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Avignon - Arles - Marseille

Le Pont d'Avignon/The bridge of Avignon

Pont d'Avignon/Den hellige Bénézets/Benedikts bro. Bénézet (ca. 1163-1184) var en hyrdedreng, der i 1177 under en solformørkelse fik en åbenbaring, hvor Guds stemme tre gange bad ham opføre en stenbro over Rhônefloden ved Avignon. 15 år gammel kom Bénézet til Avignon for at bygge den bro, som det var Guds vilje han skulle opføre. Byens indbyggere lo af drengen og hans store projekt indtil han på ryggen løftede en sten så tung at 30 stærke mænd ikke kunne flytte den, det var et mirakel og med nedlæggelsen af den tunge sten, broens grundsten, skete der mirakler - blinde kunne se, døve kunne høre, krøblinge kunne gå, og miraklerne betød at velhavere støttede broens opførelse og broen blev valfartssted.
Broen, der i dag når til midten af Rhônefloden, stod færdig i 1185, og blev i århundrede herefter udsat for oversvømmelser og genopført. Ved oversvømmelsen i 1669 skyllede store dele af broen væk, og den blev ikke som tidligere genopført.
Bénézet blev gravsat på selve broen i et lille kapel indviet til Sankt Nikolaus/Nikolaj (ca. 280-343), skytshelgen for bl.a. søfolk, børn og fattige - den gavmilde Nikolaus, biskop i Myra i Tyrkiet, har givet inspiration til julemanden.
Ved 1669-oversvømmelsen blev kapellet ødelagt og Bénézets grav, ved hvilken der skete undere, overførtes til domkirken i Avignon og i 1674 til kirken Sankt Didier/Desiderius i Avignon - under Den Franske Revolution (1789-99) blev graven ødelagt, få relikvier er bevaret. Bénézet blev i 1212 saligkåret og i 1233 helgenkåret. Hans festdag er 14. april.

Pont d'Avignon/Saint Bénézet Bridge. Bénézet (c. 1163-1184) was a young shepherd who in 1177, during a solar eclipse, had a revelation. God's voice told him to build a stone bridge across the Rhône River. At the age of 15 Bénézet came to Avignon to build the bridge. The inhabitants laughed at the boy and his great project until he on his back lifted a stone/the foundation stone so heavy that 30 strong men could not move it. It was a miracle, and miracles happened - blind people could see, deaf people could hear, cripples could walk, and the miracles led to donations from wealthy people and the bridge became a place of pilgrimage.
The bridge, which today reaches to the centre of the Rhône River, was completed in 1185, and was flooded several times and rebuilt. A large part of the bridge was swept away by a flood in 1669 and it was not rebuilt.

Bénézet was buried on the bridge in a small chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas (c. 280-343), patron saint of sailors, children and the poor - the generous Nicholas, bishop of Myra, Turkey, is today known as Santa Claus/Father Christmas.
In the 1669 flood the chapel was destroyed and Bénézet's tomb, at which wonders occurred, was transferred to Avignon Cathedral and in 1674 to the church of Saint Didier in Avignon. During the French Revolution (1789-99) the tomb was destroyed, few relics have been preserved. Bénézet was beatified in 1212 and canonized in 1233. His feast day is April 14.

Børnesangen "Sur le Pont d'Avignon" handler om at danse på broen, men det er ikke sandsynligt, at der blev danset på broen, hvis bredde er 2,5 meter og ikke bred nok til runddans, og endvidere var broen kendt for at være meget glat og årsag til ulykker hvor mennesker, heste og vogne gled ned i floden. Også den stærke mistralvind, som siges at kunne blæse halen af et æsel og hornene af en tyr, kunne blæse folk ned fra broen. Det er sandsynligt, at der blev danset under broen, og dvs. på en ø, som broen i middelalderen gik over, og hvor der var restauranter og festpladser.
Om at danse på broen stammer formentlig fra en opéra-comique (komisk syngespil) fra 1790 af Desforges (Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Choudard) "Le Sourd ou l'Auberge Pleine" (De døve eller Alt optaget på kroen), hvor handlingen udspiller sig i Avignon.
I 1843 udkom sangen i en version, som svarer til den nuværende.

The children's song "Sur le Pont d'Avignon" is about dancing on the bridge. It is not very likely that there has been dancing on the bridge, it is not wide (2,5 metres) enough for round dance, it was very slippery and had caused accidents where people and horse-drawn vehicles slipped into the river and the strong mistral wind, which is said to blow the tail of a donkey and the horns off a bull, can blow dancing people down from the bridge. It is likely that the dancing took place under the bridge - in the Middle Ages the bridge crossed an island with restaurants and dancing areas.
Dancing on the bridge of Avignon probably originates from an opéra-comique from 1790 by Desforges (Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Choudard) "Le Sourd ou l'Auberge Pleine" (The Deaf or the full hostel).
In 1843 a version of the song, similar to the current, was released.

Pavepaladset/Palace of the Popes, Avignon

Pavepaladset, hovedsæde for den romersk katolske kirke fra 1309-1377. Byggeriet af paladset blev påbegyndt i 1335 - det tog ca. 20 år at fuldføre komplekset under ledelse af paverne Benedikt 12. og Clemens 6.
Vagttårnene og de tykke mure indikerer at paladset, verdens største i gotisk stil, også var en fæstning.
I 1309 flyttede Pave Clemens 5. pavesædet fra Rom til Avignon fordi Rom var blevet for farlig på grund af konstante fraktionskampe og vold mellem rivaliserende romerske aristokrater og for at behage den franske konge Filip 4.
I alt syv paver, alle franskmænd, boede i eksil i pavepaladet i Avignon.

Pavesædet blev flyttet tilbage til Rom i 1377 på initiativ af pave Gregor 11., der døde 1378, og ved det følgende pavevalg placerede en fraktion af kardinaler en modpave i Avignon (Clemens 7.) - alle Avignonpaver efter 1378 betragtes som modpaver/antipaver og anerkendes ikke som officielle paver. Uenigheden blandt kardinalerne førte til Det Store Skisma (1378-1417).

Begrundelsen for at pavesædet skulle være i Rom står at læse i "Peters bekendelse" (Matthæusevangeliet 16,18) hvor Jesus siger til Simon Peter: "Og jeg siger dig, at du er Peter, og på den klippe vil jeg bygge min kirke". Apostlenfyrsten Peter, biskop i Rom og den første pave, led martyrdøden under Neros kristenforfølgelser i år 64 - han døde for vore synder, som Kristus gjorde før ham og er begravet i Peterskirken (se katolicisme).

Pavepaladset var i Vatikanets besiddelse til 1791. Under Den Franske Revolution (1789-99) udviste folket de gejstlige repræsentanter. Siden blev paladset anvendt til militærkaserne og fængsel og blev i 1906 nationalt museum.
I 1995 blev Avignons historiske bydel optaget på UNESCOs Verdensarvsliste.

Palace of the Popes, seat of the Roman Catholic papacy during the period 1309-1377, started to be built in 1335 and it took a little less than 20 years to complete, largely under the direction of the Popes Benedict XII and Clement VI.
The watchtowers and thick walls indicate that the palace, the world's largest in the Gothic style, also was a fortress.
In 1309 Pope Clement V moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon because factionalism and violence between rival Roman aristocrats had become too dangerous and to please the French king Philip IV.
In total seven popes, all French, lived in exile in the Palace of Avignon.
In 1377 Pope Gregory XI returned the papacy to Rome, he died in 1378, and at the following papal election a faction of cardinals set up an antipope in Avignon (Clement VII) - all Avignon popes after 1378 are considered to be antipopes. Disagreement among the cardinals led to The Great Schism (1378-1417).
Rome should be the seat of the papacy: Jesus said to Simon Peter "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" (The Confession of Peter, Matthew 16,18) - Saint Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, bishop of Rome and the first Pope was martyred during Nero's Persecution of Christians in 64 AD - he died for our sins as Jesus did before him, and he is buried in St Peter's Basilica.
Papal legates continued to govern the Palace and Avignon until 1791. During the French Revolution (1789-99) the clerical representatives were expelled by the people. From 1822-1906 the palace was used as a barracks and prison, and from 1906 national museum. In 1995 the centre of Avignon was designated a UNESCO World Heritage.

Fondation Vincent van Gogh, Arles

1	Fondation Vincent van Gogh.
2	Van Gogh, 1889, "Portræt af en enøjet mand"/Van Gogh, 1889, "Portrait of a One-Eyed Man".
3	Edvard Munch, 1913, "Gade i Kragerø"/Edvard Munch, 1913, "Street in Kragerø".
4	Max Beckmann, 1925, "Italiensk fantasi"/Max Beckmann, 1925, "Italian Fantasy".

1	Max Beckmann, 1944, "Lille Café, svingdør"/Max Beckmann, 1944, "Small Café, Revolving Door".
2	Max Beckmann, 1946, "Mor med spillende barn"/Max Beckmann, 1946, "Mother with Playing Child".
3	Max Beckmann.
4	Alice Bailly, 1914, "Tetid"/Alice Bailly, 1914, "Tea Time".
5	Hermann Scherer.

Kirken Sankt Trofimus/Church of Saint Trophime, Arles

Kirken Sankt Trofimus, romansk, opført i perioden 1100-1400. I 1400-tallet blev der til det romanske skib tilføjet et gotisk kor.
Den hellige Trofimus (200-tallet) var den første biskop af Arles, hans festdag er 29. december.

Church of Saint Trophime, Romanesque, built between 1100-1400. In the 1400s a Gothic choir was added to the Romanesque nave. The Holy Trophimus (3rd century) was the first bishop of Arles, his feast day is 29 December.

Les Arènes d'Arles, 90 e.Kr./The Arles Amphitheatre, 90 AD

Langloisbroen ved Arles, se van Gogh/Langlois Bridge at Arles, see van Gogh.

Marseille

Le Corbusier, 1947-52, Kollektivhus, beboelsesejendom/Le Corbusier, 1947-52, Unité d’Habitation, an apartment house.

Villa Méditerranée, Middelhavsvillaen, tegnet af den italienske arkitekt Stefano Boeri, genåbnede i 2022 som museum og er tilegnet Cosquerhulen nær Marseille indeholdende forhistoriske hulemalerier og fundet i 1985 af den professionelle dykker Henri Cosquer.

The Mediterranean Villa, designed by the Italian architect Stefano Boeri, reopened in 2022 as museum dedicated to the Cosquer Cave near Marseille containing prehistoric paintings and discovered in 1985 by the professional diver Henri Cosquer.