Heritage: Illiers celebrates the centenary of the death of Marcel Proust
The municipality of Illiers-Combray has been involved since the spring in a wave of commemorations of the centenary of the death of Marcel-Proust, the author of In search of lost time.
The existence of Marcel Proust is intimately linked to the city of Illiers-Combray. Photo Quentin Reix
What is this new painting bought by the Society of Friends of Marcel Proust in Illiers-Combray?
The existence of Marcel Proust is intimately linked to the city of Illiers-Combray. It was in this village, at the time, that the author spent his holidays as a child.
These moments of grace constitute the source from which he drew to write Combray, the first part of‘In search of lost time. Aunt Léonie’s house, located in the village, has, over time, become a museum of this period. It is currently closed for renovations, until mid-2023.
Archaeology: a horse skeleton found near the station, in Chartres
As part of the development of the Station Pole, preventive excavations which took place on rue du Faubourg-Saint-Jean revealed a whole horse skeleton cut in half, in March 2022, near Chartres station.
A horse skeleton found near Chartres train station. Photo Quentin Reix
prize Preventive excavations: found near the station, in Chartres, a whole horse cut in two
“It was placed in the pit, in two distinct parts. The back placed on the pelvis and the front with the head set next to it. The most pragmatic explanation is to think that the horse did not enter this hole whole and that is why it was cut into two parts. Either way, there is clearly a will,” explained David Wavelet, head of the excavation operation.
Heredity. The restoration of the Choir Tower of Chartres Cathedral is finally finished!
It took 200 years to complete the magnificent choir tower of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres and… seven years to restore it.
It took 200 years to complete the magnificent choir tower of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres and… seven years to restore it. photo: laurence franceschina
prize What is this little-known gem reborn in Chartres Cathedral?
Under the direction of Irène Jourd’heuil, curator of historical monuments at the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (Drac) Centre-Val de Loire, four phases of work have followed one another since 2015, with different techniques for cleaning the blackened and damaged sculptures. the weight of the centuries. The last one ended at the end of February. A total of 2.5 million euros have been invested in the restoration of this masterpiece, of which 1.7 million financed by the Friends of Chartres Cathedral association.
Urban planning. The whole banana was nibbled in Mainvilliers
The first shovels were given, on January 31, 2022, to nibble “La Banane”, then the longest HLM bar in the Eure-et-Loir, with 285m, built in the mid-1960s, in Mainvilliers, before the arrival of the first tenants in 1967.
The last mechanical shovels were given in March 2022. Photo Quentin Reix
The last mechanical excavation took place in March. The last tenants had finally left their lodgings the previous summer.
La Banane, the longest HLM bar in Eure-et-Loir, is completely destroyed in Mainvilliers
Finally, new smaller, less bulky and exclusively private buildings will be built, in order to rebalance the city’s housing offer, in a global renovation program of the Mainvilliers districts.
Layout. The first shovels for the future Chatrexpo
The construction project for the new Chartrexpo, launched by the municipality of Chartres in 2011, with the choice of a first architect, in its proper part eleven years later: the first blades were delivered last July, while the symbolic installation of the Foundation stone took place in December.
The first blades of the new Chartrexpo were delivered last July. Photo Francois Feuilleux
Currently Chartrexpo, rue Jean-Mermoz, is made up of three communicating rooms with an area of 6,500 m2.
prize First pickaxes for the works of the new Chartrexpo in Chartres
The future Chartrexpo will form a large exhibition pavilion of 10,000 square meters, which can be divided into three parts which can be managed independently, thanks to the presence of removable or shared acoustic walls. The opening of the plant is announced for the first quarter of 2024.
