Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Boulangerie

Thionville was settled already in early times by the Germanic Allemanni. King Pepin the Short had a "Kaiserpfalz" ("royal palace") constructed here. The Synod of Thionville was held here beginning in 835. It reinstated Emperor Louis the Pious. From the 10th century onward, the area was part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was in possession of the House of Luxembourg until 1462, then of the Duke of Burgundy and from 1477 to 1643, it was Habsburg territory. The Siege of Thionville in June 1639 occurred as part of the Thirty Years' War. In 1659 "Diedenhofen" (the German name for the town) was annexed by France. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the area of Alsace-Lorraine was annexed by the newly created German Empire and became a "Reichsland". Following the armistice with Germany ending the First World War, the city was transferred to France by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, after it again became Thionville. I am not sure, but I had the impression that the Boulangerie Jost was closed. Maitre Jost may have reached retirement age - and so the new "in-store bakeries" had filled the gap.

Civaux had a Christian church with a baptistery already in very early times. Today there is a wonderful Romanesque church. Once there was a huge Merovingian necropolis (estimated are up to 16000 sarcophagi), of which hundreds can still be seen on the local graveyard. There is as well an ugly nuclear power plant - and just opposite the church this boulangerie.

In 1827 the villages La Rochebeaucourt and Argentine merged to La Rochebeaucourt-et-Argentine. Mid 19th century La Rochebeaucourt-et-Argentine was a prosperious village with a population of about 1200. Meanwhile the number of people living here has sunken to about 300. The exodus has left marks. Empty shops line the streets. Gone forever.

In the backdrop are the two towers of the Cathédrale Saint-Mammès. To the very left the statue of Denis Diderot, the most notable person, that ever came from Langres. Diderot was a philosopher, scientist, writer and co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the Encyclopédie along with Jean d'Alembert. Denis Diderot was a prominent figure during the Enlightenment. It seems like his family by now runs the boulangerie to the right.

Rain had started, when I reached Étauliers and crossed the D137. Another "Fermeture définitive" to the right.

Congratulation! The boulangerie Witz-Rohmer, just opposite the "Église Saints-Pierre-et-Paul" has celebrated it´s 400th birthday! That was lareyd some years ago, but the post is still out. 15 generations of gifted bakers have lived and worked here. Now, we learned, it is the oldest bakery in France! Here is the (french) website of the bakery, telling the whole long story. www.rohmer-rosheim.fr/histoire.html Please note - on the left in front of the building the legendary Renault R4. Between 1961 and 1992 about 8 millions of these cars were produced. When I bought my very first car, the R4 was an option. But in the end I choose his older cousin, a (light blue) Citroen 2CV. Just in case, you do not remember the 2CV: www.ipernity.com/doc/323415/41596484//in/album/885004

We were told, that the very best boulangerie in Arbois was "Le Pere Germain". The bakery is really small. When I took this photo the line of customers waiting was already shorter, than it had been an hour ago, when we had bought a "flûte".

I have seen quite a lot of these "a vendre" signs. Behind every single given up shop is a tragedy. There may be many reasons. Rural exodus is a big problem for small villages. German discounters Lidl and Aldi have opened about 2500 supermarkets in France since 1988.

A forgotten baker shop in Blaye. Behind every single given-up shop is a tragedy. Walking through the countryside in France, I came across lots of these. For a while, I pondered, whether I should buy these old signs - to save them.