Today, the neighbourhood of Saint-Germain des
Prés is known for its cafés, its cultural life, and
its antiques dealers. However, the past is still present in its numerous
historic buildings and street names, some of which recall a time when
the neighbourhood, then located outside the outer wall of Philippe Auguste,
was largely the property of various religious orders, agricultural and
artisan activity:
Such as the case
with the street where the hotel is located: garancière comes from
“garance”, a plant whose roots have been used since Antiquity
to dye fabrics red (like, for example, the pants of French Army soldiers,
the “Zouaves”). This street, which already existed in 1540,
was the dyers’ quarter. From here they had access to a small river
that ran for ages though this area, and which was called… the Garance.
The river has long since been covered, and the dyers have left the neighbourhood
and been replaced by top designers.
The Saint-Germain
des Prés Church is a vestige of the Saint-Germain des Prés
abbey, one of the main sites of the Benedictine order at the time, order
which owned a very large property in what is known today as the Faubourg
Saint-Germain. The church itself is one of the oldest in Paris. In 542,
a monastery had been built in this site in order to house the relics of
the King of France Chilibert, son of Clovis. This first building was devastated
four times by Normans’ attacks. The center of the current building
was built between 990 and 1021. Several extensions have been added since
then.
Saint-Sulpice
Church was also founded by the very powerful Saint-Germain des Prés
Abbey, primarily to serve the peasants who worked in their land. The current
building, started in 1646, is one of the most imposing and curious buildings
in Paris: its very long construction (134 years), the succession of architects
(a total of six) who espousing very different styles, kept modifying previous
approved plans, the fact that the façade was finally built almost
hundred years after the construction began, the efforts spent in its interior
design (by Delacroix)… everything makes this building a curiosity,
an hybrid piece which cannot be categorised. Its two high towers are asymmetrical,
one of them is shorter and the right one has never been finished.
The construction
of the “Palais du Luxembourg” between 1615 and 1625,
by the Queen of France, Marie de Médicis: in 1610, because of the
murder of her husband, Henry IV, Marie de Médicis decided to leave
Le Louvre and build a new palace that would remind her of childhood in
Florence. Thus, the original architecture of “Palais du Luxembourg”
borrows from the Palais Pitti. The property, already extensive, was extended
further in 1790, during the French Revolution, by the addition of the
gardens of the Cartusian Abbey. Since the 18th Century, the gardens have
contained a tree nursery and a vegetable garden both considered the most
beautiful in Paris. These days, the Palace also contains the “Sénat”,
around which you will find the largest park in the left bank of Paris.
Such as the case
with the street where the hotel is located: garancière comes from
“garance”, a plant whose roots have been used since Antiquity
to dye fabrics red (like, for example, the pants of French Army soldiers,
the “Zouaves”). This street, which already existed in 1540,
was the dyers’ quarter. From here they had access to a small river
that ran for ages though this area, and which was called… the Garance.
The river has long since been covered, and the dyers have left the neighbourhood
and been replaced by top designers.The Saint-Germain
des Prés Church is a vestige of the Saint-Germain des Prés
abbey, one of the main sites of the Benedictine order at the time, order
which owned a very large property in what is known today as the Faubourg
Saint-Germain. The church itself is one of the oldest in Paris. In 542,
a monastery had been built in this site in order to house the relics of
the King of France Chilibert, son of Clovis. This first building was devastated
four times by Normans’ attacks. The center of the current building
was built between 990 and 1021. Several extensions have been added since
then.Saint-Sulpice
Church was also founded by the very powerful Saint-Germain des Prés
Abbey, primarily to serve the peasants who worked in their land. The current
building, started in 1646, is one of the most imposing and curious buildings
in Paris: its very long construction (134 years), the succession of architects
(a total of six) who espousing very different styles, kept modifying previous
approved plans, the fact that the façade was finally built almost
hundred years after the construction began, the efforts spent in its interior
design (by Delacroix)… everything makes this building a curiosity,
an hybrid piece which cannot be categorised. Its two high towers are asymmetrical,
one of them is shorter and the right one has never been finished.The construction
of the “Palais du Luxembourg” between 1615 and 1625,
by the Queen of France, Marie de Médicis: in 1610, because of the
murder of her husband, Henry IV, Marie de Médicis decided to leave
Le Louvre and build a new palace that would remind her of childhood in
Florence. Thus, the original architecture of “Palais du Luxembourg”
borrows from the Palais Pitti. The property, already extensive, was extended
further in 1790, during the French Revolution, by the addition of the
gardens of the Cartusian Abbey. Since the 18th Century, the gardens have
contained a tree nursery and a vegetable garden both considered the most
beautiful in Paris. These days, the Palace also contains the “Sénat”,
around which you will find the largest park in the left bank of Paris.