Paris River Cruise (October 2023) Viking

Exploring more of Paris

Today we will do a walking tour which inluded visiting:

1. Le Marais (The Swamp)

2. The Hotel Sully (located in Le Marais)

3. Place des Vosges (also in Le Marais - oldest planned square in the city

Le Marais - The Swamp

The Marais at one time was a marshy boggy area. To provide new agricultural needs, the marshy landscapes were turned into market gardening. The “Marais”, that originally indicated the swamp made by the old dead arm of the Seine, was used at the 14th century in its second sense : land devoted to market gardening.

Charles V (king of France from 1364 to his death) left his original palace, the Louvre, to take up residence in various newly built Hotels in Le Marais. So, the swamp turned from agriculture to land development. But upon the the death of Henry ll (1547) : the Royal Family moved back to the Louvre. Of course the wealthy and influential moved to Le Marais with the king(s). So, when the royalty moved back to the Louvre the wealthy lost interest in the area and the formerly aristocratic Marais district had fallen into squalor, characterized by poor sanitation, disease, and overcrowding. By 1921 in the Beaubourg area, 250 out of 276 houses were marked uninhabitable due to tuberculosis contamination.

Le Corbusier, french architect and designer wanted to replace this urban blight with something modern and incredible. However, others favored renovation. The later idea was adopted. With tax incentives and urban restoration/protection laws, the district has been able to rise from it's ashes and regain the charm and activity it is known for today - this since 1996. This is an inspiring story of preservation of the past. It is now known not only for its population of artists, but for its strong Jewish community history.

We thoroughly enjoyed walking through this area.

Along the way:

Hôtel de Sully was built, with gardens and an orangery, between 1624 for a wealthy homeowner but now gives an entrance to to the Place Royale - today the Place des Vosges.

Place des Vosges History

Nestled in the heart of Paris’s chic Marais quarter, this square holds the distinction of being the oldest planned square in the city. During the 17th and 18th centuries, it was considered one of the most fashionable places to live in Paris. Thanks to the internet here is an aerial view of the park and updated buildings from earlier centuries.

Le Marais is the main Jewish quarter in Paris. The Jews took refuge during the middle ages in this area and in the 18th century, they used the private mansions building (built for the aristocracy) to divide them into small apartments. "in the heart of the Marais, stands a magnificent Art Nouveau building with an undulating façade: the Agoudas Hakehilos synagogue"

Joseph Migneret was the principal of a public elementary school on the Rue Hospitalières St. Gervais, in the heart of the Marais quarter in Paris. Migneret, who saw how his present and former students were taken away from their homes and incarcerated in camps prior to their deportation during WWII, dedicated himself to saving as many Jews as he could. This wall is a dedication to him and his endeavors.