Saturday, December 03, 2011

They've gone too phare

There is a phare (lighthouse) on the flanks of the Montagne de Reims. The closest serious body of water, the English Channel, is about 225 kilometers (140 miles) away. So what's the deal? From what I read, the lighthouse was built as a publicity stunt back in 1909 by a certain avant-garde champagne merchant named Joseph Goulet.

Le Phare de Verzenay and its museum, with the town down below.

The lighthouse was quite an attraction in its day, but fell into disrepair after the first world war. It was rehabilitated in the late 1990s and is now home to a wine museum. We didn't visit, but we did drive by.

4 comments:

  1. Phine photo of the phare! Love the vineyards not he hill with the village in the foreground.

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  2. Was it built in the possible anticipation of Climate Change?

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  3. I love lighthouses; this one made me puzzle a bit.

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