On the road
Meurthe-et-Moselle department
Unlike most French departments created in 1790 by the French Revolution, Meurthe-et-Moselle saw the light of day in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian war. The circumstances of its creation account for its peculiar shape as a long (200 km) and narrow stretch of land. As a result, it is also a very varied territory, marked by the steel industry in the North, close to the Belgian and Luxembourg borders, by rural lands in the centre and a vast and modern urban area around Nancy while Luneville and its region are more open to culture and tourism.
War played a major part in the history of Meurthe-et-Moselle from the Thirty Years War (1618 to 1648) to the 1870 conflict. The region’s golden era was in the 18th century when princes Leopold and Stanislas Leszczinski held court in Nancy and Luneville. While steel dominated the department’s economy for more than a century, research and high technology around the university of Nancy are taking it into a new era.
Vosges department
Prefecture : Epinal.
Sub-préfectures : Neufchateau, Saint-Die-des-Vosges.
The department is located between three major rivers – the Rhine, the Moselle and its tributaries, the Rhone, via the Saone, and the Maas.
The department reflects its denomination only in its mountainous eastern part. With 280,000 hectares of forest and a woos sector employing 13,000 persons, Vosges is the second French department for timber production. A lot of companies linked to the sector, like paper-mills, are based in the department and the industry is evolving rapidly thanks to bio-energy and biomass.
Spas (Contrexeville, Vittel) and winter sports (Gerardmer, La Bresse) contribute to the tourist interest for the department. .
Km 3 : Art-sur-Meurthe
Bosserville charterhouse
It was founded by Duke Charles IV of Lorraine by a donation in 1666. IT took many long years to complete the construction, which continued until the 19th century. Apart from its monumental façade, the work of Jean Betto, the charterhouse is a textbook example of Carthusian architecture with 24 cells harmoniously displayed around a square cloister. One of the cells, kept in its original state, is open to visits. Carthusian cells are reasonably large houses built around a garden. The chapel is 42-metres long and its spire is 46 metres high. The last monks left the place in 1901 and the charterhouse has been a grammar school since 1962.
Art-sur-Meurthecastle
The 18th century manor-house has been restored and kept by the municipality and is surrounded by a park planted with rare vegetables. The castle now hosts festive and cultural events.
Région Lorraine
Préfecture : Metz
Sites web : www.lorraine.eu www.tourisme-lorraine.fr
Marquée dans les années 80 par la crise des industries lourdes, la région Lorraine a su rebondir d'une façon spectaculaire grâce au dynamisme de ses populations, de ses grandes villes, mais aussi à sa situation privilégiée aux frontières de trois pays : Belgique, Allemagne et Luxembourg.
L'arrivée en 2007 du TGV a en outre placé la Lorraine à 1h20 de Paris tout en la rapprochant de grandes métropoles comme Francfort ou Zurich.
Sa restructuration précoce en a fait une région innovante, qui a mis l'accent sur la recherche, l'export et le soutien aux PME. Première Région de France à soutenir la géothermie et deuxième à favoriser l'énergie photovoltaïque, la Lorraine est pionnière en matière d'énergies renouvelables. Soucieuse de la sauvegarde de ses richesses naturelles, la Lorraine, troisième région forestière de France, accueille aussi la première réserve naturelle régionale labellisée du pays.
La Lorraine n'oublie pas son patrimoine et son savoir-faire passé. Daum, Baccarat, Saint-Louis, Meisenthal : les plus grands noms de la cristallerie sont nés en Lorraine. De nombreux métiers d'art s'y perpétuent avec talent. Le tourisme de mémoire rencontre un franc succès grâce à un patrimoine exceptionnel, comme les nombreuses réalisations de Vauban ou la place Stanislas de Nancy.
Jersey wearers after the stage 20
- yellow jerseyWIGGINS B.SKY
- polka-dot jerseyVOECKLER T.EUC
- white jerseyVAN GARDEREN T.BMC
- the day's winnerCAVENDISH M.SKY
- teamRADIOSHACK-.RNT
- super-combativeSORENSEN C.STB
Key moments
- 23:00Summary of the race
- 17:39Great Brit: Wiggins creates history
- 16:00Interview - Stage Winner
- 19:02Sagan: «I want to finish this season...
- 18:56Froome: «I couldn't be happier»
- 18:49Van Garderen: «It's been a huge three...
- 18:43Cavendish: «You've seen my sprint is...
- 18:31Wiggins: «It's very surreal»
- 11:45Analysis of the stage
- 10:30The day's route
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