Surrounded by extensive woods the small town of Chimay is situated in the province of Hainaut, near the French border. Jean Froissart, chronicler of the Hundred Years' War, spent his last years in Chimay; another famous inhabitant of the town was Thérése Tallien (1773-1835), an enigmatic personality, who went down in history as "Notre-Dame de Thermidor". As the wife of the proconsul of the French republic, Tallien, she encouraged him to resist the tyrant Robespierre, which later led to his downfall. Following her divorce from Tallien she married François-Joseph de Caraman, Prince of Chimay, and turned the château at Chimay into a meeting place for lovers of music and theater.
Nismes, 15km/9mi east of Chimay, is a popular venue for summer holidays. A small tourist train calls at the sights: the ruins of the magnificent castle, the neo-Gothic town hall and the Museum of Folklore and History.
The collegiate church of Saints-Pierre-et-Paul stands directly in the center of the Grand-Place. Building of the choir started in the 13th C. but the tower was not completed until the 18th C.
The church interior contains Baroque choir stalls (1702) and the tombs of Charles de Croy, the chamberlain of Charles V, Madame Tallien and Jean Froissart. Among the church treasure is a small chest decorated with Byzantine mosaics which belonged to Philippe de Croy.
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Nismes, Belgium
