The pickled-in-the-past, photogenic village of Gerberoy in Picardy will be the smallest city in France, however it makes a giant impression.
Tucked away on the southern fringe of the Oise division in Picardy, virtually on the border with neighbouring Normandy, Gerberoy claims to be the ‘smallest city in France’ – a title it was granted in 1202 by King Philip Augustus. It’s additionally formally one of many prettiest villages of France (Plus Beaux Villages listed) and a ‘ville de roses.’
It could not take lengthy to stroll its cobbled streets however there may be a lot to make you linger longer.
The rue du Logis du-Roy – which takes its title from a former inn the place King Henri IV stayed in 1592 – is the primary entrance to the fortified city which spirals round a hilltop location with magnificent views over the encircling countryside. The origin of the title of Gerberoy isn’t identified, however it’s thought to return from the outdated French phrase ‘gerber’ which means to collect right into a sheaf – the city’s Coat of Arms options three gold sheaves of wheat – although it was briefly renamed Gerbe-la-Montagne through the French Revolution when any names related to hated royals (roy which means king) have been ‘cancelled.’
The village’s place made it a well-liked goal – together with from the Vikings who got here up the Seine River on raids within the tenth century, and even after, once they have been granted neighbouring Normandy as a settlement. William the Conqueror laid siege to the city in 1078 and misplaced to his personal son William Rufus. And it was fought over through the 100 Years Warfare – the English have been defeated right here on Might 9, 1453, in opposition to a French military led by two former companions of Joan of Arc who had been executed 4 years earlier in close by Rouen. Pillaged many occasions over, its citadel destroyed, and with a inhabitants decimated by plague, Gerberoy went into decline and disappeared from historical past within the seventeenth century. And there it stayed till a well-known artist arrived and adjusted Gerberoy’s fortunes.
What to see in Gerberoy
Vibrant Norman-style timber-framed seventeenth and 18th century homes line the cobbled streets, one of the well-known being the ‘blue home’ subsequent to a towered gate that led to the previous citadel. Relationship to 1691, the postcard-pretty home has at all times been painted blue utilizing dye constituted of woad which was grown in abundance in Picardy within the Center Ages.
Slim alleyways festooned with flowers and dotted with tea rooms, artists galleries, cafés and eating places snake their manner around the village. The seventeenth century market halls and landmark historic stone-built coated wells are beautifully preserved, and the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre, rebuilt within the fifteenth century after being burned down by the English, and whose partitions are hung with Aubusson tapestries, is nicely value a go to.
However the city’s huge declare to fame is the previous dwelling and superb gardens of famend post-Impressionist painter Henri Le Sidaner (1862-1939), who fell underneath Gerberoy’s spell when he visited in 1901 and soon-after, longing to dwell a rustic life, purchased a good looking home there when his buddy, the sculptor August Rodin, urged him to observe his goals. Then, as now, it seemed as if nothing had modified for tons of of years. Sidaner painted the tranquil fantastic thing about the village time and again and created beautiful terraced gardens over the ruins of the citadel, which turned a supply of inspiration for his artwork, simply as his up to date, Claude Monet’s backyard in Giverny (round 40 miles away) had turn into his muse. You may go to the gardens at this time and peep into the artist’s studio, however the home is closed to the general public, nonetheless lived in by the artist’s descendants. Lesjardinshenrilesidanier.com
Sidaner proposed to the residents that everybody ought to plant climbing roses and so they cherished his concept. Finally the city council handed an official decree which required everybody to develop roses! In 1928, the primary Fête des Roses was held, and it has taken place yearly since, on the third Sunday of June, bringing hundreds of holiday makers to this tiny city. There are actually hundreds of rose bushes climbing up partitions, draped over fences and fringing home windows all through the city, in addition to hydrangeas, hollyhocks and nation backyard favourites sprouting from the roadsides.
“I’ll in all probability nonetheless suppose on the final day once I disappear, of the humblest dwelling in Gerberoy, the place clumsy fingers come to hold on the window shutters the only flowering stem {that a} cluster of roses could have weighed down…” – Henri Le Sidaner
Le Jardin d’Ifs
A brief stroll away lies the Jardin des Ifs, which turned a Jardin Remarquable in 2016 in recognition of its uncommon assortment of yew timber. These 18th-century symmetrical gardens are adorned with topiary of varied sizes and styles together with one 350-year-old formed tree (the oldest topiary in France), and so giant a number of folks can stand inside it. It additionally has a fairly vegetable backyard and roses of every kind.
Take a tour and cease for a meal on the restaurant within the former Governor’s home with its historic eating room, and don’t miss an opportunity to style the Gerberoy macarons made by the chef who was impressed by a thirteenth century recipe. They’re rose flavoured in fact, and style of a sunny day in June on this most lovely village. lejardindesifs.com
With solely a few hundred inhabitants, Gerberoy can appear slightly sleepy through the week (besides when the rose competition is on), however this makes it much more magical. There are not any site visitors lights, no phone poles or electrical wires overhead – the city protects its heritage.
Sensible information: Parking throughout the village is prohibited through the peak season months, there’s a free automobile park only a few steps from the city, previous a duck pond the place the residents will applaud your entry!
Janine Marsh is an creator and Editor of The Good Life France journal and web site.
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