A few weeks ago, Georges' offices were moved temporarily from being just off the Place de la Sorbonne to within the ACTUAL Sorbonne. He doesn't work for the Sorbonne but the organization he works for is going to renovate their offices, so they had to find a temporary home for everyone through November of this year. The senior management and some others ended up renting space in the Sorbonne while the rest are in offices on or near the Champs Elysées.
Just after Georges moved into his temporary digs, the Garçon and I went over to meet him for lunch one afternoon during the boy's winter school break. After lunch, Georges took us inside the Sorbonne, which for me was a treat because it's not a place you can just wander into as a tourist.
One of many stone-arched corridors and doorways on the ground floor. Upstairs where Georges is working it looks like any normal office space, though... and totally not photo-worthy.
A small staircase.
The Richelieu Amphitheater, one of several in the university. The most famous and largest is the Grand Amphiteater, but it is locked and you can only get into it by invitation or with a special escort. Still, I really loved all the wooden benches and the mural on the wall over the stage.
The Richelieu has been the site of some pretty famous meetings, such as during the 1968 student strikes and riots, when students occupied the building for weeks and there were violent protests in the streets all around the Latin Quarter...
The students also occupied this courtyard outside the chapel (that's the building with the big dome):
But here's how it looks today, during school holidays when hardly anyone is "occupying".
Fans of "French in Action" will remember this as the spot when Robert and Mireille met for the first time (and we caught a glimpse of the mysterious Man in Black):
The Sorbonne is named for Robert de Sorbon who founded a college in 1257, and it was part of the original Université de Paris which dates from the mid-1100's. I found several plaques outside the amphitheater attesting to some other significant dates and events in the building's history:
This says that in 1215, a certain Cardinal Courson, under Pope Innocent III, gave the University of Paris its first statutes.
Top plaque refers to France's first printing press being installed here in 1470, and the bottom plaque says that from August 1941 to September 1942, the underground newspaper Défense de la France was printed here in the caves (very old basement areas).
Perhaps at some time in the future I can visit again, while Georges still has access, and get a look inside the Grand Amphitheatre or the chapel (pictured above).
