The hidden corner of the 19th arrondissement
Aug 24, 2014 21:29:30 GMT
Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2014 21:29:30 GMT
If you do not have a seriously ill child in Paris, you almost certainly do not know about the Butte du Chapeau-Rouge and the church of Marie-Médiatrice. The reason that unfortunate parents would know about those places is because the mega children's hospital Robert Debré sits along the edge of Paris, enfolding the church and facing the Butte.
For many years, it was the church that intrigued me. It is a huge and modern church that can easily be seen from the périphérique ring road around Paris or along the circular boulevards which follow the same route at a more sedate pace. For many years I would drive past, or take the bus, and think each and every time "what on earth is that huge church in the middle of nowhere that nobody can get to and which is clearly abandoned?" And indeed it was abandoned, that is until it was occupied by squatters who lived there and "decorated" it a bit with spray paint for about 10 years. The location is so incredibly incovenient that one could only wonder "what were they thinking to put a church there?" I looked it up at the time and discovered that it was built from 1950 to 1954 which did indeed make it very recent (and also property of the Catholic Church rather then the government since it was built after 1905). But by the time I moved to Paris in 1973, it was already abandoned, so it had a lifespan of less than 20 years! What a complete waste!
However, when they started work on the T3 tramway in that part of the city, I saw that the church had been cleaned and reopened, which was another complete mystery, since it was as inconvenient and inaccessible as ever. And when I made the effort to approach it in the middle of the week, it was closed although some mass times were posted.
Well, we'll get back to that later, because on the same exploratory trip along the T3 construction site, I discovered the Square du Chapeau Rouge. "Square" is a total misnomer, because it is actually a very big park. It isn't "huge" like the Buttes Chaumont or the other famous parks of Paris, but it is bigger than something like the Parc de Belleville, which is already considered to be rather sizeable. The Wikipedia article about it even says that it is "relatively unknown to Parisians" and that is certainly true. I had set foot in it briefly a few years ago, but today I decided that I needed to make a more thorough investigation. It is an extremely steep park (like the Parc de Belleville) to I decided to enter it from the high end and walk down from there.
It was a Sunday morning, but I certainly had the place to myself.
It had a number of huge trees of totally different species, clearly for botanical reasons.
It also had a multitude of wild and delightful paths.
It has impressive views of the eastern suburbs.
For many years, it was the church that intrigued me. It is a huge and modern church that can easily be seen from the périphérique ring road around Paris or along the circular boulevards which follow the same route at a more sedate pace. For many years I would drive past, or take the bus, and think each and every time "what on earth is that huge church in the middle of nowhere that nobody can get to and which is clearly abandoned?" And indeed it was abandoned, that is until it was occupied by squatters who lived there and "decorated" it a bit with spray paint for about 10 years. The location is so incredibly incovenient that one could only wonder "what were they thinking to put a church there?" I looked it up at the time and discovered that it was built from 1950 to 1954 which did indeed make it very recent (and also property of the Catholic Church rather then the government since it was built after 1905). But by the time I moved to Paris in 1973, it was already abandoned, so it had a lifespan of less than 20 years! What a complete waste!
However, when they started work on the T3 tramway in that part of the city, I saw that the church had been cleaned and reopened, which was another complete mystery, since it was as inconvenient and inaccessible as ever. And when I made the effort to approach it in the middle of the week, it was closed although some mass times were posted.
Well, we'll get back to that later, because on the same exploratory trip along the T3 construction site, I discovered the Square du Chapeau Rouge. "Square" is a total misnomer, because it is actually a very big park. It isn't "huge" like the Buttes Chaumont or the other famous parks of Paris, but it is bigger than something like the Parc de Belleville, which is already considered to be rather sizeable. The Wikipedia article about it even says that it is "relatively unknown to Parisians" and that is certainly true. I had set foot in it briefly a few years ago, but today I decided that I needed to make a more thorough investigation. It is an extremely steep park (like the Parc de Belleville) to I decided to enter it from the high end and walk down from there.
It was a Sunday morning, but I certainly had the place to myself.
It had a number of huge trees of totally different species, clearly for botanical reasons.
It also had a multitude of wild and delightful paths.
It has impressive views of the eastern suburbs.
