Avignon was a peaceful provincial town, as it was from 1309 through the avignonesische papacy became a center of world public opinion. As a result, the appearance of the city changed radically and quickly.
The mighty palace complex was constructed in two phases. It looks at first glance like a fortress, inside it is more like a castle.
The Pope's Palace was built from 1334. It is divided into the Old Palace (built in 1334-1342 ) and the New Palace (built 1342-1370 ) . With its approximately 15,000 m² of floor space , it is one of the largest feudal castles of its time. The whole complex is very complicated with nested space systems.
The palace is obvious in the architectural tradition of the Festungsbaues . The massive , repelling facade shows numerous loopholes in the characteristic shape of a cross . The horizontal opening of the support was used for the heavy guns, the vertical movement of the gun barrel downwards to the attacker . In the upper part there are large machicolated . The building of the palace is made of solid rock. This was also in the 13th century not unimportant , because there was at that time a number of successful attempts to conquer a castle with the help of underground tunnels .
The first courtyard is so great that even extensive artistic events can be carried out easily . The outward like a fortress crucial building is clearly inside a castle , and that it should be according to the will of the Popes also . The rooms inside are very large and largely divested as a result of the destruction during the French Revolution , their once- precious furniture generally . In 1810 the palace to the barracks , which meant the end for the remaining treasures . Numerous paintings were removed and sold in fragments of antique dealers . The empty spaces are now decorated with a makeshift tapestries and portraits of Pope .
The Consistory has a size of 34 × 10 meters. In this hall was held at the time of the schism the supreme tribunal of Christendom. In addition, Bridget was canonized here from Sweden and Cola di Rienzi sentenced . The dining room of the Pope has a large barrel vaults made of wood, it has a length of 48 meters and a width of 10 meters , creating a very large company could be tasted princely. The fact that of all the dining room is the largest room of the palace is indicative of the situation of the Curia in the 14th century.
There are several chapels in the Palace of the Popes , including the Chapel of St- Jean . Here the medieval frescoes are partly preserved. Up to a height of two meters, the frescoes were , however, removed and sold. Only the higher -lying area is obtained. It has been suggested earlier, the frescoes of the vault have Simone Martini , who has been proven in Avignon, created . Meanwhile, however, it is more prone to assign them to his pupil Matteo Giovanetti .
From an art historical point of view, the so-called Hirsch room, which was painted in 1343 with worldly hunting scenes , one of the most important rooms . While the other halls were exclusively adorned with religious themes , a mundane subject was in the room with a square floor plan shown , which was very popular at the time: the hunt in its various genres - from falconry to hunt with the dogs. The name was inspired by a presentation room on the west side , showing a hunting greyhound , as he rips a deer with his teeth. The north wall , however, is decorated with a scene of the fishing hunting with four at a fish pond grouped people. The painter of these frescoes created in 1343 is unknown.
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