Place de la Parcheminerie

Had you been looking for parchement paper in Rennes during the 17th century, you would have come over here!  Indeed, it was on this Parcheminerie square that all the parchment sellers gathered. They prepared them in their workshops, in the street of the same name. At the time, this street, which did not have a precise layout, joined Champ Dolent street, where the animals were slaughtered.  The parchment makers degreased the skins of lambs, pigs, or calves, and soaked them in lime, before scraping them with a knife and then polishing them with pumice stone. The skins were then dried and cut into sheets, on which it was possible to write on both sides.To give you an idea, it took 650 sheepskins to write a full copy of the Bible. You know get why books were so expensive and rare before the invention of printing? Today, the square has changed a lot, recently plants were installed and it was made pedestrian. On top of its cafés, the mini theater is also worth a visit. This teeny tiny “theater of the Parcheminerie” was built inside of an old tannery from the 19th century.