Every town has its own sense of history.  In many places around the world a hundred year old house is seriously historic.  19th century buildings are the common fabric of Paris, those from the 17th century are considered old and two 15th century survivors compete for the title of the oldest house in the city. In the 12th century Provins rivaled Paris in size and importance. By the 15th century the town’s heyday was past so old buildings were repaired and adapted rather than being replaced by waves of redevelopment. The seniority of the oldest house in Provins is undisputed but historians are unsure whether the building dates from the 12th or 11th century.

 

The 13th century Grange aux Dîmes was used as a covered market for luxury goods during the medieval Foires de Champagne. Its current name dates from its 17th century use as a tithe barn, storing the produce of the 10% harvest tax.
Many older house in Provins have upper and lower doors, one leading into the living quarters and the other into the ‘salle basse’ below – a store room or merchant’s show room carved from the soft limestone on which the town is built. The doors and shutters of these two houses are a delicate lilac colour in reality but the camera couldn’t cope with that subtlety.
Several farmyards in the hilltop Ville Haute have huge, ancient barns still in daily use.
Pale grey paint with a hint of blue or smokey purple is common on shutters and doors in the old town – probably the colours of traditional paints made with local chalk. The colours of this house look like a modern take on a traditional theme.
The Hôtel de la Coquille has seen many alterations and adaptations since it was built for a rich merchant in the 14th century. Still a private house, the description in the official list of historic monuments mentions large vaulted cellars.

 

Provins owed its medieval prosperity to its role as a commercial centre on the overland trade routes between Flanders and Italy.   Long distance trade was a slow business in 12th century Europe with an annual round of fairs allowing merchants to meet contacts as well as customers.   Only the most valuable good were worth hauling across the continent – silks and spices from the south, furs and tapestries from the north – so a successful trading centre needed stable government and secure store rooms as well as trustworthy notaries and bankers.  Protected, fortified and organised by the Dukes of Champagne, medieval Provins offered all the facilities a traveling merchant might need and also added its own speciality of fine woolen cloth to the trade.

 

Provins was first fortified in the 11th century. The ramparts and walls were extended as the town grew, up to the 14th century.
though in later centuries some less imposing ways through the walls were added.
The chateau at Provins – February 2018
There’s no grand entrance to the tower only a narrow flight of steps leading up from this door.
Once inside the outer wall an internal flight of stairs leads from the guard house. The wooden staircase to the first floor rooms was added to give easier access for twentieth century visitors. In earlier centuries it looks as though supplies were lifted by hoist to two small doors high on the tower walls.

 

A visit to Provins is an easy day trip from Paris. One (slow) train per hour on the regional Transilien network takes you from Gare de l’Est to Provins in an hour and twenty minutes.  It’s just a short walk from the station to the medieval Ville Haute and pedestrian routes between the historic monuments are well signposted.  A €12 day ticket gives access to Tour César, the town museum, the Grange aux Dîmes and the fascinating Souterrains, a network of underground quarries, store rooms and passageways.  In summer the streets fill up with visitors for the medieval fairs and son et lumière shows but on a bitterly cold winter’s day the place was atmospherically quiet. Take your pick!

A post for Thursday Doors.