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Land of history
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column of " Taranis |
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To
better understand the territory and its inhabitants ,
here is a brief summary of the key periods in its history
:
- On the border between the two Gallic tribes,the Lingons
and Tricasses, the territory of the Park had an important
Roman colonization from the village of Brienne - la -
Vielle, a port on the river Aube crossed by the Roman
strategic way from Milan to Boulogne called the Agrippan
Way.
(see the: column of " Taranis " in the church of Brienne
la vielle.)
- From the C9th, religious establishments installed
in the Park, cleared the forest and created the first
ponds. |
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One of the cradles of the crusades, the
territory gave birth to the knight and historian Geoffrey
de Villehardouin. Upon their return from the Holy Land
the, Templars (in Forêt du Temple),the Knights Hospitaler
and Teutonic Knights settled on the territory.
- Ravaged during the Hundred Years War during
fighting between the Duke of Burgundy and Louis XI,
the territory was born again at the beginning of the
Renaissance, the churches were restored or rebuilt and
decorated with the famous stained glass windows and
statues from the Troyes schools of artists. ( see the:
interior of the church of Géraudot).
- The Dukes of Luxembourg in exile in the territory
of the Park created a virtual Duchy of Luxembourg in
Piney, whose size was practically the same as the territory
of the present Park. The last duke, fled during the
revolution after having founded the French Masonic order
of the Grand Orient de France (Did the name of the Forêt
du Grand Orient that was used in the C19th come from
this?)
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The C19th saw the extension of industries linked to the
land, among others, the famous statue-making factory of
Saint Sulpiciennes, in Vendeuvre, whose products are found
in churches throughout France.
-Finally, the second half of the C20th saw the
creation of the large reservoirs (1967-1990), soon followed
by the classification of the territory as a regional natural
Park (1970).
The Forêt d'Orient Regional Nature Park celebrated its
30th anniversary on October 16th, 2000. |
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