Oldest stone house in Paris: alchemist Nicolas Flamel

In a narrow street in the third arrondissement of Paris, near the Pompidou Centre, at 51 rue de Montmorency, is the house of alchemist Nicolas Flamel and his wife Pernelle. It is the oldest stone house, still standing, in Paris, and Flamel built it himself in 1407.

Nicolas Flamel (about 1330-1418) was a French book-seller, but he was also an alchemist, conducting alchemy experiments and making potions in his house. He is believed to have discovered the Philosopher’s Stone. The Philosopher’s Stone’s substance turned base metal into gold, and is the mythical elixir of life, supposedly giving people heavenly bliss and immortality.

Nicolas Flamel’s house is now a restaurant, the Auberge Nicolas Flamel, although the exterior’s stone facade remains unchanged. The engravings in the stone façade can faintly be seen – alchemists at work and engraved alphabet letters. He also designed his own tombstone with its own symbology, which can be seen at the Cluny Museum on the Boulevard Saint Michel. The Cluny Museum is currently closed for renovations, and is due to re-open in early 2022.

MARTINA NICOLLS

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MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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