Originally from Pas-de-Calais, he publishes a book to discover Paris differently
By Anne-Sophie Hourdeaux
Published on
Cyprien Mycinskiborn in 1988, is from Boulogne sur Mer (Pas de Calais). A graduate in history and a graduate of Sciences Po, he is a high school teacher in the Paris region. After having written about Italy and the Holy Land, here he is offering us a 3rd work on the theme of Paris. The chosen angle: sacred places of the capital. 20 locations Christians but also Muslims, Jews and even Romans. A dive into the history of Paris, but also into its present, in a very lively style !
When the Presses Universitaires de France (PUF) editions looked for an author to tell Paris on the theme of religious sites, it was Cyprien Mycinski who was asked. Why ? Because the teacher has been living in Paris for fifteen years, and he had already produced 2 very dynamic travelogues on Italy and the Holy Land.
“This project was offered to me two weeks before the confinement of May 2020. I had time to document myself”, he explains. He also wandered a lot in the various chosen sites, which means that his texts are very lively, and not only turned towards the past!
Read also
By the same author: “Via Francigena; crossing Italy on foot” (Salvator, 2017); “A narrow land; notebooks from Israel and Palestine” (Salvator, 2019).
20 sites, a tasty tourist guide
The chapters are short, lively, with historical nuggets, in a condensed style and rich in anecdote. This book reads like a tasty tourist guide! Cyprien Mycinski even explains to us how to get to certain places by metro or RER, what is the current decor, its colors, its smells. We follow him with pleasure in his walks, where past and present mingle, combine, intertwine.
It is the author who chose the places and their number. “There are 20 sites, plus an epilogue. It’s been 21 centuries! he smiles.
There are the must-sees: Notre-Dame, the Sacré-Coeur, but also forgotten and little-known places. There are the sites of Greater Paris, but also the suburbs; ancient remains and more recent buildings, such as the cathedral of Evry.
Roman, Catholic, Muslim and Jewish sites
If the Catholic places are more numerous, the author has also highlighted the other religions present in Paris: Islam, Judaism, and even Roman polytheism.
The Pillar of the Nautes sent back to Roman times, there are Gallic and Roman gods. The opportunity for the author to recount the reign of the Emperor Julian in the 4th century, who wanted to return the Roman Empire, which had become Christian, to the ancient gods.
The Great Mosque of Paris, in addition to the exceptional building, allows you to dive into a piece of more contemporary history: the Second World War. “The rector at the time, Si Kaddour Benghabrit saved Jews by hiding them, and also by establishing false declarations of Muslim faith”. Touched by the role of this exceptional rector, the author even calls on the city of Paris to give his name to a street or a square! We told you: with Cyprien Mycinski, the past always rubs shoulders with the present.
As when he mentions St Bernard’s Churchits construction, but also the evacuation of the undocumented in 1996. Or even when he presents the St-Denis basilica or the chapel of the miraculous medal, these places which speak of devotion today and of the contemporary mutations of French Catholicism.
The surprises
In this meticulous work, he made discoveries. “I had heard of theAbbey of Port-Royal des Champs, but I had never been there. Only sections of the walls remain. We are in the suburbs, and we have the impression of being in a desert atmosphere. Only shadows remain of this abbey. The place, spearhead of Jansenism, experienced destruction and persecution in the 17th century. »
Among the more recent sites, it details the Church of Our Lady of Raincy, in reinforced concrete, “which allows the Gothic style to succeed completely, with hollow walls, so that the light springs even more from the immense stained glass windows”.
Evry Cathedral impressed him: “It is the last cathedral built in the 20th century. Made like a cylinder, it has no external openings. Of red bricks, with trees in crowns at its top, it is truly enigmatic. Inside, it’s even more fascinating. The only opening is the one at the top, we are as if sucked towards the sky! »
The message he wanted to convey in this book is that buildings do not only speak of the past. “It’s not just heritage, these places live today! »
To read: “Paris, sacred land, PUF, 22 euros.
Was this article helpful to you? Note that you can follow Actu Pas-de-Calais in the My Actu space. In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.