I think it's fair to say, that this post will be about crosses 😁, lots of them, and monuments all across my area in the Gers.
"Why?" you may ask, and to be honest, I don't really know. I guess, it's something that I particularly enjoy, because of the uniqueness of each crosses, I am fond of their shadows, but there is also something magical about them, some are ancient, some more recent, so let's so get right into it, in no particular order.
It is a custom in the area, each villages, even the smaller ones, have a cross, or a statue of "La Vierge Marie" on display at the entrance of the center of the village.
It's a protection, and most of them are maintained by the villagers, they bring flowers to the shrine, and repaint the statues when needed.
You can see that they are taking a lot of pride in it, and it has become a bit of a competition between villages throughout the centuries. 😁
Of course, those pictures have been taken throughout the day, I went from one village to the other, while shopping for Christmas. I looked like a real tourist, but enjoyed every minute of it!
This church was covered by Rick, the day he crashed a funeral 😗, it's actually a beautiful church with a gothic top, love the colors...
Most of the crosses, I made a mental map in my head, I knew where to find them, but this chapel and cross was a surprise, I stayed a bit longer just enjoying the sun, trying to find a good shot using the contrasts, very fun! 😌
Some of the cross though, are discarded, and rusting, I still find it beautiful, there is a melancholia to it, the perfect tone for autumn and winter.
The Trinity Chapelle is hidden, right in the middle of the forest. I wasn't even looking for it, it found me today haha.
The doors were closed, so impossible to venture inside, though I was fully satisfied with the outside atmosphere.
There is a fountain not too far called "The Trinity Fountain", but I hesitated to go further as there were a hunting party not too far, they put a sign "chasse en cours" written with huge big red letter, and I was wearing a green shirt, too camouflage for my liking 😁.
I am being extra cautious, because a day before, I bumped into a group of ambulances and hunters, in the forest. Accidents seem to happen around here, so you should always keep that in mind when crossing a forest in France during the hunting season.
Of course, you will find stone crosses next to chapels, some were built during the middle age, with the cemetery next to it.
However, what you will find the most, is metal crosses, at crossroads.
It's an interesting fact, people in ancient times thought that building a holy sign at a cross would chase away evil spirits, and the devil himself.
It was also a sign of Christianity on roads that the Roman Empire was using, or used a relay during funeral processions.
A lot of statues, and crosses were destroyed during the French Revolution in 1789, but were rebuilt at every crossroads very quickly.
In fact, most of the crosses that we see today, were built between the XIX and XX century, when the Christian fervor was at its peak in the country sides, whereas it was starting dwindling in the big cities.
Some of the richest farmers, and land owners, were building crosses as a sign of devotion and to protect their crops & cattle, it was always well received by the neighbors.
The area, is full of places of pilgrim, which also explains the excessive amount of crosses all around the region.
What happened to the wooden crosses? Why aren't there any? Most of them completely disappeared, did not stand the test of time. Unless you go dig into the communal archives, or speak to locals, you won't know the history of these symbols.
There were many more pictures, that I've tried to upload, but I think that I've reached the limit, but you guys that post often know that dilemna haha, I had to backtrack and delete a few, I had enough to make a few posts, but I think it's better if they're all grouped together in one.
Keep in mind, that I just covered a very, tiny portion of the Gers, and France is a vast territory, many area like the south of France have plenty of these religious signs, Britain has also many stone crosses, but others aren't as historically Christian as the South West.
That was a fun one!