The year was 1652, and Queen Anne of Austria (1601-1666) was worried. Her eldest son, Louis XIV, was in his teenage years and beginning to show the first signs of frigidity and a lack of interest in the opposite sex, traits that had characterized his father, Louis XIII (r. 1610-1643). The queen confided her fears to her servant, Catherine Bellier, who decided to take matters into her own hands and teach the young king the facts of life.
Although Catherine was considered one of the plainest women at court, and had only one eye (which earned her the nickname “one-eyed Cato”), she succeeded in her task far beyond what anyone expected. Louis XIV went on to become quite the womanizer, fathering not only one legitimate heir but also about ten illegitimate children with various mistresses.
What do you get for giving Louis XIV a crash course in the birds and the bees?
The grateful queen showered Catherine with gifts. First, she gave Catherine’s husband a title of nobility, turning the servant Catherine into the Countess de Beauvais. Shortly after, the Queen of France granted Catherine a sizable sum of money so she could build herself a mansion in Paris, and even gave her the right to use the king’s own chief architect, along with stones that had been earmarked for the expansion of the Louvre. That is how the Hôtel de Beauvais came to be, which you can find on Rue François Miron (68 Rue François Miron) in the heart of the 4th arrondissement of Paris. Catherine even received great honor from the king himself: in 1660, he insisted on passing by her mansion on his way to the Louvre with his new bride.
In the years following her royal moment, Catherine continued to live at the Hôtel de Beauvais and became known for her long list of lovers, which is astonishing in itself if you recall how she looked (truth be told, she was so unattractive that no portrait of her survives. The closest thing is a woman’s head found in the mansion, which some claim was modeled on her own features). After Catherine’s death, the place changed hands several times, and in 1763 it was bought by the Bavarian ambassador to France, who rented out several rooms in the mansion to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and his family during their concert tour of Paris in 1764. Today the mansion belongs to the French Court of Appeals and cannot be visited inside, only its impressive courtyard is open to the public. Still, if you’ve made it to Rue François Miron, there are a few more interesting buildings worth your time.
What else can you find on Rue François Miron?
At 11 and 13 Rue François Miron, you’ll find two ancient houses from the 14th century, almost the only ones of their kind to have survived in Paris since the Middle Ages. Not far across the street, at number 30, in the courtyard of the building, you’ll find the remains of a 16th-century mansion where Marie Touchet lived, the mistress of Charles IX (r. 1560-1574), who bore him his only son (had that son been legitimate, all of French history might have turned out differently).
At number 44-46 stand the remains of an embassy of the Abbey of Chaalis, built in the Middle Ages to house monks from that abbey when they visited Paris. You can visit the cellar that holds the remains, then climb up to a rooftop with a small courtyard dating from the late 16th century (the last time I was there, the visit was free). Finally, at number 82 stands the 18th-century Hôtel de Hanault, which today houses the “Maison Européenne de la Photographie,” a must for photography lovers.
Want to know more about the Marais?
Feel free to check out the article The Marais: walking routes, hotels, apartments and recommended restaurants.
