Saturday: June 19
The oldest houses in Paris / A midevil Village just outside Paris ; Hotel de Sens
Many of the buildings in Paris are old (at least on the outside). Maybe not to everyones I find them very nice to look at and study, and often the architecture is quite fascinating. I shoed you the oldest coffee house and the oldest tree, and now I set out to find the oldest house in Paris. It turns out there are four contenders for the title, although it is pretty well determined that Nicolas Flamel's (who discovered the Philosphers stone - must not have worked as he died) house is the oldest house in Paris. Below I present you the four oldest houses as I know them.
I also present a small midevil village that is just outside Paris on the river Eure. Nothing special except for the age and beauty. I found it a really nice place to relax and walk around. I'm sure you would like it to.
I also present to you the Hotel de Sens, a midevil maison that looks like a castle and is not a museum. Not a great one, but a nice one. No pictures allowed inside. I think it goes well with the oldest houses of Paris and the nearby midevil village. Note that while the Hotel de Sens is one of the oldest midevil maisons in Paris, it is about 100 years younger than the oldest houses above. Enjoy!
The Oldest Houses in Paris
When Baron Haussmann remade the face of Paris, he relegated
much of the medieval city to the wrecking ball. Yet despite his efforts, pockets
of the past still remain, ready for discovery. If you are willing to search, you
can still find them—including some of the oldest houses in Paris.
Actually, there are several contenders for the title, all of
them to be found on the Right Bank rather than the Left, near the historic
church of Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais (4th) and the former abbey church of
Saint-Martin-des-Champs (now part of the Musée des Arts et Métiers, 3rd). They
reflect the division, already well-established by the twelfth century, between
the university on the Left Bank, a burgeoning commercial district on the Right
Bank, and the seat of government (the royal palace) on the Ile de la Cité.
Take the house of Nicolas Flamel. The name may mean something
to you, as he shows up rather prominently in the first Harry Potter story, and
Victor Hugo refers ominously to him in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
Flamel has gone down in history, or in the shadows of history, as a dedicated
alchemist who discovered the Philosophers’ Stone and its secret of eternal life.
Since the Philosophers’ Stone was also capable of turning base metals into gold,
subsequent seekers have not been surprised to learn that Flamel was a wealthy
man.
In addition to any time he may have put in at his laboratory,
Flamel was a successful manuscript copyist and dealer as well as a major
community benefactor. In 1407 he built the sturdy stone structure at what is now
51 Rue de Montmorency (3rd), setting aside the top stories as a kind of homeless
shelter, while turning the ground floor into a money-making tavern (which now
houses a popular little restaurant, the Auberge Nicolas Flamel). If you look
carefully, you can make out some of the original carvings on the façade,
including angels, Flamel’s initials, and a Latin inscription invoking the
inhabitants’ prayers.
Flamel, who only asked that his impoverished lodgers pray for
him and his wife, was also a generous benefactor to the Church of
Saint-Jacques-la-Boucherie, whose tower still remains at the corner of Rue de
Rivoli and Boulevard de Sébastopol (4th). In remembrance of his good works, two
tiny streets to the immediate north of the Tower of Saint-Jacques were named for
him and his wife, Pernelle. Rue Nicolas-Flamel and
Rue Pernelle (4th) still exist, and the spot where they cross provides a
wonderful view of the dramatically lit tower by night.
The house of Nicolas Flamel is certainly the oldest stone
house in Paris, but the nearby half-timbered structure at 3 Rue Volta (3rd),
located in back of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, was long considered the oldest house
in Paris.
Saint-Martin-des-Champs, which faces the old Roman road (now
Rue Saint-Martin) from Paris to the sea, dates from the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries, with roots that go back long before that. Like other abbey churches
in the area, a small village grew up around its protective walls, and 3 Rue
Volta may once have belonged to a leading dignitary of the village of
Saint-Martin. Despite its obvious age, this contender’s title has recently been
challenged: instead of dating from around the year 1300, experts now say that
the house that presently occupies 3 Rue Volta may be a seventeenthcentury
replacement for the original.
The last two rivals for the oldest-house prize thrust up their
half-timbered structures at 11 and 13 Rue François-Miron (4th), behind the
church of Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais, whose tower foundations date from the
thirteenth century, and whose history extends several centuries before that. As
with 3 Rue Volta, these houses line an ancient roadway of Roman origins, this
one connecting Paris to points east.
The tall gabled structures of 11 and 13 Rue François-Miron
date from the fourteenth century and give perhaps the best feeling of what
medieval Paris looked like. Although various ordinances and age itself greatly
altered their appearance over the centuries, they have recently been restored to
their former glory, with plaques proclaiming that No. 11 is the House at the
Sign of the Mower (reaper), while No. 13 is the House at the Sign of the Sheep.
At the corner, an old sign for the Relais Saint-Gervais adds to the atmosphere
of this special part of Paris.
These are of course small treasures, in a city that fairly bursts with riches of
a larger order. But for those who value the many layers of history upon which
present-day Paris is built, these remnants of the past are a delight to
discover.
Click here to see other pictures...
Click here to see other pictures...
On the Eure river, just outside Paris by Chartes, is a small midevil village that is just picturesque. We liked it a lot; and we hope you do to.
Click here to see other pictures...
Click here to see other pictures...
Hôtel de Sens
It was originally owned by the archbishops of Sens. The building is in between
late Gothic and early Renaissance style, and now houses the Forney art library.
This mansion is one of three medieval private residences remaining in Paris. It
was built between 1475 and 1507.
Click here to see other pictures...