European Heritage Days – French edition

The European Heritage Days, based on an initiative of the then French Minister for Culture, Jack Lang, in 1984, now exist in 50 countries across Europe. In France, the Journées Européennes du Patrimoine, take place on the third weekend of September. This means sites that are usually closed to the public will be open, other sites will be free of charge, many will offer special activities and/or guided tours. Some will require reservations, but many will just let you drop in, from well-known institutions in big cities to ancient buildings in small villages. Often there will be activities for younger visitors.

At some point, when you got in line at 5am at the Elysée Palace, you might be lucky and shake hands with the president, or do the same with the prime minister after queuing at the Hôtel Matignon. I once stood in line at the Senate, the Palais du Luxembourg and indeed met the president of the Senate, the upper house of Parliament. He is the third person of the state in order of importance, after the president and the prime minister, and before the president of the national assembly.

Gérard Larcher, President of the French Senate

I am not sure though if you still queue for these institutions nowadays or sign up online, as I did to visit the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, more recently.

When you choose your visits, don’t overlook small events. You never know a hidden gem until you find it. For example, on year in the Latin Quarter, a college offered the visit of ongoing preventive archaeology digs – it turned out there were Gallo-Roman ruins on a site marked for construction, and archaeologists were trying to unearth and save as much as they could. This is something that will never be seen again!

Here are glimpses of some other interesting places I’ve visited during Heritage Days in and around Paris over the years:

King George VI’s bathtub at the French Foreign Ministry
Share this:

Cluny La Sorbonne

The name of this métro station on line 10 indicates two important sites it serves – the Sorbonne University and the Hôtel de Cluny which houses the Musée national du Moyen Âge, the Museum of the Middle Ages (and also Roman thermal baths).

The station was opened in 1930, initially named only Cluny. At the beginning of WWII, in September 1939, it was closed and due to its proximity to the next station on either side, was not reopened for many years, becoming a “phantom station”. (There are still a few of those in Paris today.)

Cluny was finally reopened in December 1988 to create a correspondence with the RER B and C at the nearby station Saint Michel-Notre Dame (also served by line 4). For this occasion, the station undergoes a full renovation and is renamed Cluny-La Sorbonne.

When you enter the platform, you will immediate notice the mosaics on the ceiling, called The Birds, by French painter Jean Bazaine, as well as a number of mosaic signatures of famous Sorbonne students, among them Racine, Molière, and Victor Hugo.

Share this:

La Sorbonne

The Sorbonne is a building in the 5th arrondissement in the Latin Quarter. It is named after 13th-century theologist Robert de Sorbon, founder of the Sorbonne College of the Université de Paris, college of theology. The term Sorbonne is also used as metonym for the former Université de Paris (1200-1793 and 1896-1971).

The Baroque façade belongs to the Saint Ursula chapel, completed in 1642. Following the law of the separation between Church and State, it was deconsecrated and is now used for receptions and exhibitions.
It was at the Sorbonne that Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894.

Today, the Sorbonne is the seat of the Paris Board of Education. It also houses part of the activities of the universities Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle and Sorbonne Université. The Sorbonne University Library serves all these universities and the Université de Paris.

Location of the Sorbonne
Share this:

Cupolas of Paris

There are a number of cupolas in the Paris skyline. In this new series, Cupolas of Paris, we will have a look at the most prominent ones and what is hidden below them:

  • The Dôme des Invalides – 7th arrondissement – built under Sun King Louis XIV in the 17th century
  • The Panthéon – 5th arrondissement – built in the 18th century
  • The Sorbonne – 5th arrondissement – built in the 17th century
  • The Observatory – 14th arrondissement – built under Sun King Louis XIV in the 17th century
  • The Val de Grâce – 5th arrondissement – built under Sun King Louis XIV in the 17th century
  • The Institut de France – 6th arrondissement – built under Sun King Louis XIV in the 17th century
1 Invalides – 2 Panthéon – 3 Sorbonne – 4 Observatory – 5 Val de Grâce – 6 Institut de France
Share this:

Parchment Street

The Latin Quarter takes its name from the shared language students from all over Europe spoke as they studied here in Medieval times. They still study at the Sorbonne and other Paris universities today, but Latin is no longer the lingua franca.

Sorbonne University in the Latin Quarter

Back in the 13th century, when most people other than those students and their teachers couldn’t read or write, many public writers and manuscript-copying scribes lived in a street that took the name of “writers street”, rue des Écrivains.

In 1387, the street’s name changed to rue de la Parcheminenerie, for it was now home to parchment vendors. This coincided with a new kind of parchment, not as thick and coarse as the one used since the 7th century. It became widespread, and it was in this street that universities and students stocked up on it. In the 17th century, people still came here to stock up on books. Today the number 29 houses a Canadian bookstore.

Location of the rue de la Parcheminerie
Share this: