Horloge Dewailly - Amiens, France
N 49° 53.651 E 002° 17.917
31U E 449623 N 5527101
[FR] Une replique exacte de l'ancienne horloge a ete remise en place en 2000. [EN] An exact replica of the former clock was rebuilt for the year 2000.
Waymark Code: WM51H2
Location: France
Date Posted: 10/26/2008
Views: 36
[FR] Louis Dewailly, ancien maire d'Amiens, legua 25 000 francs a la commune pour qu'elle edifie une horloge permettant aux Amienois de ne pas rater leur train.
Le corps, cree par Charles-Emile Riquier, est forme d'une fleche de style rococo surmontee d'une horloge a trois faces eclairees au gaz (par la suite, l'electricite remplacera le gaz).
Albert Roze, charge de l'ornement, adjoint a l'edifice une statue representant une jeune fille a demi nue portant une branche de pommier. Elle est assise sur le socle. Les puritains se sentent offusques mais les Amienois lui trouvent rapidement un surnom a leur horloge, elle devient la " Marie Sans Chemise.
Durant la seconde guerre mondiale, la statue est demontee et mise a l'abri alors que l'horloge reste debout au milieu des ruines. A la reconstruction de la ville, elle est abandonnee dans un terrain vague et disparait.
Gilles de Robien l'avait promis aux Amiénois : l'horloge Dewailly sera reconstruite à l'identique et retrouvera sa place au coeur du centre-ville dès l'an 2000. Avec une grande émotion, des centaines d'Amiénois ont découvert la nouvelle horloge, qui a fait l'objet de nombreuses conversations.
Le 31 décembre 1999 à midi, l'horloge frappée du millésime 2000 sonne ses douze premiers coups. C'est à 11 h 30 que la nouvelle horloge "Dewailly" se découvre. Alors que lentement, le voile qui la cache se lève, les applaudissements retentissent.
[EN] Louis Dewailly, former mayor of Amiens, gave 25,000 francs to the community to put up a clock which would keep the people of Amiens from missing their train.
The body, created by Charles-Emile Riquier, was in the form of a roccoco style arrow, on top of which is placed a clock with three faces lit by gas lights (later, electricity would replace the gas lighting).
Albert Roze, in charge of the ornamentation, attached a statue to the ediface representing a half naked young girl holding an apple tree branch. She is seated on the pedestal. The puritains were offended but the people of Amiens quickly found a nickname for their clock, she became "Topless Mary".
During World War II, the statue was removed and stored away, while the clock remained standing among the ruins. As the city was undergoing reconstruction, it was abandoned in the middle of an empty lot and disappeared.
Mayor Gilles de Robien promised the people of Amiens that : the Dewailly clock will be identically reconstructed and will be put back in its place at the center of the city as of the year 2000.
The 31st of December at noon, the clock with the year 2000 afixed to it will ring its 12 first strikes. At 11:30 the Dewailly clock is uncovered. The veil is slowly raised to great applause.
Related web site: [Web Link]
Can you tell us who created the item: François Vasselle
Condition of the item: Great
So what did YOU do for the millennium?: Attended a fireworks event
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