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Gap (05)
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GAP
: Gentle Capitale
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LE
PARC NATIONAL DES ECRINS
(The National Park of
the Environment) The Parc National des Ecrins, created
in 1973, is the largest in France (270,000 hectares).
It stands at between 800 and 4,102 metres (Barre des
Ecrins), which has given it the name of "Parc Européen
de la Haute Montagne" (European Park of the High Mountains).
Since 1992, the management
of the Park has been in the Château de Charance and
the reception area gives visitors the chance to acquire
various publications (guides, posters, cassettesŠ)
on the flore, faune and on the various activities
one can undertake in the Park.
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THE CATHEDRAL
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It is dedicated to Our Lady, and was
classed a historical monument in 1906.
It was built from 1867 to 1904 using plans drawn up
by the architect Ch. Laisné, who managed to blend
the Roman-Provençal and Gothic styles of the previous
buildings, and it was consecrated and inaugurated
in 1895.
The alternation of different-coloured stones is due
to the use of different local materials, such as the
pink marble of Chorges. The bell-tower porch is 70
metres high and has 3 bells: the Bourbon, Caroline-Napoléon
and Pierrette. One should see, inside, the Saint-Arnoux
altar, the angels sculptured in wood dating back to
1720, the organ, the stained-glass windows and the
mosaics of the central aisle. Some of the houses which
are behind the cathedral, Place aux Herbes and Place
Gavotte, are the oldest in the town centre.
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CHURCH OF CORDELIERS |
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The first convent the Cordeliers
lived in (a name given to the Franciscan order before
the Revolution, because of the thin cord they wore
around their waists) was built outside the town walls
around 1230. It was partly destroyed during the wars
of religion. The church, rebuilt in 1725, became the
parish church of Saint André. In 1836, the Bishop
of Gap bought the convent back after it had been sold
in the Revolution, to house the sisters of Saint-Coeur
de Marie (Sacred Heart of Mary). They opened a boarding
house for girls and had the Cours Ladoucette Chapel,
which has a wonderful little wooden bell, built for
their use.
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| THE
DEPARTEMENTAL MUSEUM |
The first "Departmental Archaeological Museum" was
created in 1804 by Baron Ladoucette, in the buildings
of the former seminary, Rue de Provence, which is now
called Rue Colonel Roux. It was much later, in 1901,
that the plan to build it where it now stands was launched,
thanks to the programme of a national lottery. It was
inaugurated in September 1910 during the festival of
Saint-Arnoux. We owe its attractive setting to the major
renovations undertaken between 1986 and 1988. The permanent
displays give us an understanding of regional archaeology,
traditions and local history through viewing the collections
of old arms, Queyras furniture and a revealing model
of the fortified city of Gap in the XVIth century. (p.t.o.).
Several areas devoted to natural history, painting,
sculpture and to numismatics, and a fine collection
of ceramics from various sources makes up the rest of
this exhibition of which the mausoleum of Lesdiguières,
the last connétable de France (supreme commander of
the French armies), is the showpiece. Some temporary
exhibitions on varied themes are also set up at intervals
in the halls of the museum. Open
daily from 1 July to 15 September from 10 a.m. to 12
noon and from 2.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. Open daily except
for Tuesdays from 16 September to 30 June, from 2 pm.
to 5 p.m |
| LE
PARC DE LA PEPINIERE |
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(The Plant Nursery Park)
In 1818, the Conseil Général (Departmental Council)
acquired a plot on the banks of the Luye to start
a nursery. In 1844, the plot was made over to the
city of Gap. Over the years, the nursery has been
turned into a public park, where one can enjoy seeing
various kinds of plants put in during the last century.
In 1911, the music pavilion was inaugurated. The proximity
of this shady park, so close to the town centre, means
that it is a popular place, full of life and appreciated
by all &endash; only a stone's throw from the
area for playing boules and the skating rink.
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| CHARANCE
ESTATE |
This
estate, the property of the viscounts of Gap in the
Xth century, and bought by the bishops in 1309, remained
a part of the ecclesiastical heritage until 1790. The
fortified castle, which had been there from the Middle
Ages, was devastated by the Duke of Savoy, then replaced
by a mansion in the XVIIIth century. It became state
property but was sold by auction during the Revolution.
It had a series of owners, then the 220-hectare estate
was purchased by the City of Gap in 1973, thus becoming
part of the heritage of the inhabitants of Gap. On 8
September 1987 it was registered in the supplementary
inventory of Historic Monuments. By tradition, the people
of Gap go to dance the rigodon every year on St Louis
Day (25 August), on the banks of the Charance lake at
the place called "Le pré de la danse" (The Dance Meadow).
The Gap-Charance Conservatoire Botanique, which has
been in existence since 1992 in the Château's renovated
former stables, has as its vocation:
- The conservation and management
of the plant heritage in nature.
- The cultivation and dissemination of plants in danger
of becoming extinct.
- The conservation and development of the collections
of cultivated plants and of their wild "parents": 1,000
varieties of old roses, dog roses, 800 kinds of pear
trees, 550 kinds of apple trees, iris, wild tulips.
An "animation" service (TEL. 04 92 51 21 79) enables
the public to see the collections of rare plants, the
rose garden and the plantations of fruit trees..
Open in May and October every Saturday and Sunday at
3 p.m; June and September daily at 3 p.m; July and August
daily at 3 and 5 p.m. |
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