Boulevard Saint-Michel
Encyclopedia
The Boulevard Saint-Michel (bulvaʁ sɛ̃ miʃɛl) is one of the two major streets in the Latin Quarter
of Paris
(the other being the Boulevard Saint-Germain
). It is a tree-lined boulevard which runs south from the pont Saint-Michel
on the Seine
river and the Place Saint-Michel
, crosses the boulevard Saint-Germain and continues alongside the Sorbonne
and the Luxembourg gardens
, ending at the Place Camille Jullian just before the Port-Royal train station
and the avenue de l'Observatoire. It was created by Baron Haussmann
to run parallel to the rue Saint-Jacques which marks the historical north-south axis of Paris.
The boulevard serves as a boundary between the 5th
and 6th arrondissement
s of Paris; odd-numbered buildings on the eastern side are in the 5th arrondissement and even numbers on the western side are in the 6th. It has a length of 1380 m, an average width of 30 m and takes its name from the pont Saint-Michel. In slang, the boulevard is sometimes referred to as the Boul'Mich.
As the central axis of the Latin Quarter, it has long been a hotbed of student life and activism, but tourism is also a major commercial focus of the street and designer shops have gradually replaced many small bookshops. The northern part of the boulevard is now the most frequented, due to its bookstores (such as Gibert Joseph and the Gibert Jeune), cafés, cinema and clothes shops......
The main buildings of the boulevard are the Musée de Cluny
, the lycée Saint-Louis
, the École des Mines
, and the cité universitaire, the university area of the Sorbonne
.
on the Left Bank along with the creation of the Boulevard Saint-Germain
. It was formerly approximated by the rue de la Harpe which for centuries led from the Seine to the Porte Saint-Michel, a gate to the walls of Paris near what is now the intersection of the Boulevard Saint-Michel and rue Monsieur le Prince. Construction of the Boulevard was decreed in 1855 and began in 1860.
The boulevard was initially known as the boulevard de Sébastopol Rive Gauche, but was changed to Boulevard Saint-Michel in 1867. The name is derived from the eponymous gate destroyed in 1679 and the subsequent Saint-Michel market in the same area (the current Place Edmond Rostand).
Numerous streets disappeared as a result of the boulevard's creation, including the rue des Deux Portes Saint-André, the passage d'Harcourt, the rue de Mâcon, the rue Neuve de Richelieu, the rue Poupée, part of rue de la Harpe and of rue d'Enfer, part of the former place Saint-Michel and the rue de l'Est. The part of the boulevard Saint-Michel at the entrance of the rue Henri Barbusse and the rue de l'Abbé de l'Epée was previously known as the place Louis Marin.
During 1871, the Hôtel des Etrangers was the meeting place of the Vilains Bonhommes (renamed Circle Zutique by Charles Cros) which included Paul Verlaine
and Arthur Rimbaud
.
Jules Vallès
, socialist writer and survivor of the Paris Commune
was buried in the cemetery of Père-Lachaise. His body was carried there from the funeral home at n° 77, into which 10,000 people are claimed to have squeezed.
On December 10, 1934, the founders of the Comité de rédaction du traité d’analyse met at the Café A. Capoulade, n° 63, to discuss writing a textbook on mathematical analysis
. This meeting included Henri Cartan
, Claude Chevalley
, Jean Delsarte
, Jean Dieudonné
, René de Possel
and André Weil
. They were, together with others, to become famous in mathematical circles as the Bourbaki Group
.
who,
responding to the question of how to know at which end it would be extended, answered with panache: "It will be extended to the sea at both ends". This is the version given by Alphonse Allais.
Latin Quarter
Latin Quarter is a part of the 5th arrondissement in Paris.Latin Quarter may also refer to:* Latin Quarter , a British pop/rock band* Latin Quarter , a 1945 British film*Latin Quarter, Aarhus, part of Midtbyen, Aarhus C, Denmark...
of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(the other being the Boulevard Saint-Germain
Boulevard Saint-Germain
The Boulevard Saint-Germain is a major street in Paris on the Left Bank of the Seine river. It curves in a 3.5 kilometer arc from the Pont de Sully in the east to the Pont de la Concorde in the west and traverses the 5th, 6th and 7th arrondissements...
). It is a tree-lined boulevard which runs south from the pont Saint-Michel
Pont Saint-Michel
Pont Saint-Michel is a bridge linking the Place Saint-Michel on the left bank of the river Seine to the Île de la Cité. It was named after the nearby chapel of Saint-Michel. It is near Sainte Chapelle and the Palais de Justice...
on the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
river and the Place Saint-Michel
Place Saint-Michel
The Place Saint-Michel is a public square in the Latin Quarter, on the borderline between the fifth and sixth arrondissements of Paris, France...
, crosses the boulevard Saint-Germain and continues alongside the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
and the Luxembourg gardens
Jardin du Luxembourg
The Jardin du Luxembourg, or the Luxembourg Gardens, is the second largest public park in Paris The Jardin du Luxembourg, or the Luxembourg Gardens, is the second largest public park in Paris The Jardin du Luxembourg, or the Luxembourg Gardens, is the second largest public park in Paris (224,500 m²...
, ending at the Place Camille Jullian just before the Port-Royal train station
Port-Royal (Paris RER)
Port-Royal is a railway station on the RER B in Paris, France. It is situated on the border of 5th and 6th arrondissement of Paris, and named after the convent of Port-Royal.-See also:* List of stations of the Paris RER...
and the avenue de l'Observatoire. It was created by Baron Haussmann
Baron Haussmann
Georges-Eugène Haussmann, commonly known as Baron Haussmann , was a French civic planner whose name is associated with the rebuilding of Paris...
to run parallel to the rue Saint-Jacques which marks the historical north-south axis of Paris.
The boulevard serves as a boundary between the 5th
Ve arrondissement
The 5th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France.Situated on the left bank of the River Seine, it is one of the central arrondissements of the capital...
and 6th arrondissement
VIe arrondissement
The 6th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. It includes world famous educational institutions such as the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris and the Académie française, the seat of the French Senate as well as a concentration of some of Paris most...
s of Paris; odd-numbered buildings on the eastern side are in the 5th arrondissement and even numbers on the western side are in the 6th. It has a length of 1380 m, an average width of 30 m and takes its name from the pont Saint-Michel. In slang, the boulevard is sometimes referred to as the Boul'Mich.
As the central axis of the Latin Quarter, it has long been a hotbed of student life and activism, but tourism is also a major commercial focus of the street and designer shops have gradually replaced many small bookshops. The northern part of the boulevard is now the most frequented, due to its bookstores (such as Gibert Joseph and the Gibert Jeune), cafés, cinema and clothes shops......
The main buildings of the boulevard are the Musée de Cluny
Musée de Cluny
The Musée de Cluny , officially known as Musée National du Moyen Âge , is a museum in Paris, France...
, the lycée Saint-Louis
Lycée Saint-Louis
The lycée Saint-Louis is a higher education establishment located in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, in the Latin Quarter. It is the only public French lycée exclusively dedicated to classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles...
, the École des Mines
École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris
The École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris was created in 1783 by King Louis XVI in order to train intelligent directors of mines. It is one of the most prominent French engineering schoolsThe École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris (also known as Mines ParisTech, École des Mines de...
, and the cité universitaire, the university area of the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
.
History
The boulevard Saint-Michel was the other important part of Haussmann's renovation of ParisHaussmann's renovation of Paris
Haussmann's Renovation of Paris, or the Haussmann Plan, was a modernization program of Paris commissioned by Napoléon III and led by the Seine prefect, Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann, between 1853 and 1870...
on the Left Bank along with the creation of the Boulevard Saint-Germain
Boulevard Saint-Germain
The Boulevard Saint-Germain is a major street in Paris on the Left Bank of the Seine river. It curves in a 3.5 kilometer arc from the Pont de Sully in the east to the Pont de la Concorde in the west and traverses the 5th, 6th and 7th arrondissements...
. It was formerly approximated by the rue de la Harpe which for centuries led from the Seine to the Porte Saint-Michel, a gate to the walls of Paris near what is now the intersection of the Boulevard Saint-Michel and rue Monsieur le Prince. Construction of the Boulevard was decreed in 1855 and began in 1860.
The boulevard was initially known as the boulevard de Sébastopol Rive Gauche, but was changed to Boulevard Saint-Michel in 1867. The name is derived from the eponymous gate destroyed in 1679 and the subsequent Saint-Michel market in the same area (the current Place Edmond Rostand).
Numerous streets disappeared as a result of the boulevard's creation, including the rue des Deux Portes Saint-André, the passage d'Harcourt, the rue de Mâcon, the rue Neuve de Richelieu, the rue Poupée, part of rue de la Harpe and of rue d'Enfer, part of the former place Saint-Michel and the rue de l'Est. The part of the boulevard Saint-Michel at the entrance of the rue Henri Barbusse and the rue de l'Abbé de l'Epée was previously known as the place Louis Marin.
During 1871, the Hôtel des Etrangers was the meeting place of the Vilains Bonhommes (renamed Circle Zutique by Charles Cros) which included Paul Verlaine
Paul Verlaine
Paul-Marie Verlaine was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle in international and French poetry.-Early life:...
and Arthur Rimbaud
Arthur Rimbaud
Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was a French poet. Born in Charleville, Ardennes, he produced his best known works while still in his late teens—Victor Hugo described him at the time as "an infant Shakespeare"—and he gave up creative writing altogether before the age of 21. As part of the decadent...
.
Jules Vallès
Jules Vallès
Jules Vallès was a French journalist and author.-Early life:Vallès was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire. His father was a supervisor of studies , later a teacher, and unfaithful to Jules' mother. Jules was a brilliant student...
, socialist writer and survivor of the Paris Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
was buried in the cemetery of Père-Lachaise. His body was carried there from the funeral home at n° 77, into which 10,000 people are claimed to have squeezed.
On December 10, 1934, the founders of the Comité de rédaction du traité d’analyse met at the Café A. Capoulade, n° 63, to discuss writing a textbook on mathematical analysis
Mathematical analysis
Mathematical analysis, which mathematicians refer to simply as analysis, has its beginnings in the rigorous formulation of infinitesimal calculus. It is a branch of pure mathematics that includes the theories of differentiation, integration and measure, limits, infinite series, and analytic functions...
. This meeting included Henri Cartan
Henri Cartan
Henri Paul Cartan was a French mathematician with substantial contributions in algebraic topology. He was the son of the French mathematician Élie Cartan.-Life:...
, Claude Chevalley
Claude Chevalley
Claude Chevalley was a French mathematician who made important contributions to number theory, algebraic geometry, class field theory, finite group theory, and the theory of algebraic groups...
, Jean Delsarte
Jean Delsarte
Jean Frédéric Auguste Delsarte was a French mathematician known for his work in mathematical analysis, in particular, for introducing mean-periodic functions and generalised shift operators. He was one of the founders of the Bourbaki group.-External links:...
, Jean Dieudonné
Jean Dieudonné
Jean Alexandre Eugène Dieudonné was a French mathematician, notable for research in abstract algebra and functional analysis, for close involvement with the Nicolas Bourbaki pseudonymous group and the Éléments de géométrie algébrique project of Alexander Grothendieck, and as a historian of...
, René de Possel
René de Possel
Lucien Alexandre Charles René de Possel was a French mathematician, one of the founders of the Bourbaki group, and later a pioneer computer scientist, working in particular on optical character recognition....
and André Weil
André Weil
André Weil was an influential mathematician of the 20th century, renowned for the breadth and quality of his research output, its influence on future work, and the elegance of his exposition. He is especially known for his foundational work in number theory and algebraic geometry...
. They were, together with others, to become famous in mathematical circles as the Bourbaki Group
Nicolas Bourbaki
Nicolas Bourbaki is the collective pseudonym under which a group of 20th-century mathematicians wrote a series of books presenting an exposition of modern advanced mathematics, beginning in 1935. With the goal of founding all of mathematics on set theory, the group strove for rigour and generality...
.
Access
The closest metro stations are:- Saint-MichelSaint-Michel (Paris Metro)Saint-Michel is a station on Line 4 of the Paris Métro in the 5th arrondissement. Located in the Quartier Latin, it offers a connection to the St-Michel - Notre-Dame RER station...
at the northern end in the Place Saint-Michel. - Cluny/La Sorbonne at the intersection with the Boulevard Saint-Germain.
- LuxembourgLuxembourg (Paris RER)Luxembourg is an RER station in Paris, France. It is situated on the border of 5th and 6th arrondissement of Paris.The terminus of the Ligne de Sceaux was opened on the same site in 1895...
on the Place Edmond Rostand (at the intersection with the Rue Gay-Lussac). - Port-Royal near the southern end (across the Place Camille Jullian).
Composition
- n° 23b : On the corner with the Boulevard Saint-Germain, is the Musée de Cluny (Musée National du Moyen Âge) which is made up of two listed monuments: the Palais des Thermes which are ruins of Roman baths, and the Hôtel de Cluny, a medieval and renaissance residence Official website, in English.
- n° 24 : The pipe shop, Au Caïd, has been on this corner (with Rue Pierre Sarrazin) since 1878.
- n° 27 : On the corner with the rue des Ecoles was the Café Vachette, frequented by Catulle Mendès, Joris-Karl Huysmans and Stéphane MallarméStéphane MallarméStéphane Mallarmé , whose real name was Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of the early 20th century, such as Dadaism, Surrealism, and Futurism.-Biography:Stéphane...
. - n° 30 : On the corner with the rue Racine in 1871 was the Hôtel des Etrangers, nowadays Hôtel Belloy Saint Germain.
- n° 37 : André Weil and his younger sister SimoneSimone WeilSimone Weil , was a French philosopher, Christian mystic, and social activist.-Biography:Weil was born in Paris to Alsatian agnostic Jewish parents who fled the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany. She grew up in comfortable circumstances, and her father was a doctor. Her only sibling was...
moved in January 1914 to a new family home in an apartment in this building. After the war, they returned here in 1919. - n° 40-42 : The café Sherry Cobbler, frequented by Mallarmé, the humourist Alphonse AllaisAlphonse AllaisAlphonse Allais was a French writer and humorist born in Honfleur, Calvados.He is the author of many collections of whimsical writings. A poet as much as a humorist, he in particular cultivated the verse form known as holorhyme, i.e. made up entirely of homophonous verses, where entire lines rhyme...
, Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-AdamAuguste Villiers de l'Isle-AdamJean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam was a French symbolist writer.-Life:Villiers de l'Isle-Adam was born in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, to a distinguished aristocratic family...
... - n° 44 : Lycée Saint-LouisLycée Saint-LouisThe lycée Saint-Louis is a higher education establishment located in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, in the Latin Quarter. It is the only public French lycée exclusively dedicated to classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles...
Website (in French) - n° 49 : For over 70 years, from 1920 onwards, this was the PUF (Presses universitaires de France) bookshop;
- n° 52 : In 1885, Monsieur Lebas, the editor of Rodolphe Darzens (minor symbolist poet, biographer of Arthur Rimbaud, correspondent of Stéphane Mallarmé) lived here.
- n° 54 : Offices of SMEREP (Société Mutualiste des Étudiants de la Région parisienne) the student Social Security organisation.
- n° 60 : Ecole des Mines Home Page
- n° 63 : At the end of the 19th century this was the location of the Taverne du Panthéon, where associates such as Pierre LouÿsPierre LouÿsPierre Louÿs was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection."-Life:...
and Henry Bataille of the literary magazine Mercure de France dined. By 1934, it had become the Café A. Capoulade. - n° 64 : From 1873 to 1894 this was the home of Parnassian poet and AcademicianAcadémie françaiseL'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
Charles-Marie-René Leconte de LisleCharles-Marie-René Leconte de LisleCharles Marie René Leconte de Lisle was a French poet of the Parnassian movement.-Life:Leconte de Lisle was born on the island of Réunion. His father, an army surgeon, who brought him up with great severity, sent him to travel in the East Indies with a view to preparing him for a commercial life...
and bears a 1934 plaque in his memory. The poet Auguste Lacaussade also lived here. - n° 68 : Headquarters of the IUATLD (International Union Against TB and Lung Disease).
- n° 71 : Well-known Jazz club Le Petit Journal.
- n° 73 : On the corner of Rue Royer-Collard was Galerie de la Pléiade, an art gallery whose primary focus was photography, founded by Jacques Schiffrin in the Spring of 1931.
- n° 74 : On April 7, 1987, the Algerian lawyer Me Ali Mecili, an opponent of the AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n government, was assassinated here Newsreport (in French). - n° 79 : Was the headquarters of the Committee for the Protection of Juvenile Russian Students Outside of Russia founded in 1923, and chaired by Michael Feodorov. The same building also housed the National Russian Committee chaired by.
- n° 103 : Center for French Universities, professional organisations of the academic community in France.
- n° 111 : Egyptian cultural centre.
- n° 125 : From February 1890 Paul Verlaine resided here at the hôtel des Mines.
- n° 131 : Headquarters of EHESS (Editions De L'école Des Hautes Etudes En Sciences Sociales).
Literature
- Mentioned in Of Human Bondage, Chapter 44 by W. Somerset MaughamW. Somerset MaughamWilliam Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...
, 1915 - Mentioned in "Noctambule", Ballads of a Bohemian by Robert ServiceRobert W. ServiceRobert William Service was a poet and writer who has often been called "the Bard of the Yukon".Service is best known for his poems "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee", from his first book, Songs of a Sourdough...
, 1921 - mentioned in "ulysses" chapter 3 by james joyceJames JoyceJames Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
, 1922 - Mentioned in "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest HemingwayErnest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
, 1926 - Mentioned in "How it Feels to Be Colored Me" by Zora Neale HurstonZora Neale HurstonZora Neale Hurston was an American folklorist, anthropologist, and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance...
, 1928 - illustrated in "Madeline's Rescue" by Ludwig BemelmansLudwig BemelmansLudwig Bemelmans was an Austrian author, an internationally known gourmet, and a writer and illustrator of children's books. He is most noted today for his Madeline books, six of which were published from 1939-1961...
, 1951 - Mentioned in "68 Boulevard Saint-Michel" by Danielle Martinigol and Alain Grousset, 1999
Extension to the sea
A political candidate named Duconnaud famously proposed, as an electoral promise, to "extend the boulevard Saint-Michel to the sea." The idea was taken up by Ferdinand LopFerdinand Lop
Ferdinand Lop was a French teacher, poet and publisher, and candidate for the French Presidency in multiple elections...
who,
responding to the question of how to know at which end it would be extended, answered with panache: "It will be extended to the sea at both ends". This is the version given by Alphonse Allais.