Monday: June 14
Arenes de Lutece / Les Egouts (Paris Sewers) / Cimetière de Passy
Arènes de Lutèce was one of largest Roman amphitheaters in the
world. It was built near the Roman town of Lutetia (or Paris). Entertainment
used to include circuses, live animals performances, sporting contests, theater
and, of course, gladiators! How much blood you wonder…or perhaps it is better
not to.
The amphitheater measured 41 meters (135 feet) in length, was
surrounded by 2.5 meter (8 ft) walls and could accommodate up to 15,000
spectators. It met its demise around the end of the 3rd century, possibly from
some of the descendents of its performers. The next stage of its life was death.
Perhaps, befittingly, Arènes de Lutèce became a cemetery. In twelfth century the
cemetery itself was buried.
Get down to the nasty and the smelly. This is pretty (if I can use that word) off beat. Why would you? Why not? Sewers underpin our civilization and this is your chance to see how, if not why. Obviously if you like the clean and sterile this isn't for you but if you have an open mind, closed nose and like to do something a little different then come on down. Gift shop for some interesting presents (now you are interested!) and the sewers are covered by the Museum Pass. Worth a sniff (actually, it doesn't smell).
Arènes de Lutèce
The Arènes de Lutèce are among the most important remains from the Gallo-Roman
era in Paris (formerly known as Lutèce in French or Lutetia in Latin), together
with the Thermes de Cluny. Lying in what is now the Quartier Latin, this
amphitheater could once seat 15,000 people, and was used to present gladiatorial
combats.
Constructed in the 1st century AD, this amphitheater is considered the longest
of its kind constructed by the Romans. The sunken arena of the amphitheater was
surrounded by the wall of a podium 2.5 m (8.2 feet) high, surmounted by a
parapet. The presence of a 41.2m- (135-foot-) long stage allowed scenes to
alternate between theatrical productions and combat. A series of nine niches
aided in improving the acoustics. Five cubbyholes were situated beneath the
lower bleachers, of which three appear to have been animal cages that opened
directly into the arena. Historians believe that the bleachers, which surrounded
more than half of the arena's circumference, could accommodate as many as 17,000
spectators.
Slaves, the poor, and women were relegated to the higher tiers — while the lower
seating areas were reserved for Roman male citizens. For comfort, a linen awning
sheltered spectators from the hot sun. Circus acts showcased wild animals. From
its vantage point, the amphitheater also afforded a spectacular view of the
Bièvre and Seine rivers.
When Lutèce was sacked during the barbaric invasions of 280 A.D., some of the
structure's stone work was carted off to reinforce the city's defences around
the Île de la Cité. Subsequently, the amphitheater became a cemetery, and then
it was filled in completely following the construction of wall of Philippe
Auguste (ca. 1210).
Centuries later, even though the surrounding neighbourhood (quartier) had
retained the name les Arènes, no one really knew exactly where the ancient arena
had been. It was discovered by Théodore Vaquer during the building of the Rue
Monge between 1860-1869, when the Compagnie Générale des Omnibus sought to build
a tramway depot on the site.
Spearheaded by the author Victor Hugo (1802-1885) and a few other intellectuals,
a preservation committee called la Société des Amis des Arènes undertook to save
the archaeological treasure. After the demolition of the Couvent des Filles de
Jésus-Christ in 1883, one-third of the arena was uncovered. The Municipal
Council dedicated funds to restoring the arena and establishing it as a public
square, which was opened in 1896.
After the tramway lines and depot were dismantled in 1916 and line 10 of the
Paris Métro was constructed, the doctor and anthropologist Jean-Louis Capitan
(1854-1929) continued with additional excavation and restoration of the arena
toward the end of World War I. The neighbouring Square Capitan, built on the
site of the old Saint-Victor reservoir, is dedicated to his memory.
Unfortunately, a portion of the original arena — opposite the stage — was lost
to buildings which line rue Monge.
Standing in the centre of the arena one can still observe significant remnants
of the stage and its nine niches, as well as the grilled cages in the wall. The
stepped bleachers are not original, but historians believe that 41 arched
openings punctuated the façade.
Click here to see other pictures.
Click here to see other pictures.
The Parisian sewer system dates back to the year 1370 when the first underground
system was constructed under "rue Montmartre". Since then consecutive French
governments have enlarged the system to cover the city's population
Until the Middle Ages, the drinking water in Paris was taken from the river
Seine. The wastewater was poured onto fields or unpaved streets, and finally
filtered back into the Seine. Around 1200, Phillipe Auguste had the Parisian
streets paved, incorporating a drain for waste water in their middle.
In 1370 Hugues Aubriot, a Parisian provost had a vaulted, stone walled sewer
built in the "rue Montmartre". This sewer collected the wastewater and took it
to the "Ménilmontant" brook. However the wastewater was still drained in the
open air.
Under the reign of Louis XIV, a large ring sewer was built on the right bank,
and the Biévre River was used as a sewer for the left bank of the Seine. Under
Napoleon I, the first Parisian vaulted sewer network was built that was 30 km
long.
In 1850, the prefect for the Seine Baron Haussmann and the engineer Eugéne
Belgrand, designed the present Parisian sewer and water supply networks. Thus
was built, more than a century ago, a double water supply network (one for
drinking water and one for non drinking water) and a sewer network which was 600
km long in 1878.
Belgrand's successors went on extending the Parisian network: from 1914 to 1977,
more than 1000 km of new sewers were built.
At the end of World War I, the 50 km² of sewage fields were no longer sufficient
to protect the Seine. A general sewage treatment programme, designed to meet the
needs for 50 years, was drawn up and became state-approved in 1935: this was the
beginning of industrial sewage treatment.
The aim was to carry all the Parisian wastewater to the Achères treatment plant
using a network of effluent channels. Since then, the Achères plant has
continued to grow. At the end of 1970, it was one of the biggest sewage
treatment plants in Europe. Its actual capacity is more than 2 million cubic
metres per day.
This programme has been gradually upgraded: modernization of the Achères and
Noisy-le-Grand (a small station farther upstream) facilities, construction of a
new plant at Valenton, and expansion of the Colombes experimental station.
The aims of the modernization programme launched by the Mayor of Paris in 1991
were: to protect the Seine from storm overflow pollution by reducing the amount
of untreated water discharged directly into the Seine, to reinforce the existing
sewers, to enable the network to function better.
No other city in the world has a sewer network like the one found in Paris. It
now has 2,100 kilometres of tunnels. It houses, in addition to the drinking and
non drinking water mains, telecommunication cables, pneumatic cables and traffic
light management cables.
Every day, 1.2 million cubic metres of wastewater have to be collected. Every
year, 15,000 cubic metres of solid waste are taken out and disposed of.
Click here to see other pictures.
Click here to see other pictures.
Passy
Cemetery
The Cimetière de Passy, (The Passy
Cemetery) is a famous cemetery located at 2, rue du Commandant Schlœsing in
Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France.
In the early 19th century, on the orders
of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, all the cemeteries in Paris were replaced
by several large new ones outside the precincts of the capital. The Montmartre
Cemetery was built in the north, the Père Lachaise Cemetery in the east, and the
Montparnasse Cemetery in the south. The Passy Cemetery was a later addition, but
has its origins in the same edict.
Opened in 1820 in the expensive residential and commercial
districts of the Right Bank near the Champs-Élysées, by 1874 the small Passy
Cemetery had become the aristocratic necropolis of Paris. It is the only
cemetery in Paris to have a heated waiting-room.
The retaining wall of the cemetery is
adorned with a bas relief commemorating the soldiers who fell in the Great War.
Sheltered by a bower of chestnut trees, this beautiful cemetery sits in the
shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
Click here to see other pictures.
Click here to see other pictures.