Town Hall & Christmas Tree, a photo from Pays-de-la-Loire, West

Photographer's Note

Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department (Pays de la Loire region) and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Its inhabitants are called Manceaux and Mancelles. It has been host to the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race since 1923.

First mentioned by Ptolemy, the Roman city Vindinium was the capital of the Aulerci, a sub tribe of the Aedui. Le Mans is also known as Civitas Cenomanorum (City of the Cenomani). Their city, seized by the Romans in 47 BC, lies in the ancient Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis. An amphitheatre built in the third century AD is still visible, but the thermae were demolished during the crisis of the third century to build the city's walls, which remain some of the most complete circuit of Gallo-Roman city walling that survives.

As the principal city of Maine, Le Mans was the stage for struggles in the eleventh century between the counts of Anjou and the dukes of Normandy. When the Normans had control of Maine, William the Conqueror was able to invade England successfully; however in 1069 the citizens revolted and expelled the Normans, which led to Hugh being proclaimed count of Maine. Geoffrey V of Anjou married Mathilde in the cathedral, where Henry II Plantagenet, king of England, was baptised.

The city retains a well-preserved old town dating from the medieval period (known as the Cité Plantagenêt or Vieux Mans), where the cobbled streets and half-timbered house fronts provided the setting for Gérard Depardieu in the 1989 film of Cyrano de Bergerac. Most of the pictures in this series were taken in Vieux Mans in rather dreary weather unfortunately.

The above information was extracted from a fairly lengthy article on Wikipedia that can be accessed by clicking here.

besnard, timecapturer, gildasjan, jlbrthnn, delpeoples, Budapestman, kordinator, Cricri, RhodieIke has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

besnard (48787) 2011-12-19 0:59

Bonjour Stephen
Une bell image de saison avec le sapin de noël devant l'hôtel de ville qui est un très bel établissement à l'architecture remarquable.
Je te souhaite une bonne jounée.
Nicole

Nicou (97679) 2011-12-19 2:09

Hello

Fantastique compo et image quel beua sapin dans l'nagle il est superbe très bien présentée, fantastique.

Bravo et amitié

Nicou

lakshmip1949 (19110) 2011-12-19 2:42

Hello Stephen,

Nice shot showing the spirits of the holidays. Lovely Christmas tree with gift boxes hanging from it. I like the colors and sharpness.

Lakshmi

batalay (32860) 2011-12-19 4:16

Hello Stephen,

The weather is rather dreary, but the photograph reveals a great deal of detail, often lacking when the light and shadows present too much contrast. I suddenly realized from your note that this is the famous "Le Mans" of the automobile races. The gorgeous Christmas tree presumably has been shipped in and mounted, that it is not a permanent fixture in the courtyard.

Warm regards,

Bulent

timecapturer (30324) 2011-12-19 4:22

Hi Stephen
wonderfully seasonal and a fascinating symmetry here. A warm and welcoming tonal quality to the light that works so well. Santa's on his way! Excellent shot!

Have a good week - Brian.

DjoleEric (0) 2011-12-19 4:49

Hi Stephen.
Excellent tight framing.
A good angle shot.
Beautifully drawn severity.
Hello.
Djole.

Fis2 (73100) 2011-12-19 4:57

Witaj Stephen!
Interesting courtyard, beautiful christmas tree.
I like composition and colours.
Well done.
Nice day
Krzysztof

gildasjan (38218) 2011-12-19 5:35

Bonjour Stephen
Un bel accord de couleurs entre le bleu clair des fenêtres et ces paquets cadeaux rouges sur ce sapin.
Bonne après-midi
Amicalement
gildas

dkmurphys (36801) 2011-12-19 5:40

Hi Stephen,
Nice Christmas decorations in that old hotel yard. Nice colors, well captured scene.
Have a nice week.

jlbrthnn (79773) 2011-12-19 6:13

Bonjour Stephen,
Belle élégance de l'architecture et de la photo. Le sapin de noël est du meilleur effet devant cettte mairie qui s'ajoute à ta collection. Excellente qualité. Bravo.
Bonne journée
Amicalement
Joël

delpeoples (44904) 2011-12-19 7:14

Hi Stephen

Good to see you're getting into the festive swing of things :) I've got to say that white Christmas trees, those covered in either fake or real snow, are a real novelty here. Usually we'd be battling heat in the late 30s or early 40s but the weather's unseasonably cold here. Anyway, back to your lovely photo. Excellent sharpness, and really good perspective with the row of trees, doors and windows. I lie the netrual colours, which have been contrasted naturally and not been overdone. Your new toy that Santa delivered early is delivering the goods.

Have a lovely day
'Lisa

Zli_Carobnjak (0) 2011-12-19 14:00

Stephen.
Nice work.
Good color and sharpness.
New Year's closer to us, preparations are under way.
Hello.
Djole.

Budapestman (82620) 2011-12-19 14:40

Hi Stephen,
a splendid atmosphere with beautiful details and attractive composition, the POV is very nice, charming view, Tfs! Have a nice week! Kellemes hetet kívánok!
György

kordinator (13411) 2011-12-20 0:57

Hello Stephen
Fine Christmas decorations in that old hotel yard.
Nice colors, well captured scene.
Fantastic photo-work.
A nice information of this French well-preserved old town.
Best regards
Saša

Cricri (86431) 2011-12-20 4:42

Hi Stephen
Bel angle de prise de hôtel de ville joliment décorée par la de petits sapins le long de la façade et d'un tout grand aux jolis paquets colorées, bonne netteté et couleurs
Belle journée
cricri

RhodieIke (9207) 2011-12-20 4:55

Hi Stephen, Super photo of this Christmas scene, great colours, super Architecture, a hotel then a town hall I presume. Splendid colours, light and management. cheers Iain

ChrisJ (86862) 2011-12-20 6:46

Hello Stephen,

I like the angled 'L' shaped pov on the building. Good sharpness, nice repetition of the smaller Christmas trees with the bigger one in the centre left making a good focal point. The French flag adds context. Tfs!

Graal (88886) 2011-12-20 22:49

Hi Stephen,
very nice Xmas tree and architecture of hotel. Good composition. Nice decorative details on tree.
Gr., Aleksander

emka (58140) 2011-12-20 23:58

Hi Stephen, Nice big Christmas tree with many presents on it. I like 5the other bushes with a light frost on them. Fu nny was to see Christams trees in Vietnam (and also Santas's dressed in shorts :))

Have a nice days

Malgo

amaryllis (30149) 2011-12-21 0:48

Bonjour Stephen
bien que je n'aime pas le Mans comme ville, ton cadrage de ce t édifice est superbe formant un angle droit, avec le sapin nous rappelant que nous sommes au seuil de la nativité, une cour bien décorée également
Amicalement
Juliette

wolf38 (28180) 2011-12-21 2:27

Hi Stephen. When you see the festively decorated Christmas trees, Christmas is not far away. Christmas trees in public spaces are often outside the town hall. In my hometown, that's tradition. The tree with the colorful packages pleases me very well. Rgds wolfgang.