Almost 30 years ago now as a young
graduate Architect I discovered the glorious architecture of Rome during my
grand tour. My Lessons of Rome are summarized in an earlier article.
The following year “bitten by the bug of travel”, I had to
go once again to discover the many wonders of architecture in Europe.
During these travels in the summer
of 1983, I covered many of the historic buildings and cities of Europe but only
one destination was a real Architectural Pilgrimage! It was a true pilgrimage for a number of
reasons, first the locations was one not easily accessible and after taking a
train to a small town I believe is called Belfort which had one stop in the
morning going to the town and one stop in the evening leaving the town. If I can remember correctly, it is about 20km
from the station to the Chapel of Notre Dame Du Haute and I got there
walking!
Being on a student budget and having
more time than money walking in the beautiful summer weather through the French
country side seemed like the logical choice.
With a combination of hitch hiking and walking, the journey ended taking
about 3 hours and the excitement slowly built up as we got nearer and could see
the chapel on a hill in the distant landscape.
Being an admirer of the Architect Le
Corbusier throughout my years as a student (and still remain one today) this
seemed like the ultimate sacrifice to study this master piece and I can clearly
remember I was not let down upon arrival.
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| Ronchamp - Sketch Book - Europe Travels 1983 - Bertram Wong (copyright) |
So what is it about this building that makes it so
inspiring?
