City walls of Paris
Encyclopedia
Over time, several city walls of Paris were built :
From ancient times up to the twentieth century, Paris was always surrounded by walls, except for roughly a century between 1670 (date of the demolition of Louis XIII wall ordered by Louis XIV) and 1785 (date of the beginning of construction of the Farmers-General wall).
The purpose of these walls was to defend the town and protect people, but also, later, to assess taxes for goods sold in Paris (The Farmers-General Wall). Phillipe Auguste's wall marked the first time Paris had really been protected from attack in any substantial way, and allowed the town to both consolidate and expand, frequently to slightly more than could be contained by the existing walls.
As Paris grew, new houses were built inside the wall, but also outside the wall. After some decades, the wall was destroyed and the place of the wall rebuilt or transformed into a street or boulevard, with a new wall being built outside, including more houses and sometimes gardens or vegetable fields.
Only a few traces of these walls survive: a few sections of the wall of Philippe Auguste and some pavilions of Claude Nicolas Ledoux
which were part of the Farmers General Wall. The main contribution to the layout of Paris made by the walls is the major streets and concentric boulevards:
The parallel streets, Rue de Cléry and Rue d'Aboukir in the second arrondissement, mark the placement of the wall built by Charles V.
, Julius Caesar
wrote : "Id est oppidum Parisiorum, quod positum est in insula fluminis Sequanae", indicating that Lutetia
(former name of Paris, the town of the tribe of Parisii) was a fortified camp on an island. The identification of this island with the Ile de la Cité
is possible, but disputed, because it could be in fact Nanterre
. The first wall of Paris was therefore probably built by the Gauls and coupled with the natural protection of the river Seine
.
During the first barbarian invasions
, in 285, the people of Lutetia abandoned the left bank and took refuge on the Island of the City
. The eastern half of the island was protected by a wall, construction for which rocks were collected from the Arènes de Lutèce
.
and rue de Rivoli.
was built from 1190 to 1213, enclosing 253 hectares on both sides of the river Seine. Many elements have been incorporated later into civil buildings or the Charles V wall.
was built from 1356 to 1383, during the reign of Charles V and his son and successor Charles VI
. It was built only on the right bank (keeping the Philippe Auguste wall on the left bank), enclosing 439 hectares on both banks. It included the mansions of the Marais
and the templar enclosure
. It was partially destroyed during the construction of the walls of Louis XIII, and partly incorporated into it.
wall was built from 1633 to 1636 designed by Jacques Lemercier
. It enlarges the Charles V wall over the western part of the right bank (now 1st and 2nd arrondissements of Paris).
From 1670 onwards, Louis XIV
believed that as a result of his conquests, Paris had been made a secure city. He ordered the wall destroyed and replaced it with the future grands boulevards.
and at the request of the Ferme Générale
. It enclosed 3402 hectares, when the village of Austerlitz was incorporated into Paris in 1818.
Later, this wall was replaced by the second belt of boulevards : Charonne, Ménilmontant, Belleville, La Villette, La Chapelle, Clichy, Batignolles, Courcelles, avenue de Wagram and Iena, streets Benjamin Franklin and Alboni, boulevard de Grenelle , Garibaldi, Pasteur, Montparnasse, Edgar Quinet, Raspail, Saint-Jacques, Auguste Blanqui, Vincent Auriol, Bercy and Picpus. Unlike previous was, the goal of this wall was not to defend Paris but only to force the payment of taxes on goods entering the capital. It was destroyed when Paris was extended up to the Thiers walls in 1860.
. It covered 7802 hectares, along the boulevards des Maréchaux of today and a glacis
extending to the location of today's Boulevard Périphérique. It was demolished between 1919 and 1929.
- a gauloise enclosure (unknown location)
- a Gallo-Roman wall
- two medieval walls including the main one : the wall of Philippe Auguste
- the wall of Charles V, extending on the right bank
- the Louis XIII wall, extending on the western part of the right bank
- the Wall of the Farmers-GeneralWall of the Farmers-GeneralThe Wall of the Farmers-General was built between 1784 and 1791 by the Ferme générale, the corporation of tax farmers. It was one of the several city walls of Paris built between the early Middle Ages to the mid 19th century. It was 24 kilometers long and roughly followed the route now occupied by...
, for tax purpose - the Thiers wallThiers wallThe Thiers wall was the last of the defensive walls of Paris. It was an enclosure constructed between 1841 and 1844 under a law enacted by the government of the French prime minister, Adolphe Thiers. It covered , along the 'boulevards des Maréchaux' of today...
.
From ancient times up to the twentieth century, Paris was always surrounded by walls, except for roughly a century between 1670 (date of the demolition of Louis XIII wall ordered by Louis XIV) and 1785 (date of the beginning of construction of the Farmers-General wall).
The purpose of these walls was to defend the town and protect people, but also, later, to assess taxes for goods sold in Paris (The Farmers-General Wall). Phillipe Auguste's wall marked the first time Paris had really been protected from attack in any substantial way, and allowed the town to both consolidate and expand, frequently to slightly more than could be contained by the existing walls.
As Paris grew, new houses were built inside the wall, but also outside the wall. After some decades, the wall was destroyed and the place of the wall rebuilt or transformed into a street or boulevard, with a new wall being built outside, including more houses and sometimes gardens or vegetable fields.
Only a few traces of these walls survive: a few sections of the wall of Philippe Auguste and some pavilions of Claude Nicolas Ledoux
Claude Nicolas Ledoux
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only in domestic architecture but town planning; as a consequence of his visionary plan for the Ideal City of Chaux, he became known as a utopian...
which were part of the Farmers General Wall. The main contribution to the layout of Paris made by the walls is the major streets and concentric boulevards:
- The 'Grands boulevards' (main streets), built by replacing the walls of Charles V and Louis XIII;
- The outer boulevards, built in place of the Wall of the Farmers-GeneralWall of the Farmers-GeneralThe Wall of the Farmers-General was built between 1784 and 1791 by the Ferme générale, the corporation of tax farmers. It was one of the several city walls of Paris built between the early Middle Ages to the mid 19th century. It was 24 kilometers long and roughly followed the route now occupied by...
; - The 'boulevards des Maréchaux' (Boulevards of the Marshals, a loop encircling the city consisting of boulevards named for the Marshals of France), built to replace the Thiers wall; and
- The Boulevard périphérique (ring road or beltway), built outside the boulevards des Maréchaux.
The parallel streets, Rue de Cléry and Rue d'Aboukir in the second arrondissement, mark the placement of the wall built by Charles V.
Gauloise enclosure
In its Commentaries on the Gallic WarCommentarii de Bello Gallico
Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination.The "Gaul" that Caesar...
, Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
wrote : "Id est oppidum Parisiorum, quod positum est in insula fluminis Sequanae", indicating that Lutetia
Lutetia
Lutetia was a town in pre-Roman and Roman Gaul. The Gallo-Roman city was a forerunner of the re-established Merovingian town that is the ancestor of present-day Paris...
(former name of Paris, the town of the tribe of Parisii) was a fortified camp on an island. The identification of this island with the Ile de la Cité
Île de la Cité
The Île de la Cité is one of two remaining natural islands in the Seine within the city of Paris . It is the centre of Paris and the location where the medieval city was refounded....
is possible, but disputed, because it could be in fact Nanterre
Nanterre
Nanterre is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located west of the center of Paris.Nanterre is the capital of the Hauts-de-Seine department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Nanterre....
. The first wall of Paris was therefore probably built by the Gauls and coupled with the natural protection of the river Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
.
Gallo-roman wall
At the time of the roman empire, people and houses spread on the banks of the river, particularly the left one.During the first barbarian invasions
Migration Period
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions , was a period of intensified human migration in Europe that occurred from c. 400 to 800 CE. This period marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
, in 285, the people of Lutetia abandoned the left bank and took refuge on the Island of the City
Île de la Cité
The Île de la Cité is one of two remaining natural islands in the Seine within the city of Paris . It is the centre of Paris and the location where the medieval city was refounded....
. The eastern half of the island was protected by a wall, construction for which rocks were collected from the Arènes de Lutèce
Arènes de Lutèce
The Arènes de Lutèce are among the most important remains from the Gallo-Roman era in Paris , together with the Thermes de Cluny...
.
First medieval wall
The existence of an enclosure around the centre of Paris, on the right bank, around the tenth century is probable. During recent research, the INRAP has discovered traces of this enclosure at the corner of rue de l'Arbre-SecRue de l'Arbre-Sec
The Rue de l'Arbre-Sec is an old street located in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon, near the Place des Terreaux and the Opera Nouvel. It starts perpendicular to the rue Édouard-Herriot and ends with the Quai Jean Moulin crossing the rue de la République...
and rue de Rivoli.
Wall of Philippe Auguste
The wall of Philippe AugustePhilip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
was built from 1190 to 1213, enclosing 253 hectares on both sides of the river Seine. Many elements have been incorporated later into civil buildings or the Charles V wall.
Wall of Charles V
The wall of Charles VCharles V of France
Charles V , called the Wise, was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380 and a member of the House of Valois...
was built from 1356 to 1383, during the reign of Charles V and his son and successor Charles VI
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
. It was built only on the right bank (keeping the Philippe Auguste wall on the left bank), enclosing 439 hectares on both banks. It included the mansions of the Marais
Le Marais
Le Marais is a historic district in Paris, France. Long the aristocratic district of Paris, it hosts many outstanding buildings of historic and architectural importance...
and the templar enclosure
Temple (Paris)
The Temple was a medieval fortress in Paris, located in what is now the IIIe arrondissement. It was built by the Knights Templar from the 12th century, as their European headquarters. In the 13th century it replaced earlier works of the Vieille Temple in Le Marais...
. It was partially destroyed during the construction of the walls of Louis XIII, and partly incorporated into it.
Louis XIII wall, sometimes called "the yellow ditches wall"
The Louis XIIILouis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
wall was built from 1633 to 1636 designed by Jacques Lemercier
Jacques Lemercier
Jacques Lemercier was a French architect and engineer, one of the influential trio that included Louis Le Vau and François Mansart who formed the classicizing French Baroque manner, drawing from French traditions of the previous century and current Roman practice the fresh, essentially French...
. It enlarges the Charles V wall over the western part of the right bank (now 1st and 2nd arrondissements of Paris).
From 1670 onwards, Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
believed that as a result of his conquests, Paris had been made a secure city. He ordered the wall destroyed and replaced it with the future grands boulevards.
Wall of the Farmers-General
The Wall of the Farmers-General was built in a few years from 1785, under the direction of Claude Nicolas LedouxClaude Nicolas Ledoux
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only in domestic architecture but town planning; as a consequence of his visionary plan for the Ideal City of Chaux, he became known as a utopian...
and at the request of the Ferme Générale
Ferme générale
The Ferme générale was, in ancien régime France, essentially an outsourced customs and excise operation which collected duties on behalf of the king, under six-year contracts...
. It enclosed 3402 hectares, when the village of Austerlitz was incorporated into Paris in 1818.
Later, this wall was replaced by the second belt of boulevards : Charonne, Ménilmontant, Belleville, La Villette, La Chapelle, Clichy, Batignolles, Courcelles, avenue de Wagram and Iena, streets Benjamin Franklin and Alboni, boulevard de Grenelle , Garibaldi, Pasteur, Montparnasse, Edgar Quinet, Raspail, Saint-Jacques, Auguste Blanqui, Vincent Auriol, Bercy and Picpus. Unlike previous was, the goal of this wall was not to defend Paris but only to force the payment of taxes on goods entering the capital. It was destroyed when Paris was extended up to the Thiers walls in 1860.
Thiers wall
The enclosure was constructed from 1841 to 1844 after a law enacted by Adolphe ThiersAdolphe Thiers
Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers was a French politician and historian. was a prime minister under King Louis-Philippe of France. Following the overthrow of the Second Empire he again came to prominence as the French leader who suppressed the revolutionary Paris Commune of 1871...
. It covered 7802 hectares, along the boulevards des Maréchaux of today and a glacis
Glacis
A glacis in military engineering is an artificial slope of earth used in late European fortresses so constructed as to keep any potential assailant under the fire of the defenders until the last possible moment...
extending to the location of today's Boulevard Périphérique. It was demolished between 1919 and 1929.