The Sorbonne and the Academic Palace will open their doors on the occasion of the 40th European Heritage Days whose themes, «Living Heritage» and «Sport Heritage», resonate particularly with their secular history and their mission of transmission for a sustainable future Hic et ubique terrarum – “Here and everywhere on Earth” – as the university’s motto dictates.
The European Heritage Days are an opportunity for everyone to travel through the history of the Sorbonne and admire the architectural and artistic marvels that symbolize this place of knowledge and knowledge. The itinerary, embellished with explanatory panels and works carried out by students of high schools and art schools of the Paris Academy, will allow visitors to discover some of the most prestigious places and steeped in history of the Sorbonne.
Thus, upon entering the heart of the Academic Palace, visitors will be able to admire the large hall and its monumental statues of Archimedes and Homer, the peristyle, decorated with wall paintings illustrating the history of Letters and Sciences and in which are hidden singular «ghosts», the Richelieu salon and its treasures, the Grand Salon, the Salle des Actes or the solemn Salle des Autorités – which will house for the occasion an exhibition dedicated to university gowns, their history from their origins in the Middle Ages and their symbolism – from which visitors will be able, Like the great personalities who came to the Sorbonne, climb onto the stage of the majestic large amphitheatre.
The latter is notably the witness of the close yet often unsuspected links between sport and the Sorbonne. It is no coincidence that, last June, the course of the Olympic flame of the Paris 2024 Games was unveiled right here in the Sorbonne. Throughout the past two centuries, it has been a focal point of the French and international sports movement. The first National Congress of Physical Education was held there in April 1892, and foreshadowed the integration of sports activity within the republican school; The restoration of the modern Olympic Games at the initiative of Pierre de Coubertin was voted on June 23, 1894, after five days of debate with more than 2,000 international guests in the large amphitheatre in the Salle Gréard.
In this honour, a special visit route, on the theme of the links linking the Olympic Games to the Sorbonne and animated by a guide will be proposed, at 11 am and 3 pm, Saturday and Sunday. Registration will take place on site, subject to availability.
Next to the Salle Gréard, it will be possible to admire an aspect of the living heritage in the Sorbonne: the latest works to have entered there, which had not happened since 1978! Following a commission from the Rector of the Paris Academy and the Chancellery of the Universities of Paris to bring heritage to life, the artist Christian Guémy, alias C215, created seven contemporary works, inaugurated in May 2019. This series of paintings entitled «Aux grandes femmes, la Sorbonne reconnaissance» consists of portraits of illustrious women who have all studied or taught at the University of Paris: Elisabeth Garett Anderson, Jeanne Chauvin, Marie Curie, Simone de Beauvoir, Simone Weil, Jacqueline de Romilly and Françoise Héritier.
Another illustration of the notion of living heritage, the prestigious spaces of the Academic Palace will be the setting for even more contemporary achievements, a true heritage in the making: works by students from the professional sector will be highlighted throughout the visit. Indeed, the Paris Academy, which has a rich catalogue of demanding training courses, from feather looms to boilermaking, wood, leather goods, jewellery, glassware… and who can rely on the know-how of its Arts & Design Campus, is proud to present the work of its young art artisans!
The European Heritage Days are also a unique opportunity to enter the chapel which, overlooking the main courtyard, houses the tomb of the Cardinal de Richelieu, a masterpiece of classical French funerary sculpture by François Girardon. The Sorbonne Interuniversity Library, as well as the Louis Liard Hall and the Richelieu Amphitheatre, are open to students and researchers.
Finally, this year again, children will be in the spotlight and will be able to share a playful moment thanks to a booklet-games specifically created for them.
Come and meet a living heritage, witness to nearly eight centuries of history and resolutely focused on a sustainable future!