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onjour!
We love the magnificent Place des Vosges. We told you about its history last month
and can't resist the urge to continue our journey through this picturesque and charming
Parisian neighborhood. By endowing Paris with a royal square worthy of a capital city
with international prestige, King Henri IV allowed the birth of an entire neighborhood,
where many famous people were born or came to live. While some eventually sunk into oblivion,
others will remain forever as prominent figures in history, whether by their originality,
their talent or their tragic destiny.
But before continuing, please remember that you can access and read all the newsletters already
published at http://www.francemonthly.com/
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The Red-Hot Bal
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On January 29, 1393, one of Queen Isabeau of Bavaria's ladies-in-waiting got married, for
the third time. The marvelous celebration took place all day long without incident at the
Hôtel St Pol, the royal residence. After the ceremony there was a banquet, followed by a
ball given in the newlyweds' honor.
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Place des Vosges in Winter
(Click photo to enlarge)
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Then suddenly, right in the middle of the party, six men appeared disguised as savages,
dancing about and roaring. At first taken back, the guests then smiled at such a racket
and played along, trying to recognize the intruders as part of a typical festive tradition
of the period. It was all good fun until the Duke of Orléans, the king's brother,
approached the group of men, torch in hand. In a fraction of a second, the clothes which
were coated in resin and tar caught fire. Only one of the five men who were chained together
managed to escape and jumped into a tub of dishwater to put out the flames that were engulfing
him. The four less fortunate ones died after terrible suffering. Luckily, the sixth man who had
not been tied to the others was helped by the Duchess du Barry who didn't hesitate to lift her
petticoats to smother the flames. When the mask was removed from the miraculously saved man, the
audience was stunned to recognize none other than King Charles VI himself. The monarch, who
already suffered from a frail mind, sunk into deep madness after this tragic episode.
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The Hôtel de Sully
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There is a magnificent townhouse at no.62, rue Saint Antoine, its facades richly
decorated with allegorical sculptures. You enter it through the main courtyard
which used to accommodate horse-drawn coaches. On the other side, a pretty garden
opens directly onto the Place Royale (which later became the Place des Vosges).
The residence used to have a huge orangery where exotic plants, very fashionable
in the seventeenth century, were stored in winter to protect them from cold weather.
The very wealthy Marquis de Béthune and Duke de Sully bought the residence in 1634,
when he had just remarried and turned 74, while his wife was barely 20 years old.
Due to the great wisdom that his advanced age had probably conferred on him, he
proved himself to be most understanding. He was not a man to deny his wife the
pleasures of life that her beauty and youth naturally brought her. He put on a
brave face, but was always one to point out as he gave his wife money: «Madame,
here is for you, for the house, and for your lovers». When he enlarged the residence,
he had a staircase added so that he would never have to come face to face with any of
the young impudent men who must have reminded him of times gone by when he too attracted
young women. Today, this building houses the Department of Historical Monuments.
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Recipe for Jan 2009
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Duck Breasts with an Orange Sauce
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"One-Eyed Catheau"
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Catherine Bélier was one of many women from the Marais who encountered an exceptional fate.
As the personal maid and confidante of Queen Ann of Austria, she was of huge help to her
sovereign and was generously rewarded for it. Indeed, very concerned that her young 16 year
old son, the future Louis XIV, did not seem in the least bit interested in young ladies,
the queen asked her companion to teach him the "rudiments" of life. While history does not
say whether or not Catherine looked forward to her mission, she did accomplish it with great
success, despite being one-eyed, short and chubby.
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Hôtel de Beauvais
(Click photo to enlarge)
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The young king was very grateful and the queen-mother reassured beyond any doubt. In return,
they offered her a splendid residence at no.68, rue François Miron along with private income
for life, and gave her husband the title of Count. Clearly, she did not let her unattractive
physical appearance stand in her way. She was very clever and above all wise enough to never
betray the court's secrets which earned her the royal family's eternal gratitude. A few years
later, it was in this same magnificent residence that Mozart, then a 7 year old child prodigy,
stayed for several months while on tour with his father. Today, the building houses the Paris
Court of Appeals. I invite you to push open the gate and discover an absolutely beautiful
courtyard. While you're there, why not go ahead and climb the impressive staircase to attend
the public hearings of trials in progress.
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The Hôtel Carnavalet
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In 1578, Madame Francoise de la Baume-Montrevel, widow of François Kernevenoy,
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Hôtel Carnavalet
(Click photo to enlarge)
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a Breton gentleman,
became one of the earliest owners of this beautiful townhouse at no.23, rue Sévigné.
No doubt the Parisians found the name «Kernevenoy» much too hard to pronounce and
changed it over time to Carnavalet, the name it still bears today. Owners and renters
then followed one another, the most famous probably being Marie de Rabutin-Chantal,
Marquise de Sévigné. She was born on February 5, 1626, at no.1, Place Royale. Aside
from a few stays in the countryside, she always remained in the Marais neighborhood
of which she was particularly fond. Her favorite residence was the Hôtel Carnavalet,
where she spent the last 18 years of her life. In 1866, the City of Paris bought this
magnificent Renaissance townhouse to transform it into what it is today, an extraordinary
museum. With 140 rooms to cover, all equally splendid, you can retrace the entire history
of Paris, from its origins to the present day. It is a free permanent museum that calls
for a visit not to be missed on any account.
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A Fashionable Statue
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The unusual statue of Louis XIV that stands in the middle of the Hôtel Carnavalet's
courtyard is worth a mention as it has an interesting history. It was originally
erected in the courtyard of the Hôtel de Ville (townhall), in 1689, as a gift from
grateful Parisians to their king. They wanted to thank him for accepting an invitation
to visit despite the fact that he hated the capital city.
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Statue of Louis XIV
(Click photo to enlarge)
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One hundred years later, revolutionaries demanded the statue so that they could melt
the bronze and make cannonballs out of it, but Parisians categorically refused to hand
it over. In 1871, it was the Commune, another time and another revolt. Paris was burning.
The Tuileries (royal palace), the Palais de Justice (law courts), the Quai d'Orsay
(French Foreign Office) and the Hôtel de Ville were all on fire. Somehow, the statue
miraculously escaped the flames. It was moved to the Hôtel Carnavalet 20 years later
where you can still admire today the somewhat unusual representation of a king proudly
wearing Roman attire and a wig. At that time, artists would use the Roman dress to pay
tribute to great men. Louis XIV was probably indeed a man of great ideas, but not of great
stature. He barely reached 5 feet 3 inches, so he would wear wigs and high heels to make
up for his shortness. In order to please the king, courtiers would also deck themselves
out in wigs and painful high-heeled shoes, which is how that fashion was started. However,
it was ephemeral and went out with Louis XV and Louis XVI who were much taller and did not
need to resort to such devices.
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The Age of Women |
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Marie de Rabutin-Chantal married the Marquis de Sévigné when she was 18 years old.
The young man was a womanizer unable to fulfill any dream of happiness his young
wife may have had. When he was killed in a dual for the sake of one of his mistresses,
the marquise's grief was short-lived. The Marquise de Sévigné was a woman of her time.
Indeed, France was finally in a period of peace, and a great wind of female emancipation
was sweeping through the country. Times were changing, and women seeking freedom could
and wanted to aspire to more softness and levity in their daily lives. They started many
literary salons where people gathered to exchange ideas, but mostly to enjoy good conversation,
wordplay, and a quest for beauty and refinement. A rich correspondence developed between Paris
and the former Fronde rebels exiled in their provincial castles. All events were reported and
fashions described in minute detail since it was a well-known fact that all these exchanged
letters would be read and discussed in the trendy salons of the Marais. Women played a
considerable role in spreading this new art of conversation and correspondence, and Madame
de Sévigné was definitely the most famous and talented of those modern ladies.
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The End of an Era
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At the beginning of the 17th century, any aristocrat worthy of the name was expected
to live in the Marais,
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Townhouse, Place des Vosges, Paris
(Click photo to enlarge)
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which explains why almost 300 townhouses, each one more beautiful than the next, were
built little by little. The heyday of the Marais lasted until Louis XIV chose to have
a sumptuous palace built in Versailles. All the courtiers followed him, abandoning their
neighborhood without hesitation since what really mattered was to reside next to the Sun
King. The Marais further declined when the Pont Royal Bridge was built in 1689 Members of
the nobility and upper middle class were quick to cross it and settle down in Paris' brand
new and very chic neighborhood, the Faubourg St Germain, which was also closer to Versailles.
During the Revolution, most of these magnificent townhouses were converted into rental properties.
The rooms were divided to create apartments that were then rented out to Parisians. Unfortunately,
unappreciative of the richness of the surrounding architectural heritage, the new tenants often
destroyed the delicate woodwork and the beautiful paintings and sculptures that decorated their
new dwellings.
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An Invitation to Travel... |
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Although it is a pleasure to enter those wonderfully restored townhouses now open to visitors,
the neighborhood is comprised of more than just these magnificent witnesses to a prestigious
past. The Marais is also a charming neighborhood. You will find a series of small streets
interrupted at the sites of the ancient Celtic trails that used to run alongside marshes
or the ancient Roman ways, that don't follow any real urban design plan. The Marais is
above all a village in the big city where it is wonderful to stroll.
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