Louis XIV embodies absolute monarchy more than any other French king. The Sun King, who ruled from 1643 to 1715, left his mark on many places in France, from Versailles to Saint-Jean-de-Luz and the Gobelins tapestry factory in Paris. Even today, his legacy lives on in all of them. FRANCE 24 takes you on a tour.
Tag Archives: History
Views: France Honors 150th Anniversary Of Marcel Proust’s Birth
#France is marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of famed #novelist Marcel #Proust. He penned much of his greatest work, the seven-volume saga “In Search of Lost Time”, along the shores of Cabourg, in Normandy. Under the fictional name of Balbec, the town was put on the literary map. To find out more about Cabourg’s Proustian legacy, and Proust’s short but hugely influential career, we take you to The Villa of Time Found, whose immersive exhibit takes visitors on a sensory trip back in time.
Views: History Of Angkor Wat In Cambodia (Video)
Angkor Wat, located in northwest Cambodia, is the largest religious structure in the world by land area, measuring 162.6 hectares. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of four towers surrounding a central spire that rises to a height of 65 m above the ground.
The cause of the Angkor empire’s demise in the early 15th century long remained a mystery. But researchers have now shown that intense monsoon rains that followed a prolonged drought in the region caused widespread damage to the city’s infrastructure, leading to its collapse.
Medical History: The Discovery Of Insulin
Nearly 100 years since insulin was first used in the treatment of diabetes, Professor Chantal Mathieu, Professor of Medicine at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, takes us through the history, development and future of this life saving drug. Read more in https://www.nature.com/articles/d4285…
Village View: Clerkenwell In Northern London
‘Clerkenwell was right outside the London city walls, but close enough to it, so was ideal for monasteries. With four or five in the area, people came to serve them, shops opened and you had quite a nice little village.’
A medieval well lies hidden inside a brick office block on Farringdon Lane. It may look a little more than a hole in the ground, but it’s from there that Clerkenwell came to life.
‘The parish clerks from the City of London would come to perform plays and read from the Bible and, because they gathered around this particular well, it became known as the well of the Clerks,’ explains Mark Aston, local-history manager for Islington Council, under which authority Clerkenwell falls. ‘It’s not only water that sprung from it, but Clerkenwell’s name itself.’
Podcast: Historian Mary Beard On Emperor Nero
This week: Mary Beard on Nero, one of the most infamous Roman emperors. Was he the sadistic murderer of legend, the emperor who fiddled as Rome burned, or has he been a victim of spin and myth?
As well as getting Mary’s take on this infamous figure and Nero: the man behind the myth, the exhibition about him that’s just opened at the British Museum in London, Ben Luke also talks to the exhibition’s curator Thorsten Opper.
Also this week, as the first London Gallery Weekend begins—with 140 galleries from Mayfair to Mile End taking part—The Art Newspaper‘s editor-at-large Georgina Adam speaks to Jeremy Epstein, co-founder of Edel Assanti gallery and one of the founders of London Gallery Weekend initiative. And in this episode’s Work of the Week, we talk to the artist Nina Katchadourian about a very personal piece of embroidery, created by her adopted grandmother, which has inspired a new work by the artist in her show at Pace in New York.
The Cotswolds: History Of Village Of Ablington
Ablington is a village in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is located in the Coln Valley and is part of the Bibury civil parish, 6 miles north-east of Cirencester. Ablington is in the Cotswolds which has been designated by Natural England as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Here, the book ‘A Cotswold Village’ was written, by J. Arthur Gibbs in the early 1900s. We explore the manor house he lived in, and compare the book to how times have changed.
Views: Ancient Mongolian Fishing Technique At Lake Chagan, China (Video)
In the northeast province of Jilin, China, local fishermen rely on an ancient Mongolian technique to fish in the frozen waters of Lake Chagan. And despite temperatures reaching minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit, all they need are a net, two horses, and a spindle.
Nicknames: Story Of New York City’s “The Big Apple”
A lot of American cities have great nicknames. But it was 100 years ago when the nation’s biggest city got its most famous one. Michelle Miller has the details on how “The Big Apple” came to signify New York.
French Estates: ‘Cheverny Chateau’ – Loire Valley
We take you to discover a magnificent stately home located in #France’s #LoireValley. The #Château of #Cheverny is listed as a historical monument and it also inspired #Tintin creator Hergé for the family home of Captain Haddock. One in three visitors to Cheverny comes for the world of Tintin, an important source of income. The same family has carefully maintained the castle and grounds for more than six centuries, with each generation laying a new stone to the edifice.
The Château de Cheverny is a grand estate which has been in the same family for over six centuries. Cheverny has always been lived in and every generation has made a great effort to take care and embellish it with a true passion.
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