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The
Abbey of the Abbesses
The
king did not build this structure only to please his beloved
spouse... |
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The
Sacred Heart
So
many quarries had been dug that no one knew how to support
such a monument. The foundations had to be deeper than those
of the Egyptian pyramids! |
The
Town of Montmartre
In
France, the towns were traditionally constructed around the
church but Montmartre developed in a very different manner... |
The
Quarries of Montmartre
An
old saying even states that "there is more Montmartre in Paris
than of Paris in Montmartre"... |
The
Bohemian Life
Montmartre
very quickly became the rendez-vous of artists such as Renoir,
Toulouse-Lautrec and Picasso... |
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onjour! Let’s share a visit to a Parisian neighborhood, one particularly picturesque and charming. Far more than a just a district, this small village in the heart of the big city is an oasis of peace, that has kept its soul of long ago, and its bohemian spirit: Montmartre.
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A
Sacred Place
High above the
surrounding areas, with thick forest and numerous springs,
brought man, as early as the Antiquity, to make this mount a
sacred place. This mount, though not yet named Montmartre,
became a place of frequent pilgrimages. The Gallic druids came
to revere their numerous gods here. The Romans established a
temple dedicated to Mercury and there they adored Bacchus, God
of the vine. During the Gallo-Roman era, the "Parisians" saw
in this haven, then lost in the removed countryside, the
perfect place to pray and honor their gods. In fact, the site
was at a sufficient distance from Lutèce, (the ancient name
for Paris), to make it somewhat of an exploit to get there.
The rich merchants in turn found it to be the ideal location
to build their homes. They could see Lutece but they were too
far away and well beyond the woods and marshes to be bothered.
The
Legend of Saint Denis
If the numerous forests
and springs had brought the Gallic and the Romans to make this
mount their favorite place of worship, centuries later its
religious vocation would be confirmed due to the wealth of its
limestone subsoil. In fact, the numerous excavations dug by
men capitalizing on theses quarries would later be used as a
hideout for the persecuted Christians looking for a place to
pray. Saint Denis, first bishop of the region, would have even
carried out his first evangelizations here. Arrested, then
tortured, he apparently died decapitated, never denying his
faith. The legend relates that, guided by an angel, he
traversed the mount, his head in his hands, to his burial
ground. The mount, until then called the "Mount of Mars" or
the "Mount of Mercury", eventually took the name "Mount of
Martyrs", and the name Montmartre was derived from it. Near
the end of the fifth century, a basilica was erected on the
place where the remains of St. Denis rest. And Montmartre,
until then a sacred place, became a frequent destination for
pilgrimages.
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The
abbey of the Abbesses |
In 1133, the king Louis
VI - fervent Christian devoted to Saint Denis - decided
to establish an abbey for women on the mount of
Montmartre, which over many centuries, had become a
meeting place for the pilgrims. Thus, until the French
Revolution, the mount would preserve this function. The
king did not build this structure only to please his
beloved spouse, but rather to serve penance, and
repurchase his soul, as he deemed himself responsible
for the bloody religious battles, that only political
reason seemed to justify. Forty-six abbesses directed
this abbey through the breadth of the centuries that
followed, and lived many happy lives, and some, tragic
destinies. Mary of Montmorency Laval was the last
abbess. Victim of the deadly madness of the
revolutionary period, she was accused in July 1789 of
hiding soldiers, weapons and munitions in her abbey.
Declared "enemy of the people", in an era where terror
took over from reason, she was guillotined. The abbey
was pillaged and the furniture sold at auction. Its
church – Saint Peter’s - miraculously escaped the
devastation and is the oldest church of the Isle de
France today.
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The
Sacred Heart |
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In 1870, France was
conquered by Prussia. The siege of Paris, which lasted
four months, provoked famine and misery. The Catholics
saw in this signs of divine punishment. Since the
Revolution, weren't the impious in power? Many
pilgrimages and public prayers were organized. The
safety of France could only come from the consecration
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was necessary to do
penance and build a temple in his honor. Montmartre was
chosen because of its religious past and its dominating
position above Paris. In 1873, the National Assembly
voted in a law declaring the usefulness of public works.
The project of the architect Paul Abadie -- who
preferred the Byzantine curves to the neo-gothic styles
-- was selected. However, the beginning of the work was
a true challenge because so many quarries had been dug
that no one knew how to support such a monument. The
foundations had to be deeper than those of the Egyptian
pyramids! More than forty years of labor and a budget
seven times the initial one were necessary to accomplish
this Roman-Byzantine masterpiece. Built with a rock that
has the characteristic of hardening and whitening with
time, finished on the eve of the First World War, the
long awaited consecration of the Sacré Coeur took place
only 5 years later on October 16, 1919. |
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The Town of Montmartre |
In medieval France, the
towns were traditionally constructed around the church
where the peasants came to look for protection and
refuge. Montmartre developed in a very different manner.
In fact, the town followed the rhythm of the life of the
abbey of the Abbesses, established in 1133. The nuns,
over many centuries, suffering from the hazards of wars
or economical difficulties, had to sell the land
belonging to the abbey, in order to pay their debts and
indeed to survive. This is how little by little, the
sacred hill saw its agricultural vocation born. First
established was the cultivated vine, then the farms and
the mills. It was only under the Second Empire that the
appearance of the mount of Montmartre truly changed. As
the Baron Haussmann built his grand boulevards in the
Paris that we know today, he brought the expropriated
Parisians to settle in Montmartre where the rents were
much lower. The deep countryside then began to transform
itself into more of a suburb, then a city.
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The
Quarries of Montmartre |
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As early as
Antiquity, the subsoil of Montmartre, very rich in
gypsum and in chalk, was abundantly exploited to build
Lutèce, and then Paris. An old saying even states that
"there is more Montmartre in Paris than of Paris in
Montmartre". The gypsum became so famous that it was
even exported to England and America. The true
metamorphosis of the neighborhood was directly linked to
these quarries, or rather to their closing. The quarries
served as refuge to outlaws and vagrants and it was in
fact quite dangerous to walk there at night. In about
1830, all exploitation was stopped because the
continuous hollow ground rendered itself dangerously
unstable. The threats of collapse brought the
authorities to forbid all underground exploitation.
Thus, little by little, this disturbing underground
population disappeared, and the town gained in security.
When in 1860, Montmartre was joined to the city of
Paris, it retained the aspect of a provincial town. All
this would change as the bohemian Montmartre would soon
see the light of the city. |
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The
Bohemian Life |
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Probably more attracted by
the modest price of the rents than by its picturesque
mount, Montmartre very quickly became the rendez-vous of
artists. Painters, sculptors, writers and poets were
among the first to settle here. Among the most famous,
were Augustus Renoir, Gérard of Nerval, Utrillo,
Cézanne, Toulouse-Lautrec and Picasso. It was the era of
the "washhouse" or true camaraderie. Times when one and
all – penniless -- traveled the streets of Montmartre in
quest of a served dinner in exchange for a picture or a
poem. Late at night all would meet again at the "Lapin
Agile" where they knew that the owner, the old Frédé,
and his wife Berthe, would not let them leave with empty
stomachs. They ate, drank, sang, laughed, and often
fought, as the wine flowed. Then they would dance 'till
the wee hours at the "Moulin de la Galette". Little
mattered…… the atmosphere of Montmartre was created, a
mood of frank fellowship, where all "stuck together"
while awaiting better days. |
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Even if today’s Montmartre has become
popular with tourists, it has not lost its charm of long
ago. When one strolls along its slopes, one always
rediscovers with the same pleasure its bohemian
atmosphere. You can still have a meal at the "Moulin de
la Galette" (Lepic Street), or return to the corner of
Saint Vincent and Saules Street, to the "Lapin Agile"
where the cartoonist André Gill drew the sign -- a
rabbit jumping from a saucepan, thus giving the
restaurant its name. After having climbed the numerous
steps to the summit of the mount, it is very pleasant to
discover one of the most beautiful viewpoints of Paris,
to stroll Places du Tertre or in the small adjacent
streets, such as the beautiful Junot Avenue a little
lower, and to discover the secret charm of the Victorian
Villa Léandre. You may even come upon one of these poets
or painters that will propose his creations. And why not
descend to the foot of the mount and push open the door
to the Moulin Rouge? Ah! We must save that for another
day...
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