History of Notre Dame de la Garde in France
Above Marseille, the "Good Mother" Guards the City
Mar 16, 2009 Christina Rebuffet-Broadus
From her perch steepling 162 meters towards heaven, Notre Dame de la Garde watches over the people of Marseille. Like many French, the Marseillais stopped going to Sunday mass a long time ago, but this doesn't stop them from cherishing this emblematic monument.
The History of the Garde Hill and the French Revolution
The basilica's privileged site, atop a hill looking down on the port and surrounding landscapes, has been used as a place of worship since Antiquity. As early as 903, the people of Marseille know the hill as la colline de la Garde. In 1214, a monk of the nearby Saint Victor monastery ordered the construction of the first oratory dedicated to the Virgin Mary. For the next 300 years, devoted worshipers would make the pilgrimage in order to receive the blessing and protection of the hill's patron guardian. The sea being a particularly perilous environment, sailors and seafarers fervently climbed the hill either to thank the Good Mother for a safe return or to pray for one.
As anti clericalism ravaged revolutionary France, the obstinacy of one fisherman, Joseph-Elie Escaramagne saved the original chapel from utter destruction in the name of secular society. How did he do it? By renting the Notre Dame chapel from the French government. As the state had taken possession of all religious property, it could do as it pleased. With an annual rent, the hilltop chapel brought in 600 francs per year and the French government would make more by renting it than by destroying it. This allowed the chapel to survive and ensured that la colline de la Garde would continue to draw the faithful.
In 1838, Eugène de Mazenod became bishop of Marseille. His masses, pronounced in the local provençal dialect, attracted the people of Marseille and swelled the ranks of the parish. So much so that during his 33 year direction, he created 21 new parishes and ordered construction of 34 new churches. Two of the most important projects were the Cathedral of the Major and the Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde.
Espérandieu's Construction of the Romano-Byzantine Basilica
In 1852, Léon Vaudoyer, prolific Marseille architect presented a project for a "Romano Byzantine" style edifice. A project to which he claimed to be totally foreign, both in its conception and in its execution. His student, the young, unknown, Protestant Jacques-Henri Espérandieu laid out the project, using his tutor's name. Both knew that Espérandieu all the chances against him, but not against his plans.
This project, to build a striped charcoal and cream striped church with Byzantine domes and dominating tower, shocked the Catholic community of Marseille who oddly compared the church to a steam engine. Even today, the visuals of this unique edifice almost shock visitors who have never seen such architecture. Another good example of this strange style, the Cathedral of the Major, dwarfs everything around it on the port of Marseille platforms.
The construction of the basilica hardly was as chaotic as the style appeared at the time. Builders began the controversial project in 1853, but financial worries halted progress from 1859 to 1861. The unprotected foundations began to crumble. Meanwhile, Bishop de Mazenod, who had commissioned the project, passed away. Only the generosity of Napoleon III and the people of Marseille, encouraged by the new bishop, saved the construction of what today has become the symbol of Marseille and of the marseillais themselves.
After eight years of restoration, Notre Dame de la Garde is now ready to receive her annual 1.5 million visitors.
La Bonne Mere looks over the old port
|
Looking up the vertiginous bell tower
|
What do you think about this article?
More in Travel
Latest Articles