Compiègne : 2013-05

L’Association Frères d’Armes organized a visit to Compiègne for a class field trip. It was a rainy day and kind of cold, but it was a good visit. Our first stop was the location of the Second Armistice, also known as  the Glade of the Armistice.

This memorial is for French soldiers of World War I and signing of the Armistice. It reads "1914-1918 / To the heroic soldiers of France / Defenders of the Fatherland and of Justice / Glorious liberators of Alsace-Lorraine". I love birds and this was a cool depiction of eagle after being impaled by a sword.

On the right, is the statue in 1940 - the Germans purposely used the same site as some vengeance for their defeat in the Great War. They even used the same train car.

Our next stop was les Appartements historiques which is one of the musées et domaine nationaux de Compiègne.

I had to take a pic of the statue on the left. It is a copy of Michelangelo's Moses which is a favorite of mine, and I'm lucky enough to have seen the original in San Pietro in Vincoli. On the right is a copy of Napoléon en législateur by Antoine-Denis Chaudet (1763-1810). How many statues of Napoléon can you have? Apparently never enough - especially if he looks like a Roman emperor.

On the left, a cool "ping-pong machine" in the game room. Pretty neat. On the right, is the Galerie de Bal which is the same room with the statue of Napoléon above. You can see it in the center of the back of the room.