Sunday, March 20, 2011

NORTHERN BEAUTY by P.B. Lecron

Here's one more monumental door, this one in the north of France at 3 rue de Bergues in Esquelbecq, a typical Flemish village, population 2,200.  The house was built in 1780; it's sculpted façade is listed on the inventary of Monuments Historiques.

Esquelbecq is situated in the heart of Flanders on the banks of the Yser, a well-known river which formed a natural obstacle to the German advance during WWI. The village's name is derived from the Dutch Ekelsbeke or "acorn brook" because the Yser is lined with numerous oak trees.

Vocabulary
Flamand(e):  Flemish
Flandres: Flanders
un chêne:  an oak tree
un gland:  an acorn
glander:  to hang around

Another in my series of French monumental doors: Stone and Illusion

Text & photo © P.B. Lecron

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