8.9.08

Collège des Bernardins

A medieval monumental building has just been restored in Paris, the Collège des Bernardins. After five years of restoration, this building was inaugurated September 4 and open for public the following (rainy) day, when I went there.








The College dates from 1248 (start of the works) and is an outstanding example of Cistercian architecture.

Universities – Bologna, Paris, Oxford, Cambridge, Heidelberg... - had just started to take over the role of intellectual centres from monasteries. The Cistercians were encouraged to go to Paris and this was the reason for the creation of the College, where the monks, teachers and students lived and worked. Most of the University education took place in different Colleges.

An adjacent church was also built in the 14th century, but has been demolished since.*

The College was active for some 4 centuries, but of course the Revolution changed things. The building became a prison (another one!), later a warehouse and from 1845 to 1995 served as a fire brigade station. In 2001 it was bought by the Paris Diocese to become a – catholic - cultural centre.

The Pope, Benedict XVI, will visit the place September 12 – and make a speech on culture.

The arches and vaults in the major hall are magnificent. Under the new roof (with tiles made according to old methods and not one like the other), there are two auditoriums and in the cellar a number of smaller auditoriums and conference rooms. Of course, the enormous restoration job has obviously made the place look quite differently from what it may have looked like during medieval times, but I feel that a very nice job has been done.

*/ Just behind the College, you can find a trace of of one of the church walls.

45 comments:

raindrop said...

Il est bien beau ce collège.

Anonymous said...

What ceilings Peter. Amazing.

SusuPetal said...

Those arches, those ceilings and walls are just the ones I adore, they take my breath away.

Well, have to go to work, how do I manage that without a breath, Peter!!!!!

claude said...

C'est de la bel ouvrage ! J'ai vu un reportage à la télé au sujet de cette restauration. Le mobilier n'a plus rien de moyen-âgeux, mais c'est un beau mélange des choses.

Alain said...

Comment as tu fait pour rentrer ? Dimanche c'était mission impossible.

Olivier said...

je ne connaissais pas, il est superbe ce Collège des Bernardins. Jour de pluie, jour de visites, il semble en effet qu'il y avait du monde. les arches sont magnifiques

Vagabondage said...

Hello Peter..

Whouah.. Toutes ces voutes superbes! Comme d’autres cieux!

Enfin de retour dans la blogosphère et finalement ravie de vous retrouver.

Je suis rentrée hier, pour trouver un air d'automne à nos contrées.. Dommage, j'aime tant l'été.

Bonne journée Peter à bientôt.

hpy said...

J'ai pris un avant goût chez ALain, et voilà donc le plat principal.

Anonymous said...

Wow, phantastic arches, especially the first photo shows them very well. The collage is nice, too. A great building.

Anonymous said...

ah, the year, 1248, that's when they started to build Cologne Cathedral.

Cergie said...

Tu as encore usé de ton charme scandinave pour entrer... Je comprends alors pourquoi il n'y avait personne à Amboise dimanche, tout le monde essayait de rentrer dans le collège.
J'aime bien l'alliance moderne et ancien. Le "médiéval" (très lumineux toutefois apparemment ici) est presque du moderne d'ailleurs vue la pureté des lignes, hormis la différence des mises en oeuvre et des matériaux.

alice said...

Superbe! La richesse du patrimoine religieux parisien m'étonnera toujours...

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Goodday Peter,
What a fantastic start of the day! I better watch the great building such as the college St Bernardins, in Paris. Thats always better than the cloudy sky's here in Holland,(moonsons rains here too)...
wishing you a good week:)

In reaction on your comment: When you believe in yourself , than you are alredy a star, that was my message with my post...

Greetings from
JoAnn's D Eyes/Holland

di.di said...

i dont mind to go there to study.. :P

di.di said...

i dont mind to go there to study.. :P

Ash said...

Stunning arches and ceilings!

HZDP said...

now I know why you are asking for college photos, haha,Peter, this is magnificent, but my college is a just normal private school..
but I will take some of my college photos next week!

Azer Mantessa said...

not much of the exterior part this Collège des Bernardins but the interior is magnificent.

some structures do prove ... it's what inside :-)

Thérèse said...

De très belles couleurs ou ancien et moderne se côtoient agréablement!

Jessica said...

I had no idea that colleges became educational centers as early as the 13th century. I thought it was at least 100 years laters. As alway, a very informative post with beautiful pictures.

Heather said...

What amazing and beautiful arches!

Anonymous said...

Somptueux !

Nous voilà donc bien rentrés à Paris cette fois. Adieux les beaux cieux d'Italie !

Je vois que la culture catholique a des fonds !

Anonymous said...

PS - je t'ai senti amusé par la visite des bennos qui agite les provinces françaises. LOL

Anonymous said...

I have seen this on television I think. If not this restoration than some other one. In any case it is a magnificent restoration work and should deserve the attention of all the people of Paris.

A very worthy post, Peter. I appreciate being able to see it and to read it.

Thank you for your visits to my blogs. Those are welcome too.

krystyna said...

Wow, Collège des Bernardins!
Fantastic architecture,
like these arches.

Thank you Peter for the great post!
I didn't know that The College dates from 1248.

Have a great day!

Mona said...

Indeed, the arches are magnificent & the college looks awesome!

Deepak Gopi said...

Really awesome :)
Happy onam to you and family

Anonymous said...

The arches sing, such beauty. You're right, the changes are different and modern, but I think they did a nice job too. Are you going to go snap photos of the crowd when the Pope comes?

sonia a. mascaro said...

What a beautiful medieval monument!Love those arches and ceilings... Thanks for sharing those wonderful photos!

Neva said...

Peter, this is awesome! wow.

Chuckeroon said...

A breahttaking return to Paris from Italy, Peter. BTW...I did enjoy the snap of the Tuscan pussy cat resting.

PeterParis said...

raindrop:
So nice to see you around!

cuckoo:
I thought you said the other day that you planned to beck for questions only! I'm happy that's not the case!

susupetal:
Even when not working, breathing is necessary!

PeterParis said...

claude:
Je trouve aussi que les architectes (Wilmotte...) ont fait de bon travail!

alain:
Vendredi. La queue était assez longue, mais rapide.

olivier:
Peut-être grâce à la pluie il y avait moins de monde?

PeterParis said...

mathilde:
Heureux de te retrouver! Oui l'automne est là ... encore que l'été dure officiellement encore deux semaines. On verra le temps qu'il fera.

hpy:
Pauvre Alain... il y avait trop de monde dimanche!

ingrid:
Obvioulsy a lot of things happened around 1248!

PeterParis said...

cergie:
Un bon mélange de styles!

alice:
Encore que les bâtiments appartient le plus souvent à la ville (ou ) l'état, je crois. La ou j'habite (17e) c'est la mairie qui paye la rénovation de notre église.

joann:
The day I went, it was better to be inside than outside.

PeterParis said...

di.di.:
Are you taking up studies again?

ash:
I can but agree!

hzdp:
Looking forward to see YOUR college!

PeterParis said...

azer:
The inside is for meetings, concerts...

therese:
On est d'accord!

jessica:
Obviously it was the case... but it was the beginning!

PeterParis said...

heather:
... of the same opinion!

nathalie:
Peut-être en Italie un autre jour? Yes the Bennos seem to travel around. I will another blogger in Paris this week.

abraham:
With all your activities, do you have the time to watch television?

PeterParis said...

krystyna:
I didn't know either... you learn every day!

mona:
Worth a visit!

deepak:
Thanks!

PeterParis said...

ruth:
I'm afraid I will let you without the Pope.

sonia:
Always a pleasure!

neva:
Happy you lke it!

PeterParis said...

chuckeroon:
Somehow it's nice to back! Paris is OK - also!

Ming the Merciless said...

Ahhh...I remember seeing the college when I took a tour of the Left Bank during my last trip. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see inside of it, I just saw the building and facade of the college.

Loupiote said...
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Loupiote said...
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Loupiote said...

I posted some photos of the Collège des Bernardins:

http://loupiote.com/sets/72157610239779773.shtml