Coordinates: 48°51′3″N 2°20′0″E / 48.85083°N 2.33333°E / 48.85083; 2.33333

Place Saint-Sulpice

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Place Saint-Sulpice
File:P1210651 Paris VI place Saint-Sulpice rwk.jpg
View of the square and the Fountain of the Four Bishops from the Church of Saint-Sulpice
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Length60 m (200 ft)
Width60 m (200 ft)
Arrondissement6th
QuarterLatin Quarter
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Construction
Completion1754
DenominationSaint-Sulpice

The Place Saint-Sulpice is a large public square, dominated on its eastern side by the Church of Saint-Sulpice. It was built in 1754 as a tranquil garden in the Latin Quarter of the 6th arrondissement of Paris.

History as a tourist destination

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By 1855, the Place was already a tourist destination, with several omnibuses traversing the square, and the Church highlighted.[1][2] Ticket offices for the omnibuses and trains opened on the Place by 1857.[3] By 1867, a “generally well kept water-closet” opened for people who were waiting to change omnibuses, as well as railroad ticket offices.[4] After the war and insurrection, British and American tourists were directed to see the fountain and flowers sold at the Place.[5]

As of 1894, the square, laid out in 1811 by Napoleon’s decree, was already described as “Old and New Paris” and a flower market had been established.[6] As of 1916, motor buses replaced the old omnibus.[7]

In the 1920s, there was an annual fête in May; stores selling antiques, books, and costumes lined the Place.[8] In his memoir of those days, Ernest Hemingway wrote in A Moveable Feast about the Place and its sites, both fixed like the benches, trees, statues of bishops, and lions, as well as the unfixed, walking pigeons.[9] A café on the square, “Café de la Mairie, served food and drinks” to Lost Generation writers, which included Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Djuna Barnes, and Samuel Beckett.[9][10]

The Café was known in the 1950s and 1960s for its “flair.”[11] Albert Camus read his daily newspaper there in those times.[12] By the turn of the Century, this café was “frequented by literary types,” publishers, and students who all enjoyed the inexpensive coffee and “the lack of so many tourists.”[13]

Several high-end brand shops opened up on the square, including Annick Goutal, Yves St Laurent, and Christian Lacroix.[13] Shopping is available at Saint-Sulpice for “a wealth of great fashion and household delights.”[14]

The big draw for tourists has always been the Church,[2][4][8] but “the entire generous space is beloved by Parisians on lush summer evenings and on frigid February nights.”[12] The Christmas Fair and an annual June antiques fair attract both locals and tourists.[12] The fountains, statuary, trees, sculptures, and seminary are also noted in guidebooks, old and new.[4][6][8][12][14][15][16]

In 1975, George Perec famously wrote, “There are many things on the Place Saint-Sulpice.”[17] In a Futurist perspective, “Place Saint-Sulpice 2.0 is a layered place, in part a public place, in part a parochial location.”[18]

Features

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In addition to the church, the square features the Fontaine Saint-Sulpice, or Fountain of the Four Bishops (Fontaine des Quatre Evêques),[9] built in the center of the square between 1844 and 1848,[12] which was designed by the architect Joachim Visconti.[4][6][8]

The first photographs of the new fountain in 1848 was by the new technology's inventor, Hippolyte Bayard.[19]

The fountain presents the statues of four bishops, all known for their excellent preaching, one on each of its sides:

Some people call this monumental fountain the Fontaine des Quatre Points cardinaux (lit. the "Fountain of the Four Cardinal Points"). This is a bit of innocent wordplay; none of the four esteemed bishops ever became a cardinal.[15]

Other features include chestnut trees,[16] the city hall (French: mairie) of the 6th arrondissement, and the Café de la Mairie, a rendezvous for writers and students,[12][13] which featured in the 1990 film, La Discrète ("The Discreet"), directed by Christian Vincent, starring Fabrice Luchini and Judith Henry.

Servadoni had planned a coherent square of identical buildings surrounding Saint-Sulpice, but only one, at number 6, was built to his designs; the rest reflect his concepts.[20] His designs of 1754 had already been extensively reworked by the 1820s.[21]

Metro stations

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Located near the Métro stations: Mabillon and Saint-Sulpice.

The square is served by lines 4 and 10.File:Paris m 4 jms.svg File:Paris Metro 10.svg

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References

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  • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
  • Place Saint-Sulpice (mairie de Paris)
  • Chronicles of Paris (map showing the Place on page 239]
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