"Moskowa"

In the 18th arrondissement, along the abandoned circular railway, “La Petite Ceinture” (see previous posts) is an area which is defined as “Moskowa”, referring to a small street and a square with this name.

The area is under “renovation” since a number of years, but is still perhaps not among the “cleanest” areas of Paris. As, often, however, there are some small streets and alleys (Villa des Tulipes, Impasse de Talus, Passage Charles Albert…) with some, at least in my mind, attractive atmosphere.

(Please not that even some old gas lampions are around, of course now electrified.)

There are and have of course been some conflicts between the locals and the authorities about which development the area should take. Some of the “leaders” to defend the spirit of the area have been the urban or street artists (see previous posts about urban art and graffiti), especially “Mosko et associés” who started a campaign 20 years ago. Today, I hardly found any traces of their art, except some modest souvenirs left after a recent 20 year celebration. I added a typical giraffe by “Mosko et associés”, found elsewhere in the city. 

Saint Cloud Park

The large Saint Cloud Park overlooks the Seine River. It’s situated slightly outskirts of Paris. The park used to surround a castle. During the Franco-Prussian war in 1870 the castle, occupied by the Prussians, was bombed by the French and severely damaged. It was demolished in 1891. That – royal - castle was built during the 17th century, replacing an older one.

The yews you see here show where the castle once stood.

A number of events took place here: A king – Henry III - was killed (in the previous castle). Marie-Antoinette was one of the famous occupants. This is where Napoleon was proclaimed emperor and he made it his favourite residence.

The surrounding park and forest – those days for hunting – still remain and are of easy access for the Parisians. Good for some sports, some picnicking… but there are also a few bars and restaurants around.

The view over Paris already makes the visit worthwhile.

I wish you a nice weekend!

Saint-Denys-de-Chapelle

Along what used to be a road already during Roman times, leading from the Paris centre towards the north, is a small chapel called Saint-Denys-de-la-Chapelle. This was more or less countryside until the 19th century. There was a little village called La Chapelle (the chapel). The present chapel which dates from the 13th century was built on foundations of a 5th century one, created by Saint Genevieve, patron saint of Paris.

There is a saying that Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris, martyred and beheaded around 250, walked all the way, holding his head in his arms – some six km – (4 miles) (see previous post) from Paris to what was to become the Saint-Denis Basilica (see previous post). However, it seems that Saint Genevieve had his remains buried here in 475, in the previous little chapel, until they were transferred to the Saint Denis Basilica in 636. This explains the name of the chapel, St. Denys, St. Denis.

The present chapel, thus from the 13th century, has also had a famous guest; it seems that Joan of Arc spent a night here in 1429 on her way to conquer Paris, which was then under Burgundian control, a few months after her successful intervention at Orleans. She was wounded however and the fight about Paris didn’t take place. To honour her presence here, a basilica was built over the period 1930-1964, the Basilique Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc, the surprising bigger building you can now find as neighbour to the small chapel. The basilica seems to be not quite completed and is closed for visits, except for masses.

To further honour Joan, statues can be found outside the basilica and inside the chapel.

(I'm still in Sweden; this post is pre-programmed.)

Marché Saint-Pierre

This is a view from in front of the Sacré Coeur. You can recognise the Saint-Jacques Tower, Notre Dame, Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, Pantheon, Saint- Eustache, Sainte Chapelle …. and a lot of rooftops.

If you rather look slightly left and down, you will find the Marché Saint-Pierre. There is the old covered market in the Baltard style, Halle Saint-Pierre, from 1868, which since 1986 houses a Museum for Naïve Art and temporary expositions, a library… (no photos inside allowed). You can also see the terrace of a building which pretends to be the world’s largest tissue store “Le Marché Saint Pierre (Dreyfuss)” … . I took also a photo from the terrace looking up to Sacré Coeur.

This area, all the adjacent streets, has since some 60 years specialised in selling textiles. There is another large store, “Reine”, and a number of smaller shops. The quality goes from the top to the cheapest.

If you use the metro station “Anvers”, in the direction of Sacré Coeur, you will automatically cross the area.

(I'm still in Sweden; this post is pre-preogrammed.)

Albert Kahn Garden

Albert Kahn (1860-1940) was a banker and philanthropist who lived here. He got bankrupt in 1929 (Wall Street Crash), but had then already transformed the gardens around his house to a public park. It’s situated just outside Paris, at Boulogne-Billancourt. It’s amazing.

The park has different parts, the most spectacular may be the Japanese one - Kahn travelled to Japan with a photographer and brought home not only photos, but also Japanese gardeners and architects, plants, houses… If you visit the garden during the spring, the colours are even more spectacular.

Other parts of the park include a rose garden with a palm house…

… and some wilder areas.

Albert Kahn also sent photographers all over the world. At the entrance, there is today a museum and archives with some 72.000 colour photos and 183.000 meters of film, “The Archives of the Planet”.

I wish you a nice weekend!

(I'm off to Sweden again for about a week. I have pre-programmed some posts, including this one.)