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| Image by Philippe Fuchs, Pixabay |
Leaving Digoin behind, the river meanders in a north-westerly direction until it hits the southern edge of the city of Nevers. It takes a sharp turn south for a short distance and then west to meet the river Allier. Like La Loire, the Allier also rises in the Cévennes, to the east of the city of Mende, and flows generally north for 421 kilometers (262 miles) until it meets the Loire. The Allier is also the thirteenth longest river in the country, and is on my list of other rivers to explore. Watch out for further posts in the future.
Nevers is a very old city. Way back in 52 BCE, Julius Caesar made the fortified town into an important storage depot and stronghold for his army. However, at that particular time, Nevers (original name Noviodunum), was situated on the borders of territory ruled over by a warring local tribe who attacked, destroyed the camp by fire and put Caesar’s position in Gaul at risk. But there’s much more to this city than a bit of Roman history. Moving forward to the 16th century, Luigi di Gonzaga, the third son of the Duke of Mantua became the Duc de Nevers in 1565. He brought with him his own ‘army’ of artists and artisans from Italy. He established the spun glass industry in the city, introduced artistic pottery and established the art of enamelling. The products created as a result of Gonzaga’s investment and encouragement were sent by river as far afield as Orléans and Angers. By the middle of the century, the pottery/glass industry was at its height with numerous workshops and thousands of craftsmen employed.
Regrettably, the revolution in 1789, changed everything. Today there are only remnants of those glory days left, along with a fabulous collection of pottery and glass at the local museum that is well worth a visit.
From the banks of the river, if you head into the city centre, it’s about a twenty minute walk to rue Saint-Gildard. On this street you will find the resting place of perhaps one of the most famous women in France – Marie-Bernarde Soubirous, a miller’s daughter and the eldest of nine children. She was born into poverty in Lourdes, suffered various ailments as a child and became Saint Bernadette following her visions.
Born in 1844, she took the religious habit of a postulant twenty-two years later and joined the Sisters of Charity at their motherhouse here in Nevers. On April 16th, 1879, she died and is laid to rest here in what was then the convent. In 1970, the motherhouse was converted to a centre for pilgrimage, the Espace Bernadette Soubirous, that is now run by volunteers and a very small number of nuns. Bernadatte has her resting place inside a stunning glass and gold casket.
The order of nuns in Nevers is also famous for a much more mundane reason. And if you want to find out about that then check out my post from a while ago, Here.
There will be more about La Loire, next month, and if you want to catch up on posts you may have missed, click the following links La Loire Digoin River Le Loir
