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Knights Templar

Those of you new to this site, may not have been privy to this blog. Which seems to be a topic of interest.  We are bringing it back for your entertainment and enjoyment. As you travel during the holidays, these might come in handy during those delays and waits in the airport and more. Happy Holidays.

As many of you may know, I’m doing research for two books on Paris during times where people got their heads chopped off and were burned at the stake (among other agonizing events). So how could I NOT talk about more dead people?

P_003 by Stew Ross Travel
Jacques de Molay met his fiery end right here.

We were on our way to the second district on our (translated: mine) prescheduled itinerary for the day when I abruptly got everyone off the Metro. We were so close to the Pont Neuf that I couldn’t resist. Sandy and I had never been down to the lower level of the point of the island (the extreme western side of the Île de la Cité). One of the attractions of going to the lower point is to see the real level of the island when the Romans began their colony.

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To The Guillotine and Back

One thing I’ve learned…

while researching this book in Paris, is there are enough individual sad stories about the French Revolution to fill an entire book. This really hit home when we visited the Picpus Cemetery in the 12th district.

Picpus is the only private cemetery left in the city of Paris. It is a cemetery born out of the Revolution. For background purposes, let me take you to 11 June 1794. France and Paris in particular are in the depths of the period called “The Terror.”

The Terror

The guillotine has been dismantled and moved to the “Square of the Overturned Throne.” This in now known as the place de la Nation (Métro: Nation). For the next 46 days, 1,306 people were executed here. Only on 27 July 1794 or 9 Thermidor was the blade of the guillotine silenced. Robespierre was arrested, attempted suicide, and held at various locations.

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