The “Caserne
des Célestins” is where you find the headquarters of the “Garde Républicaine”. Passing
by the other day, I was struck by the extraordinary decorations of the main building,
the entrance…
But first,
maybe some information:
The “Garde
Républicaine” (Republican Guard) is part of the French Gendarmerie and, in its
turn, part of the national police forces. Their responsibilities include
guarding of public buildings in Paris, like the residences of the President and
of the Prime Minister, the Senate, the National Assembly… They also accompany
the highest national personalities and important foreign guests (“state visits”),
including with horses, music…
Maybe some
explanation with regard to the name of these headquarters. “Caserne” is obviously
translated into “barracks”. “Célestins” refer to monks belonging to a religious
order, created in 1254, by a man called Pierre de Moron and who became Pope
under the name of Célestin V. Why give
such a religious name to some military barracks? Well actually this is where, until the French Revolution, you could find the Convent of the Celestines. Created
during the 13th century, it disappeared thus with the French
Revolution. The area was then used for different activities until it was
decided to build the present barracks, completed in 1895.
We can see
on the maps below - one from 1780, the other one from today - which area the convent
covered, compared with the present barracks. The Boulevard Henri IV was created
during the 1870’s and changed the physiognomy of the area. Also, we should know
that the Canal Saint Martin with its Port de l’Arsenal was created only in the
beginning of the 19th century. One detail – we can see the roof of
the horse riding course, by Eiffel, originally placed elsewhere for the 1889
World Fair, then moved here.
So, as we
can see - the buildings, the main entrance… are extremely well decorated. This
is just the outside… maybe one day I will try to get inside!
2 comments:
Une belle découverte !
Ahhhh, the map from 1254 is lovely...I'm going to try to purchase one online...wish me luck!
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