A history of the Marais, Paris, France.
In the center of Paris is a charming area called the Marais.
After the big sights such as the Eiffel Tower, it is one of the
most popular area visited by tourists due to it's narrow
streets, old buildings and variety of shops, boutiques and bars.
However, even despite the tourism, it has managed to fight off
the forces of commercialism and is still a favorite area of the
Parisiens.
The word Marais means 'swamp' in French, and indeed originally
the Marais area was a swamp. In the tenth century, while the
city only occupied the islands on the Seine, the swamp was
drained and reclaimed to extend the borders. However, it was
another four hundred years before the area began to truly
flourish when grand buildings such as the royal hotel des
Tournelles and the hotel Saint-Pol were built (hotel in this
sense doesn't mean guests and mini-bars, but grand buildings
built by the aristocracy). For another two hundred years the
Marais continued to be an area of grandeur with beautiful areas
such as the place des Vosges.
This period was not to last forever, and by the 18th century
the Marais was neglected. The area had become a slum and a
jewish ghetto, spurned by the rest of the city. However, the
poor state of the Marais was ultimately to become it's savior,
when at the end of the 19th century Baron Haussmann started one
of the greatest urban reconstruction projects ever seen in the
world. Ironically it was not the reconstruction that created the
Marais as we see today, but the lack of it in that area.
Haussmann felt that the Marais wasn't worthy of reconstruction,
and the slum was left untouched while the rest of Paris was
transformed with broad boulevards and grand buildings. As the
rest of Paris flourished in grandeur, eyes gradually turned to
the Marais as prime real estate. Fortunately, a man called Le
Corbusier recognized the beauty of the ancient buildings, and
decrees were made to prevent the demolition of the Marais and
other old areas of the city.
It took a long time for the Marais to truly reach it's present
beauty. Even mid-20th century areas such as the Place des Vosges
had a grim and neglected appearance. However, after the war and
protected even further in the 1960's by French law, the Marais
has become a highly desired area. The buildings are now clean
and well kept, magnificently glorious in all their ancient
splendor.