What’s in a Name?
When you share the same name as a town, chances are that you took your name from the town originally. This post for the letter ‘R’ for Alphabe-Thursday is about someone who named a town!
We are going to visit Richelieu in France and the person at the centre of the story is Cardinal Richelieu. He was born Armand Jean du Plessis ( 1585 -1642) and was a firm favourite of Louis XIII. So grateful was the King that he had a palace built for him.
However, the Cardinal realised that without a populous to rule over, a palace did little for his reputation and so the town of Richelieu was built. It is in central France and although there is nothing left of the palace other than some stables at the far edge of the estate, the town is lovely and the grounds are superb!
[slideshow]
Cardinal Richelieu’s palace may no longer exist ( which is such a shame as the model on view shows it was in the same league as the palace at Versailles!) but his name lives on. He is probably better known as the antagonist in the ‘Three Musketeers’ by Alexandre Dumas which has been made into many films and cartoons.
As you will see from his statue he was a very proud man and visiting his town, I can see why!
Now pop over to Jenny Matlock’s blog and see some more ‘R’s!
Remarkable information….
Great post for the letter “R”!
Thanks for linking.
A+
Fascinating post Julia and lovely photo of you!
Lovely slide show and interesting post! The Cardinal had links with La Nouvelle France as well, and Quebec has many places with the name Richelieu.
I love it when I can learn something while I enjoy good photos… thanks
Another great history lesson/tour! Thanks.
very interesting.. I love hearing about history. and castles and musketeers are the things dreams are made of.. I came here through ASlphabe Thursday and would love to have you visit me as well.. Have a great day!
Patsy
I didn’t know any of this information before. Very interesting. The slide show, top notch. Thanks so much.
That’s a shame that the palace no longer exists, but you did a great job with these photos. And I enjoyed seeing them and imagining myself there…
=)
I love the history that explains the photos . . . and lovely photos they are! Thanks for sharing.
A little bit of history…a few snap shots…and wha-lah! A rich lesson for us all this Alphabe-Thursday! Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed this very much!!
Thanks for sharing this historical information, the photos are lovely.
Great post for ‘R’.
Reblogged this on ram0ram note book.
Gorgeous photos. Interesting info about old Richelieu too. My impression of Cardinal R is that of the devious man in the Three Musketeers stories. Great Alphbe-Thursday R post!