The Marais

It is surprising to think that Marais used to be a swamp land.  Today, it is bustling with people and the streets are lined with restaurants and shops.  There is an energy and vibrant color that makes this area of Paris alive.  The Marais had good and bad times during the history and this is one of its good times.  In the thirteenth century, the swamps were drained and the city wall, a part of it can be seen on the walk, was built to include this area in the city.  Henri IV attracted nobility, clergy, and philosophers to this area.  But it was later abandoned and then repaired returning the area back to a similar status.  The Marais, today, still seems to attract similar people like it did before. 

It attracted nobility and still in a way does.  The buildings of the area still consist of hotels, which are private residences with an entrance to a courtyard and a garden in the back.  They are almost like mini chateaus.  This is a very French kind of architecture since it exudes grandeur and shows off pride and elegance.  Since nobility truly lived here, they were known to build extravagant residences.  These grand hotels thus have a reputation and history that lingers in the Marais.  They demand higher class and more wealthy people and have a reputation for it.  The whole hotels however aren’t typically owned by one person like they were before but they are distinct reminders of the past.

I find it interesting that the LDS church is in one of these hotels.  It is an unusual setting and building for a church.  The church buildings are normally in a chapel or separate building away from others, but here it occupies part of a hotel.  Paris has so many grand and large cathedrals and various church buildings that I’m surprised the church doesn’t have a separate chapel.  I find it in a way symbolic though.  First of all the church is almost tucked away and subtly inserted into the Paris community.  It isn’t an obvious or flashy building that persuades people to enter just based on the architecture and grandness but it is situated in a more casual and average type of building.  But the church isn’t in just any kind of building, it’s placed in part of a hotel, a building that royal people once occupied.  This seems symbolic of the fact that the church helps people become royal nobles.  In the church, we believe that after this life the righteous will become heirs of the kingdom and will rule over nations.  The church in general is also not flashy and prideful so it doesn’t make sense for it to create a building to compete with the extravagant cathedrals.  The placement of the church makes sense and fits with the church’s goals and this adds to the Marais’s nobility aspect but also religious aspect of community. 

There are also many churches still in this area which contribute to the clergy aspect of the Marais.  The walk points out the church of Saint-Paul Saint-Louis but it takes a side entrance called the Passage Saint-Paul.  This was an entrance for the Jesuits who occupied this area in the 1500s and had this church built.  Louis XIII even laid the cornerstone for the church in 1627 which again shows that the Marais is an area of nobility and clergy. 

The shops in the Marais also reflect the nobility aspect of the area but also the philosophical.  There are many some small expensive boutiques that attract people who have money.  Not everyone could afford the items in the boutiques that demand money.  The shops aren’t the most typical though.  They are unique and artsy that add to the more philosophical side of the Marais.  These kind of shops contrast with others in Paris like the traditional or departmental stores and makes it one of a kind. 

Marais means swamp and that is exactly what the area was, swamp lands, but now look at it the Marais is an energetic and colorful area full of people, shops, and restaurants.  After it was first built, nobility, clergy, and philosophers were attracted.  With some ups and downs the Marais is still a lively area and draws similar people.  The remaining hotel architecture influences the people today and the assortment of churches in the area brings in the aspect of clergy.  The LDS Church is even tucked away in one of the hotels in the Marais symbolic of the nobility.  The small shops are expensive but unique and different adding to the atmosphere.  The history of Paris influences the city so much and in essence has never left the city.  Paris is built upon layers of history and with no abrupt break it all becomes one.  The past and the present of Paris are inseparably tied together.