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Leave the Cluny La Sorbonne metro station and walk to Boulevard St-Michel, the main thoroughfare through the Latin Quarter. It was created by Baron Haussmann in 1869, and runs 1.4 kilometres southwards from the Pont St-Michel, from which it gets its name. Cutting through the medieval fabric of this part of the city, the boulevard runs all the way to Place Camille Jullian, and parallel to the old Roman road now known as rue St-Jacques. This traditionally formed the north-south axis of the city. Famed for its literary cafés, these have largely been replaced by cheap shops and fast-food restaurants.
Affectionately known as Boul’Mich, it has a long history of student activism, particularly the students riots that erupted in 1968. Place St-Michel contains the Fontaine St-Michel. Constructed by Gabriel Davioud between 1855 and 1860, the fountain’s original statue was supposed to depict Napoleon, but public opposition caused it to be replaced by the less controversial figure of the archangel St Michel. The saint is depicted with two dragons – spouting water rather than breathing fire – and four figures representing the classical virtues of justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude. Place St-Michel also contains a marble plaque commemorating the students who died fighting the German occupation here in 1944.
Musée Nationale du Moyen Age
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Turn off Boulevard St-Michel onto rue du Sommerard and the Musée Nationale du Moyen Age will be on your left at No. 6 Place Paul-Painlevé. This was known as the Musée de Cluny until recently, in honour of the building’s original owner, Pierre de Châlus, who was Abbot of Cluny. He bought the site in 1330, when it contained nothing more than some ruins (these were later discovered to be from the Gallo-Roman era). The building was built and extended many times until it was finally completed in 1550 by another abbot, Jacques d’Amboise.
Alexandre du Sommerard took it over in 1833 to house his impressive art collection, which he then willed to the state. This is one of the world’s finest collections of medieval art and is housed across the two floors of the building. Covering a wide range of items, it includes manuscripts, tapestries and other textiles, as well as precious metals, ceramics and sculpture. Some of the collection’s highlights include a magnificent 15th-century Book of Hours and the famous Lady with the Unicorn tapestries, woven in the southern Netherlands in the late 15th century and remarkable for their sensitive depiction of plants, animals and people. There are also some wonderful religious carvings and stained glass, some of which come from the Basilique St-Denis and date back to the 12th century. Of particular interest are the everyday objects from the Middle Ages, including kitchenware, clothing and children’s toys. One of the museum’s most precious exhibits is the Golden Rose of Basle, a delicate monstrance which dates to 1330, making it the oldest of its kind in the world. It was made by the goldsmith Minucchio da Siena for use by Pope John XXII in Avignon.
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