Marais District; Topographic Views
Gilchrist, Scott
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Alternative Title
Le Marais; Topographic Views
Date
1997Description
Typical Marais street scene; Le Marais (meaning "the marsh" in French) is a district in Paris, France, traditionally a bourgeois area, but also well-known historically. It spreads across parts of the 3rd and 4th arrondissements in Paris (on the Rive Droite, or Right Bank, of the Seine). In the 12th century, the Knights Templar cleared the marshlands to the north of Philippe Auguste's enclosure. Another explanation for the name Marais, which today in French means marshland, would come from "maraichers", i.e. vegetable gardens. Indeed this area outside the original walls of Philippe Auguste's Paris were cultivated, in particular by religious orders From the 16th century onwards, the aristocracy built large residences (hôtels) in the area, a trend which was accelerated by the creation of the Place Royale (which would become the Place des Vosges) by Henri IV in 1605. Towards the end of the nineteenth century and in the first half of the twentieth century, the area surrounding the Rue des Rosiers became home to many Jews from Eastern Europe, further specializing local labour in the clothing industry. The Marais was therefore a target for the Nazis when they controlled France. Following Liberation in 1944, the district went slowly into dereliction. In 1969, André Malraux made the Marais the first protected sector (secteur sauvegardé), with the area now being home to many museums, art galleries and historic sites. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 7/16/2008)
Type of Work
topographical view; photographSubject
architectural exteriors, business, commerce and trade, cityscapes, Gardens, World War, 1939-1945, Twentieth century
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only