A short excursion – the end

The general look and feel of the village of Montmédy, or at least the historic part that is located within the enclosure created by the ramparts, is rather distressing.

The fortified village of Montmédy - Photo from the internet.

The twin-towered St. Martin’s church dominates the whole scene. It dates from around 1750 and is currently in very bad repair. When we were there in October, the three large wooden doors were locked so I can’t tell you what it looks like inside. It couldn’t have been much worse than the exterior though.

The most distressing part however is this ‘bomb-struck’ café across the road from the church. A Hollywood producer could very easily shoot a wartime movie here on location, without having to build expensive cardboard sets.

Ironically enough the café is called ‘La Bombarde’ (the bombardment). I can’t image anyone calling a derelict building la ‘Bombarde’ just for the fun of it, especially as the sign over the door looks really old and authentic. So I guess the name refers to an historic event that has nothing to do with the building’s current condition, which is probably the result of wear and neglect in recent years; and the lack of funds to restore it in its original early 20th century condition. The first event that springs to mind is the shelling of the citadel by the German army in 1914, at the beginning of WWI.

According to a plaque, located near the one and only entrance gate into the citadel, 2.500 soldiers of the Montmédy garrison had sought refuge within the safety of the 16th century ramparts. After a violent siege, the French surrendered. Some were shot on location, while others were sent to prisoner camps.

I also did some research on the internet as to the possibility of a recent explosion that might have caused the damage, but the only report I could find dates from November 2009 when two tons of explosives were found in the former cellar of the derelict café. Experts from the French army identified it as dynamite that is used in quarries. It was removed from the site and destroyed elsewhere.

A hazy view of the 'new' Montmédy.

Driving up the hill we had seen some spectacular panoramas, but it was too dangerous to pull over and stop by the side of the road. We therefore wanted to find a way up to the top of the ramparts to admire the scenery and immortalize it with our digital cameras. The only way up was via the tourist office near the entrance gate. Outside there was a notice board indicating that the complete tour of the ramparts was a 6 km walk, which took one to two hours. By then it was quarter to five and the tourist office was about to close. Too late …

The October sun setting over the cemetery of Montmédy.

Disappointed we returned to the car and drove down the hill. Just outside the gate we stopped at the parking area reserved for coach buses and shot some photos.

It was almost dark when we reached the village of Habay-la-Neuve where we were to spend the night at my favourite hotel and have dinner at its famous and excellent restaurant.

Dinner by the open fireplace was excellent and fun. B. and J.L. both had the deer fillet while I enjoyed a delicious partridge. The next morning we left Habay around 10 a.m. but not without stopping at the local butcher to buy a kilo of boar meat, which I will be preparing for my mother presently. For the moment it’s sitting in the freezer waiting for the right occasion.