In 2005, there was a date celebrated by the literary and reading community not only in France but also in many other countries. This year marked the 100th anniversary of the death of the great French writer Jules Gabriel Verne, who is considered a hero by millions of readers in various countries.
For many years, Jules Verne has been one of the most frequently published writers in the world. In terms of the number of translations into the languages of the peoples of the world, Jules Verne’s books ranked third in the late 1960s and early 1970s, surpassed only by the works of Lenin and Shakespeare (UNESCO Bibliographic Guide). His books were published in 148 languages.
Jules Verne was born on February 8, 1828, in the city of Nantes, on one of the many islets in the Loire River. He lived in Paris for several years, engaging in literary work, but found this occupation unprofitable and, planning to get married, became a stockbroker. However, he did not abandon the idea of writing.
In 1856, coming here for a friend’s wedding, Jules Verne fell madly in love with both the bride’s sister and the city itself. Many years later, he recounted in an interview: “I moved from noisy Paris to the calm, quiet Amiens and have lived here for many years, since 1871. You may ask: why?.. This city is especially dear to me because my wife was born here and this is where we once met. And I take pride in the title of municipal councilor of Amiens no less than in my literary fame.”
Jules Verne buys a two-story mansion on Longueville Boulevard in Amiens. This is his first own house.
Jules Verne lived in Amiens for 34 years, until his death in 1905. He often had to visit publishers in Paris, so the route from his house to the station is still called “the Jules Verne route.”
Who in 19th century Amiens started working at five in the morning? Probably only bakers and Jules Verne. No matter what happened, he sat down at his writing desk every day at five o’clock in the morning. And after lunch, he gathered his famous card index, which contained information about various technical inventions and scientific discoveries. This allowed Jules Verne to predict the direction of scientific development, which amazed contemporary readers. And not only contemporaries. For example, a few years ago, an unpublished manuscript was found in Amiens’ attic, describing a machine remarkably similar to a modern fax.
Jules Verne died at 8 a.m. on March 24, 1905, during a diabetic crisis. He is buried not far from his home in Amiens. Two years after Jules Verne’s death, a monument was erected at his grave, depicting the writer-fantast rising from the ashes, with a hand outstretched towards the stars.
Now at 2 Charles Dubois Street, where he lived, there is the International Center of Jules Verne. This house – with a tower and a huge veranda, with large windows, a “fantastic” garden, and a globe on the roof – looks exactly as a fantasist’s residence should look. Even today, it seems incredibly modern, reaching towards the future, as if it were built not in the 19th but in the 21st century.
In the museum of the center, you can see not only lifetime editions of Jules Verne’s books but also a model of the “Nautilus,” maps, and documents that inspired the writer to tell stories about incredible journeys. Here is also presented a little-known sketch: “The Ideal City: Amiens in 2000”: “Ladies and gentlemen, I just had a fantastic dream about a wonderful walk through Amiens!”
There is nothing surprising that Jules Verne, who predicted space flights, the invention of airplanes, helicopters, scuba gear, and television, also predicted ideal walks through Amiens. In 2010, his city is still beautiful.
Here are just a few words about the city that Jules Verne loved so much:
People have inhabited this area since time immemorial. Originally, local Gallic tribes lived here, or rather, one of their “branches” – the Ambiani (after whom the city was named). Then the power of the Roman Empire spread here, and after its fall, the surroundings of Amiens became a battleground between the Franks and the Normans. At the beginning of the second millennium AD, Amiens became part of France. It was then that the majestic landmarks began to be built here, which today make tours to Amiens so popular.
Amiens (fr. Amiens, Picard. Anmien) – the capital of Picardy, located in the bend of the Somme River. Here is the largest and one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in France.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame, built by Robert de Luzarches, is a true masterpiece of Gothic architecture and simultaneously the last in the line of Gothic cathedrals of Île-de-France, erected in the 13th century. The builders based the project on the cathedral in Chartres, slightly modifying the design.
According to the original plan, the towers of the cathedral were supposed to be twice as wide and much taller than the existing ones, but the builders decided to stop, raising the towers only to half their height, which creates a sense of disharmony. In 1366, the construction of the spire over the southern tower began. The northern tower was completed only in the early 15th century.
The facade of the Amiens Cathedral is characterized by a rare fusion of architecture and sculpture. They are adorned with sculptural reliefs depicting scenes from the Old Testament and the lives of townspeople (4500 figures). The sculptural decorations of the three portals of the cathedral are dedicated to three themes: the theme of the Last Judgment, the Virgin Mary, and the locally venerated saint – the first bishop of the city, Firmin, who became the patron of Amiens after his canonization. The statues adorning the central facade were made in 1224-1230. The decoration of the southern facade is the famous sculpture “Golden Madonna,” dating back to the mid-13th century. It was once gilded, which is how it got its name. This magnificent sculpture served as a model for many subsequent buildings in France and Europe.
After the whimsical carved decoration of the facades, one expects to see something extraordinary inside the cathedral. The walls of the temple are almost devoid of decoration – they are only surrounded by a relief garland. The interior space of the temple is almost divided in half by a wide transept. The slender, light colonnade, rising 18 meters high, creates an impression of spaciousness, an open space filled with air and light.
Much of this feeling is achieved due to the large size of the building, but even more so due to the absence of traditional stained glass windows.
The city in the twelfth-thirteenth centuries was no poorer than Paris, so it could afford to rub the Parisians’ noses in it: the Amiens Notre-Dame could almost accommodate two Parisian Notre-Dames in volume. An interesting fact: the huge cathedral could accommodate the entire population of the city of Amiens, which at that time was about 10,000 people!!!
It is here, in the Amiens Cathedral, that the sacred Christian relic – the Head of John the Baptist – is kept, which, it is believed, after the capture of Constantinople in 1204, “by divine providence” ended up in Amiens. In fact, it was precisely for this relic that Notre-Dame d’Amiens was built. It is said that the appearance and presence of the great Christian relic in Amiens, the capital of Picardy, was marked by a series of miracles.
Not long ago, a group of French scientists conducted an independent examination, confirming once again the authenticity of the relic. Thus, the study showed that the preserved part of the skull belongs to a person born in Palestine in the 1st-2nd centuries. The mark on the head was left by a sharp object (apparently, a dagger), which corresponds exactly to the church tradition about how Herodias, upon receiving the head of John the Baptist, struck it with a knife in rage.
It is not surprising that on July 7, the feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist, thousands of parishioners gather in the Cathedral of Amiens.
