MESTO ZA HRADBAMI - identita verzus imidž
Medzinárodná konferencia historických miest Európy
LANGRES , France
9000 inhabitants
(The population of the town continues to lose inhabitants for a few years.)
The name of the city in the past was ANDEMATUNUM (Gallo-roman period)
At the gateway to Champagne and Burgundy, with its high ramparts, its imposing towers, and numerous church towers, Langres soars above the plateau like the proud fortress it is.
History has spared the 3.5 km long ramparts that encircle the town. Stroll along them, and enjoy the magnificent views: to the east, the land rises gradually from the Lac de la Liez and the Marne valley towards the Vosges. And if you’re lucky, on a clear day you can sometimes see as far as the Bernese Alps. To the west, beyond the lush Bonnelle valley, is the Langres plateau with its hedges and wooded hillsides.
Amble through the maze of small streets and covered passageways, and you cannot fail to learn more about the history of this fascinating town. A history that encompasses the Gallo-Roman period - ancient monuments, the mosaic of Bacchus and graceful sculptures. A history that encompasses the Middle Ages – the plots of land and the impressive Cluniac cathedral. And finally, the Renaissance – as witnessed by the elegant mansions, which are today occupied in grand style by rich local families. Lessons from Antiquity have been particularly well embraced in the local classical architecture.
The Counter Reformation saw a number of religious orders settling in Langres. Many of the monumental buildings they left behind today house public institutions.
The last witness to the development of military know-how that helped reinforce this rocky outcrop, which had probably been fortified since the 3rd century, is the austere 19th century citadel. But this is more than a vestige of days gone by - today the citadel hosts numerous cultural events.
Langres really is an art and history book come to life. Over the centuries the town has always managed to adapt to the vagaries of time, yet has continued to remain true to itself. And this is probably why everyone feels at home here!
3 key points that provide Langres with its characteristic atmosphere :
- Medieval architecture and organization of the streets.
- The town is circled with 8 km of fortifications from the Antiquity to the 19th century
- It presents about 50 monuments listed as “Monuments Historiques”
Note: Since the 14th century, the old town conserves its size inside of the ramparts. In the 19th century the municipality destruct 300 m of the fortifications in the south. The monuments are listed from 1840 to today
The tourism and the architectural heritage are a development axis of the town
Icon of Langres :
Town Hall gate :
Langres in 1610 :
The Navarre and Orval towers
The coat of arms of the town:
3-5 advantages of Langres: the soft cultural potentials or values:
- Capital of the diocese
- A lot of associations
- sub prefecture of the Haute-Marne
Note: During medieval period : rich and vast diocese, Frontier of the kingdom, Self defense of the town by the inhabitants
3-5 advantages of Langres : the hard cultural potentials or values
- More than 8 km of fortifications conserved
- Monuments from the gallo-roman period to the present days
- Cathedral, Navarre and Orval towers
- 4 artificial lakes around the town
- Importance of nature and walks
- The small size of the town encourage human relationship
- The inhabitants respect the tourists
- The town is in the center of a highway network
Was it always so?
- The King of France financed a part of the ramparts construction and conservation until the 18th century.
- In the 18th century, some walks were developed in the outside of the town
- In the 19th century the army converted Langres in a supplying fortress and restore the ramparts. A citadel is built on the south of the old city.
- In this period, the inhabitants were in a big proportion soldiers and religious
Will it always be so?
- Now the ramparts and some monuments in the old city are listed as “Monuments Historiques” and the restoration is partially financed by the State, the Champagne-Ardenne Region, The Haute-Marne Department and the town. It will probably continue.
- Since a few years the town bought a citadel build in the 19th century which must be restored and reused in another function.
3-5 disadvantages of Langres, when talking about soft potentials or values
- Most of the inhabitants think that they are living in a museum and have difficulty to respect there heritage and the construction rules.
- The shops are in the old city and the new areas are near the supermarkets. So the inhabitants have to move if they want to go shopping.
- The reputation of being the town of France with the coldest temperature.
Was it always so?
- In the middle of the 20th century, some new buildings were built in the old city, sometimes by destructing an old monument.
- The town growth in the south direction, the industrial park is developed in this part.
Will it always be so?
The constructions begin to grow in the valleys
3-5 disadvantages of Langres, when talking about the hard potentials or values
- The cost of the conservation of the architectural heritage is a weight for the town’s budget, in spite of the public subsidies.
- The municipality wants to transform the main shopping street of the old city in a pedestrian street, but the traders think that customers will come no longer in their shop.
- The problem of the parking in the old city is important.
Was it always so?
- During the 18th century, fortifications were no more restored.
Will it always be so?
- The shopping street will be pedestrian during the tourist season
- The car parks are outside of the town with an elevator system linking the walkway, but people don’t use it enough.
Has your local government ever developed strategies to increase the city’s identity:
1. The local government signed an agreement with the Culture Department in 1985, making of Langres a “city of Art and History”. Since this time, there is an organizer in charge of enhancing the value of the architectural heritage. Some visits are organized for the tourists, the inhabitants and the recently installed inhabitants. There are also some exhibitions, some tourist information panels about the history of the monuments, some publications, visits and workshops for young people, etc…
Does / did it work?
Since 20 years there is a new look from the inhabitants on their architectural heritage
Way to improve?
It allows developing some festivals and events in order to enhance the value of the architectural heritage.
2. Near 12% of the local government’s budget for the investment is dedicated to the restoration of the fortifications. Some works are developed to give a better image of the architectural heritage (lights, roads, cleaning, etc…)
Does / did it work?
A lot of inhabitants understand the reasons of these expenses.
Way to improve?
Have a better communication on the works and restorations in direction of the inhabitants.
Has your local government ever developed strategies to increase Europe’s identity:
1. The twinning of the city with European towns : Ellwangen (Deutschland), Abbiategrasso (Italia), Beaconsfield (England)
Does / did it work?
It concerns a few persons and this cities are not fortified towns, but Ellwangen has a common history with Langres.
Way to improve?
Develop the participation of Langres in project with other fortified cities of Europe and register to the Walled Towns Friendship Circle.
Has your local government ever developed strategies to increase the city’s image:
Some tourist tools allow making a discovery of the city by citizens of Europe :
a. An audio guide in 5 languages allows to discover the architectural heritage of the city (French, English, Dutch, German and Italian)
b. A little tourist train, with commentaries in these same 5 languages, makes a tour around the 3,5 km of fortifications of the old center.
c. Some information panels with a translation in English allow visiting the city.
Does / did it work?
The tourist frequentation is in progression.
Way to improve?
A new tool will be proposed to the tourists in English. The Navi’Langres is a multimedia guide with comments on the monuments and pictures. It is available in French and will be translated into English.
2. The website of the Tourist Office is translated in English and allows making a virtual visit of the town in English (www.tourisme-langres.com).
Does / did it work?
The connections on the website are in progression.
Way to improve?
The town will be noted on some international websites about fortifications (e.g. : www.fortimedia.com)
3. Since the last year, the city participates to the seminaries organized by the WTFC.
Does / did it work?
The participants discovered Langres, but it’s not sufficient
Way to improve?
The town has a project of inscription to the Circle
EXAMPLE STUDY
Langres, France
THE LIGHTING PLAN
Installation of a network of lights in order to give the best image of the fortifications and monuments of the city during the night. It enhances the value of the main monuments of the city like the cathedral, the Navarre and Orval towers, the town hall gate, etc…
Some of the lighted monuments and their situation in the town.
Period or time span
Start date:
Project: before 2001
Works: 2004
End date:
Works: 2006
Place/ location of the project
The project concerns the whole old centre. The lights are installed in and out of the monuments to underline some details of the architecture and give a better global vision of the monuments.
The realisation of the lighting plan was made in 2 times :
_ In 2004, the monuments concerned were the Town hall gate and the Gallo-roman arch.
_ In 2006, the town hall, the cathedral, the college, the statue of Diderot, the Saint-Martin church, the Renaissance house, the windmills gate, the Du Breuil Mansion, the Hospital chapel, and the whole fortifications.
It represents 800 lighting points and an electricity consumption of 100 GWh for a year with 2000 hours of lighting.
The communication about this project was made with panels explaining the technical elements:
Field of the project
hard cultural values : (physical surroundings)
□ Urban planning: making a plan / structure plan / vision for a (part of the) city
□ Urban design: making a design for a (part of the) city
□ Architectural design
□ Art
soft cultural values : (people and activities)
□ History
□ Cultural heritage
□ Tourism
This project allowed to enhance the value of the architectural heritage and gives a new vision of this heritage to the inhabitants. It is also a good appeal for the tourists which are passing next to the town. Finally it underlines the importance of the town’s fortifications.
Scale of the project
□ local
□ whole city,
□ quarter,
□ street,
□ square,
□ building,
Every monument is attached to its environment and the lighting allows enhancing the value of the spaces which are near. It probably gives a feeling of pride to the inhabitants of the quarter.
Type of project
□ Activity, like festival
□ design
□ decision making, strategy, planning, vision
The inauguration of the lighting plan on the 2nd of June took place in a global event organized on the week-end. This inauguration was the object of a festival with fireworks, sounds and music. This spectacle was visible from the national road which was transformed into a pedestrian boulevard. It gathered near 5000 persons.
The lighting of the monuments allowed developing the street theatre and the nocturnal visits.
Main objective(s) / goals of the project
The objectives of the project were :
- To increase the tourist attraction of the town by allowing the night discovery of the architectural heritage of the city.
- To urge the persons passing next to the town to enter in the city and discover the lighting of the monuments.
- To give the inhabitants a new vision of their architectural heritage.
Was this project a part of some larger city strategy regarding identity or image?
This project is a part of the touristy policy of the city; it contributes to invite the tourists in the town by its role of appeal. It is also an important cultural project which allows (re)discovering the fortifications and the main monuments of the city.
The ramparts are the first monuments in contact of the persons who are arriving in Langres. During the day there is no problem of visibility but during the night there was a lack of legibility. The lighting plan was necessary to improve the image of the city.
Milestones or/and (expected) results, design, or/and decision of the project
The project has been brought up since the end of the years 1990.
During this period, a study on the actions to develop for tourism shows three reflection axis:
- The restoration of the visible ramparts
- The enhancing of the value of these fortifications by the nocturnal lighting
- The accommodations for tourism
Concerning the lighting plan, a light conceptor (Sylvie SIEG) gave an idea of luminous route, from the monuments in direction of the stores.
Then the local government changes because of the elections, and the new one should acquaint itself with this lighting plan. Quickly the project was redirected and concerned only the lighting of “Monuments Historiques”. The global idea was to light the holes in the ramparts and the windows, more than the façades.
The society LIGHTEC has been chosen for the realization of the forecast technical part. The market was attributed to three enterprises: CITEOS, SCEE and Santerne. It allows accelerating the realization of the works. The installation was made in two times (2004-2005, and 2005-2006).
Describe briefly individual activities / partial steps undertaken for obtaining the goals of the project:
The project is really recent so it’s difficult to have an objective viewpoint on it.
The official opening was a real success and a lot of people came to see the lighting of ramparts. It allowed informing people about this project by showing them the result. There was a time before the lighting which was dedicated to the explanations by the representative persons of the different political partners: the mayor (city), the president of the departmental council, the president of the regional council and the prefect (State).
In the years coming soon, this lighting plan will be more visible with the using of tourist supports (tourist guides, posters, postcards, etc…)
Were different people and parties involved ? (which and what their role were/ are in the project):
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People and parties
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Roles (tasks)
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Local government
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Decision of the project / Partial financing
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Advisors / experts
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LIGHTEC : conception and realization / CITEOS : installation and adjustment
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Architects
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Architect from the Buildings of France and senior architect from the Monuments Historiques were consulted in order to respect the architectural heritage.
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Other…:
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The organizations which subsidized the project are :
_ Europe (FEDER funds) : 15,15%
_ State : 16,6%
_ Champagne-Ardenne Region : 19,08%
_ Haute-Marne Department : 19,08%
_ Departmental Union of Electrification of Haute-Marne : 9,39%
_ Town of Langres : 20,7%
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Characterize (describe) the institutional / multidiscipline collaboration on this project :
The local government took the initiative of the project and supports the financing while waiting the payment of subsidies. The project was agreed by all members of the municipality and of the opposition.
The idea, conception and realization were made by private enterprises. It allowed having a quick installation and a professional ability on ideas of creation and material for lighting.
Evaluation in general
The project is achieved since a short time so the evaluation is difficult to realize. The first indicators are good: the inauguration had a good opinion from the public, and the comments about the lighting are excellent. However, the detachment about this project is not enough for having a global vision of its perception by the public (inhabitants and visitors).
Future development
- This project can easily be developed with other monuments of the city like the military citadel, the Blanchefontaine alley or other spots.
- A better using of the energy will be studied for the electric consumption of this lighting plan.
- The cooperation with enterprises was really good and encourage working again together.
Contact :
Sylvain Riandet
Assistant of director
Service Patrimoine
Maison du Pays de Langres
Square Olivier-Lahalle
52200 Langres (France)
Tel. 03 25 87 60 62
Fax 03 25 88 99 07
