Let me bring you back to my eternal Paris; where it is always a mouvable feast indeed. Enough to write a book on my blog but I like to take you to some emblematic places , off the beaten path of my Paris. This is a new found picture and new text/links on a not typical tourist spot, the Lycée Henri IV of Paris, Hope you enjoy it as I.
One beautiful area of my eternal Paris and a great historical monument often bypass is the Lycée or High school Henri-IV , located at 23, rue Clovis in the 5éme arrondissement of Paris, in the Latin Quarter . The story goes that after the victory of Vouillé on the Visigoths which opens the rich Aquitaine, the king of the Franks Clovis founded around 506 the Royal Monastery of the Holy Apostles, dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul. Clovis was buried there in 511. The following year, the Basilica, continued by Queen Clotilde, acquired an additional prestige by receiving the relics of St. Genevieve. The rue Clovis and rue Clotilde are now flanked by the Lycée Henri-IV, and rue Clotaire is adjacent to their son, King Clotaire I. The abbey protects the border door of the enclosure of Philippe Auguste wall at 50 rue Descartes. Part of the wall is visible on the path leading from the school to 5-7 rue Clovis, and at end of 48-50, impasse Jacques-Henri-Lartigue. The square of the neighboring Place de la Contrescarpe takes its name from this military function.
On June 24, 1667, the copper coffin of Descartes is deposited there under a marble monument. rue Descartes now borders the Lycée Henri-IV. King Louis XV vowed in 1744 to build a new monumental church at the abbey. The abbot of Sainte-Geneviève blessed the land in 1758, the king laid the first stone in great ceremony on September 6, 1764. This new church designed by Jacques-Germain Soufflot will become at the French revolution, the Pantheon of Paris.(see post) The canons are burned during the French revolution: their abbey is declared national property in 1790. The Central School of the Pantheon is replaced by the Lycée Napoléon, the first high school of the French Republic. The abbey church was razed between 1801 and 1807 to pierce rue Clovis. During the Restoration (monarchy Louis XVIII) , the school is renamed Royal College Henri IV. It is a high school of the elite, frequented by the sons of king Louis-Philippe and the high aristocracy. The high school regained its Napoleon name under the Second Empire,(Napoléon III) , and in 1870, with the proclamation of the Third Republic still changes its name, for the Lycée Corneille. But in 1873, the government of President Patrice de Mac Mahon, royalist legitimist, and the assembly of the Moral Order renamed the high school the name the only Republican Bourbon appreciated, “the good King Henry” Lycée Henri-IV as it is today.
Today, do not confuse the middle school and high school Henri IV, they have different procedures that goes beyond this post. For me, the most significant and beautiful to see is the tower. The Tour Clovis tower is the remnant of the old bell tower of a church disappeared between the high school and Church Saint-Étienne-du-Mont (nearby see post ) In 1803, the breakthrough of rue Clovis and the construction of the facade of the school cleared the religious complex. Since then it sounds a distinct chime every quarter of an hour, and announces the hours. The base of the tower, with arched windows dates from Philippe Auguste. This same king makes the monastery of St. Genevieve the guardian of the south gate of Paris, in the current rue Descartes. Pieces of Philippe Auguste’s enclosure wall can be seen on rue Clovis (going down the metro Cardinal-Lemoine) (see post) ) and rue Jacques-Henri Lartigue (from the Bibliothèque des littératures policières or Library of Police Literatures). The name of the Place de la Contrescarpe, meeting place at noon of high school students, shows the ditches of the wall. The warheads of the first and second floor date from the 14C. The coronation of the Flamboyant Gothic tower, rebuilt after 1483.
And further ,part of my eternal Paris in the Quartier Latin is the rue Clovis a street in the 5éme arrondissement or district of Paris located mostly in the Sorbonne quartier or neighborhood. This road that connects the Place du Pantheon and the rue du Cardinal-Lemoine is located in the Saint-Victor and Sorbonne neighborhoods or quartiers of the 5éme arrondissement or district of Paris. The breakthrough of the road in the 19C requires the demolition of the Church Abbey Sainte-Geneviève, of which only the bell tower known as the Tour Clovis or Clovis tower remains in the premises of the Lycée Henri -IV, located at No. 23 rue Clovis Near the 5-7 rue du Cardinal-Lemoine, remains a remnant of the wall of Philippe Auguste which was restored in 2010.
The official Lycée Henri IV on its history : https://lycee-henri4.com/presentation/histoire/
The Paris tourist office on the Latin Quarters :https://en.parisinfo.com/transport/73228/Quartier-Latin
There you go folks , hope you enjoy the walks and history bits of my eternal Paris! The world comes over and nobody does it better!!! Paris , what other title do you need! Again, hope you enjoy the post as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 