archeological artefacts that fill he ground floor (mostly Gallo-Roman). There are 16 surviving church paintings from early Amiens (15-17C) of a primitive charaacter in elaborate original frames (one illustrated). The bulk of the paintings are of the region: French, Flemish and Dutch of the 17 & 18 C.(I lost my notes but think the one we show is by Chardin), featuring Fragonard and others. There many 19 & 20 C works by names that you will recognize. It is relaxing to spend an hour or two here.