La Défense

Today we rode the Metro to the end of Line 1 to have a look at La Défense.  We had seen it from a distance many times, but we decided we should probably go see it up close before we leave the city.  The business district is called La Défense not because it has anything to do with military defense, but because in the center of the district is a statue called La Défense de Paris, which commemorates those who defended Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.

The most recognizable structure in the district is the Grande Arche.  Built in 1989, it is 350 feet tall -- the entire cathedral of Notre Dame could fit underneath it.

The monumental building was one of François Mitterand's Grands Projets, a major scheme to add modern buildings to the city.  A Danish architect won the design competition to build a monument inspired by the Arc de Triomphe. 

Government offices are housed in the two sides of the arch.  You used to be able to ride an elevator to the top observation deck, but the outdoor elevators were poorly designed and have been shut down for now.

From the marble steps of the Grande Arche you can see all the way to the Arc de Triomphe.  The Grand Arche, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées, the obelisk at the Place de la Concorde, the Tuileries Garden, and the Louvre are all in a straight line called the Axe Historique (historical axis).

The La Défense district is home to some other interesting buildings as well.  The CNIT (Center of New Industries and Technologies) building was one of the first structures built in the area, in 1958.  An enormous concrete shell covers 200,000 square meters of office and retail space.  But what makes it interesting is that the space is entirely open -- there are no support beams to disrupt the interior space.

This very modern-looking church is the Notre-Dame de Pentecôte, built in 2001.

There are more than 50 sculptures and public artworks placed around the esplanade.  Clockwise: L'araignée rouge (The Red Spider) by Alexander Calder, Le Pouce (The Thumb) by César Baldaccini, and an untitled monumental ensemble by Joan Miró.

The thumb photo is not mine, I forgot to take a photo so had to find one via google images

I probably wouldn't describe La Défense as a must-see in Paris.  But after seeing so many 19th century (and older) buildings in Paris, it was a nice change of pace to spend an hour or so looking at more modern architecture.

Saint-Denis Basilica

Gothic architecture can trace its roots to the 12th century basilica of Saint Denis just outside Paris.  The church is located above a burial site thought to contain the remains of Saint Denis, a bishop of Paris who was martyred in the 3rd century.

There has been a church on the site since 750 AD, but the building was expanded and rebuilt in the 1130's at the direction of Abbot Suger, an influential religious and political figure.

tympanum and central doorway of the western facade

A hallmark of gothic architecture is the emphasis on vertical space; the building seems to soar heavenward.

There are gorgeous stained windows in the nave...

... and an impressive rose window on the north transept.

Sunlight streams through the windows and makes colored patterns on the stone.

In the crypt they have excavated the area where Saint Denis was believed to have been buried.  St. Denis was beheaded for his beliefs in 250 AD on the hill in Montmartre.  As the legend goes, he picked up his severed head and walked several kilometers to this site, preaching a sermon the whole way.

But the basilica is best known as the final resting place of kings.  The necropolis is the burial site of 42 of France's monarchs.  There are many ornate tombs in the crypt and transepts.  Most feature a likeness of the deceased.  François I (friend of Leonardo da Vinci) is buried in an elaborate tomb with his wife Claude and several of their children.

The tomb is one of several two-level "cadaver tombs".  On the upper level are effigies of the deceased as they were in life, but on the lower level they are depicted as they were at the time of their death, a nod to the fact that all men are judged the same in the afterlife.

It was common practice at the time to remove the entrails for separate burial.  This nearby urn was constructed to hold François' heart.

At one time the tombs were brightly painted; you can see traces of blue and gold paint on the tomb of Philippe de France (brother of Saint Louis).  His feet rest on a lion; this was a symbol of valor and nobility.

 Another monumental cadaver tomb shows Henri II and Catherine de' Medici.

Nearby are two more gisants (recumbent statues) of Henri II and Catherine de' Medici.  These effigies show the couple in coronation dress.

Not all of the tombs were decorated with white marble.  There was one effigy sculpted from Tournai limestone.  It is thought to be of Marie de Brienne, Empress of the Latin Empire of Constantinople (a crusader state).

There were also two (rare) metal tombs for two of Louis IX's children, who died in infancy.

Gilt tomb for Jean, son of Louis IX

And this stone mosaic tomb was created for Frédégonde, a ruthless queen who lived in the late 6th century.

The tombs in the transepts were all very ornate and pretty to look at.  Some of the tombs and sculptures in the crypt below were a little creepy.  Like the dessicated heart of Louis XVII (lower left) and the room of wooden coffins and reliquaries for various royal entrails (lower right).

I found it very interesting that most of the tombs are actually empty.  During the French Revolution in 1793, the anti-monarchy revolutionaries ordered the opening of all the royal tombs in Saint Denis and the remains were dumped into a pit and covered with quicklime.  Later (in the early 1800's), the pits were exhumed, but because it was impossible to tell who was who all the remains were placed instead in an ossuary in the crypt.  Only the royalty from the Bourbon restoration (in the 1800's) are actually in their tombs.

The Bourbons at rest

Notre Dame Treasury

Today we had a fabulous lunch at Le Relais de l'Isle on  Île Saint-Louis, and afterwards we walked across the bridge to Notre Dame to have one last look (only one week left!) and to view the relics on display in the Treasury.  Because we came from the other island, we made sure to walk through the garden behind the cathedral.

We've been having iffy weather lately, but today was an absolutely beautiful day.

Along with other relics and valuables, the Treasury purports to have pieces of the true cross and the actual crown of thorns worn by Jesus.  (Recall that St. Louis paid more for that one relic than he did to build the entire Sainte-Chapelle).  Admission to the cathedral is free, but to get into the Treasury it costs 4 Euros.  The first room contains relics of various saints and clergy of the faith.

Reliquary with bones of saints (I'm presuming...it was just labeled "Reliquaire")

Another coffer containing saintly relics:

This reliquary contains an artifact from Saint Louise de Marillac who lived in the 1600's and helped found the Daughters of Charity (with Saint Vincent de Paul).  According to Wikipedia she is, among other things, the patron saint of "disappointing children".  I found it interesting that there is such a thing, and that she is not the only patron (look it up: there are several!).

There were other treasures, such as these vestments donated by Napoleon III at his son's baptism.

Kevin almost never asks me to take his picture, so how could I say no? 

This is a copy of a monstrance (the eucharist would be placed in the empty central circle for veneration) from the time of Louis XVIII.

A view of one of the treasury rooms.

Cases of reliquaries.

A reliquary for the crown of thorns with a monstrance on either side.

Closer view of the Reliquaire de la Couronne d'Epines (Crown of Thorns Reliquary).  This reliquary was designed by Violet-Le-Duc and fabricated by goldsmith Placide Poussielgue-Rusand in 1862.  We could not tell if it actually contained the crown, since it was well above eye level.

I had thought (from looking online) that the crown of thorns reliquary would look something like this (see below), but we did not see anything resembling this anywhere in the Treasury.

Photo courtesy of Notre Dame website

Well this reliquary at least had something in it.  According to the label, this holds a piece of the cross of Saint Claude: "Reliquaire de la croix dite de Saint Claude".  Research on the internet did not turn up any Saint Claudes, Clauds, or Clouds that were martyred on a cross, so I can't figure out what this relic really is meant to be.  Maybe Saint Claude just owned a cross for general purposes, and this is a piece of it.

This is a tunic belonging to Saint Louis (King Louis IX).  It has held up pretty well, considering that he died about 740 years ago.

The painted ceiling of one of the Treasury's rooms.

By the way, if anyone is planning to be in Paris in 2013, the Cathedral of Notre Dame will be celebrating its 850th anniversary (groundbreaking was in 1163).  There are plans for a pilgrimage center and all kinds of other celebrations.  There was a bulletin board in the cathedral (that wasn't there a few weeks ago) that lists a website (www.notredamedeparis2013.com).  But that URL doesn't seem to lead anywhere...maybe the website is still under construction.

The Panthéon

Today we took a walk in the 5th district, past the Panthéon.  It was originally built as a church to honor Sainte Geneviève.  After the French Revolution, the building alternated between being used as a church and for secular purposes until 1885, when it was made a civic mausoleum dedicated to the great men and women of France.

The Panthéon was built in the neoclassical style and modeled on the Pantheon in Rome.  Twenty-two Corinthian columns line the portico.  Construction was completed in 1790.

The interior contains a mix of religious artwork depicting the life of Sainte Geneviève and monuments honoring the country of France.

At first glance it seems like any other church or cathedral until you realize that there is no altar.  Where the altar would be is instead a grouping called The National Convention, which shows a female personification of France (called "Marianne") surrounded by patriots and revolutionaries.

For the most part the ceiling has been left bare of frescoes, which gives the interior space a light and bright feeling.

The exception is the central dome which has a colorful fresco depicting the Apotheosis of Sainte Genevieve by Antoine Gros.  The dome is constructed with three layers.  The fresco is on the middle layer and is seen through an oculus (hole) in the first layer.  The third layer of the dome is the outer layer, built of stone and covered with a lead roof.

French physicist Léon Foucault experimented here in the Panthéon with a pendulum suspended from the center of the 272-foot dome.  In 1851 he was able to tangibly demonstrate the earth's rotation on its axis by watching the apparent "movement" of a pendulum swinging in an arc (it is an illusion, as the pendulum's arc is stationary -- the earth is what is moving.)  Too complicated for me to explain in a few sentences, the wikipedia article actually has good animation with a scientific explanation to show how it works.  There is still a pendulum on display in the Panthéon, here it is in action:



We then went down to the enormous crypt, which is where all the great men of France rest for eternity.  Flanking the entryway are the tombs of Voltaire and Rousseau.  Clockwise from left: Voltaire's tomb, Rousseau's tomb, statue of Voltaire.

Three literary greats are buried in the same crypt: Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and Emile Zola.  The remains of Dumas were only just moved to the Panthéon in 2002.  On the right are Pierre and Marie Curie.  Marie Curie is the first woman to be buried in the Panthéon for her own achievements (the first woman interred there was someone's wife).

France has high expectations of its current citizens, because there are several completely empty crypts, just waiting to be filled with "great men".

We came back upstairs just as a tour was leaving for the dome.  You can only go up there as part of the tour, so we joined in.  The birds-eye view allowed us to see the Foucault Pendulum from above.

Another view of the main floor.

Getting up close and personal with the ceiling allows you to see the damage that gravity and time can cause.  Other areas were covered with netting to prevent bystanders below from falling stonework.

We were then led outside and climbed more steps to walk around the exterior terrace on the dome.

The views were pretty great, and you could walk all the way around the dome to get a 360-degree view of the city.

Eiffel Tower, Invalides, Saint-Sulpice with La Défense behind

Notre Dame with the Pompidou center behind

The church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, just around the corner

And a couple more snaps of us enjoying the view.