Yesterday afternoon, with the wind blowing like a tempest (as Myrtille described it), I strolled to the Les Halles area, which is not too far from my neighborhood. Les Halles (translation: covered market) was the ancient central market in Paris enlarged and covered in 1183 to shelter the merchants who came from all over to sell their goods. It was known for the glass and iron buildings that were built for the market stalls in the 1850s and was dubbed the "Stomach or Guts of Paris."During its height in the 19th century, the sprawl of wooden sheds to which the culinary world converged daily sold wholesale food, vegetables, and meat. When an end-of-the-day bell (une cloche) signalled the end of trading, the homeless grabbed any bruised tomatoes, broken broccoli, and damaged baguettes. Today, Paris bums are still called clochards.
Because of the necessity of needed repairs and the new market economy in the 1970’s, Les Halles was dismantled and moved to a suburb. In the meantime, new underground rail lines were built and eventually a new multiple-story underground business and shopping center was opened. Once known as a very shady and drug-infested area, it has
exploded with glass and iron apartments and buildings since I was here in 2005. Supposedly, it is now cleaned up and much safer.Which brings me to Les Halles’ famous neighbor, the Gothic/Renaissance-styled church Saint-Eustache. Named after a Roman general who was burned along with his family for being a Christian, the church was erected during the period of 1532 to 1640. The facade was rebuilt in the 18th century and the church restored after a fire in 1844 by Baltard who is especially known as the creator of Les Halles. When this original well-known market was moved in the 1970s, the church took on a more prominent position in the neighborhood. It has always been a meeting place for nobility, middle class, tradesmen and the working people of Paris.
There are many paintings in this church, including ones by Rubens; and Colbert is buried here. He was the great statesman and minister of finance who managed to keep the French finances more or less afloat despite the big expenditures by Louis XIV for wars and for the rebuilding of Versailles.
Many events are notable about Saint-Eustache—two I find most interesting: young Louis XIV’s Holy
Communion was celebrated here and Moliere (remember the big chair from my post the other day?) was baptized and then married here two decades later. However, he could not be buried in the church—and you know why.Most interesting to me, however, is that not only does the church have a universal reputation for its architecture but also for its strong musical tradition. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s mother’s funeral was celebrated in the church in 1778 but I'm not sure if Mozart played here. The 8,000-pipe organ dating from 1854 and played by Liszt is world-renown. It has been completely rebuilt in recent years and is considered one of the biggest and best in the world. I plan to attend mass one Sunday soon when the organist, Jean Guillou (since 1971), accompanies their famous choir while playing this beautiful organ.
The brochure I picked up at the church concludes: “In this neighborhood of perpetual growth, the church of Saint-Eustache continues its mission. The market today, known in the past as “The Stomach of Paris,” suffers from spiritual hunger which must be appeased by the Church of Christ, through Saint-Eustache, the market cathedral.”
