The city, birthplace of Hector Guimard's ornamental fonts, seizes the Olympic flame expected on June 28 to fuel the fire of its metamorphosis. The former capital of Haut-Marne metallurgy is honing its assets to restore an image somewhat eroded by the winds of deindustrialization.
“Revealing Saint-Dizier”. This is the ambition of the hyperactive mayor of this town of 23,000 inhabitants, thirty-something Quentin Brière, who has made this formula the keystone of a vast work plan. The atypical architecture of the new covered market, inaugurated in spring 2023, embodies this new energy. The Nancy firm Studiolada has mixed the codes of the medieval hall and those of the industrial hall, with on the exterior side, beautiful stone arcades and, on the interior side, spectacular three-dimensional spruce shells as ceilings. Halfway between Reims and Nancy, the Bragarde city would like to cultivate an independent spirit, willingly maverick, inseparable from the personality of Hector Guimard, who came to create here, away from the chapels of Art new, its Parisian metro entrances?
Immersive projection
Philippe Jacquemin, tour guide, recalls that the rise of the foundry, the first local traces of which date back to the first century, "
was coupled in Saint-Dizier with a culture of technical innovation
", embodied in particular by the decorative foundry . 30 km south of the city, the Val d'Osne blast furnaces have long been its spearhead. This industrial flagship sank the capital's famous metro entrances, but also its Wallace fountains. Will you be able to spot the two examples of fountains in the streets of Saint-Dizier, instantly recognizable by their three feminine silhouettes? One sits in front of the castle which houses the sub-prefecture, rue Lebon, the other was camped a few months ago on the completely renovated station square. The art foundry founded in 1836 still survives, under the initials GHM, a manufacturer of street furniture.
“
There is something to invent in medium-sized towns
,” insists Rachel Blanc, first deputy mayor who likes to speak of a city as a “
laboratory for regional revitalization
”. At the entrance to the vast Jard park, not far from the medieval ramparts, four imposing initials in blue on a yellow background inscribed on the pediment of a former performance hall embody this bias. Saint-Dizier is in fact one of the first three cities in France to welcome “Muse”; not the rock group, but an experimental project supported by the Grand Palais. The leitmotif of this scenographic space opening in fall 2022: revitalize medium-sized towns through culture. Clément Michon, curator of the Saint-Dizier museum describes “
a place of immersive projections of 200 square meters
” which plunges the public “
out of time
” and invites them to appropriate the great masterpieces of art and heritage. After Pompeii, the Mona Lisa and now Venice (until September 1, 2024) it will be the poster painter Mucha who will be in the spotlight. However, digital technology does not drive out live performance in Saint-Dizier, quite the contrary. This is evidenced by the renovation of its small Italian-style municipal theater around ten years ago. A jewel !
Naive art
This desire to move forward off the beaten track can be seen on the fringes of the city. To the West, don't miss Petit Paris, a house whose facade has been elevated to the rank of a remarkable example of naive art. Its floral and plant motifs in earthenware and bright colors brighten up the popular suburb of La Noue. Abandoned following the death of its creator Marcel Dhièvre in 1977, the building was renovated at great expense, before finding its vocation as a cultural café under the leadership of passionate volunteers. To the south-east, it is the church of Saint-Charles built in 1894 opposite a metallurgical factory which is worth a look. Newly classified as a Historic Monument, it is the only one in France built entirely of slag brick, a residue of steel production. Finally, we like the multiplex cinema set up in the former Miko factory, the economic flagship of the territory, whose tower reproducing the name of the famous brand of eskimos has been preserved.
Crossed by the Marne on which it is possible to embark from the Parc du Jard, the Bragarde city has no reason to be ashamed of its natural heritage. This Olympic year is the opportunity to inaugurate a 7.5 km sports loop linking the Marne and the canal between Champagne and Burgundy. The elected officials guided in their reflections by the Parisian urban architecture agency
D&A
are already imagining an immense green promenade which would connect the gardens of the sub-prefecture currently closed to the public, the Jard park and its counterpart the popular Deauville park young people for its outdoor games and its XXL sliding area or “pumptrack”.
Paradise for nature lovers
Saint-Dizier especially plays the card of its proximity to the Lac du Der, a paradise for nature enthusiasts as well as lovers of water sports, but also for casino enthusiasts. The first deputy mayor sees her city as “the advanced gateway to Lake Der”. Amusing coincidence, this artificial reservoir of 4,800 hectares, on the borders of Marne and Haute-Marne, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year!
The opportunity to organize a season of colorful “Extralac” events. Moreover, we like to remind here that if events of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be able to take place in the Seine, it is partly thanks to this structure created in 1974 to regulate the flow of the river.