Medieval Paris Before Baron Haussmann's Transformation

[charpentier]

Quartier du Châtelet in 1450 (Atlas historique de Paris):





The Grand Châtelet was a courthouse and also a prison (with common rooms in the upper floors, cells, and the lower jails 18 meters below the river level.


© Grez Productions / Paris au Moyen Age

It was built by king Louis VI on the site of a wooden tower that defended Paris against the Danes. The Châtelet grew under the reign of Louis IX and was called "Porte de Paris" (= Paris Gate) then "l'Apport" a word that referred to a popular festival and a market. "La Porte" became "l'Apport" because of the crowd and a poultry market. The founders of the Grande Boucherie, a powerful company of butchers, settled in the shadow of the fortress.

In 1413, the Cabochiens, led by the butcher Simon Caboche controlled Paris and slaughtered the population. After the return of the king, the butchers were punished for their alliance with the Burgundians: The Grande Boucherie was torn down, royal butcheries were founded and the slaughterhouses forbidden within the city walls.


The butchers rebuilt a new Grande Boucherie at the same place. But they never regained their power.
The new building was smaller and square shaped (to the left of this image):




King Louis XI, "the Universal Spider", suceeded in bringing the butchers into his service. Over time, the company turned into a club.
As for the building, it became a restaurant "le veau qui tette" (the suckling calf) in the 16th century:


http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b7743790f


The restaurant, in 1809, the year after the destruction of the Châtelet. It was demolished in its turn during the redevelopment of the place between 1855 and 1858


http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b7744668k


Place de l'Apport and the Grand Châtelet around 1800:




Destruction of the Grand Châtelet


http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b77437995


Place du Châtelet with the tower Saint-Jacques, remain of the church built for the Butchers' Guild.

image hosted on flickr

Place du Châtelet par y.caradec, sur Flickr

[charpentier]

Church of Sainte-Opportune

In the late antiquity, there already was a chapel: Notre-Dame des Bois. Hildebrand, bishop of Sées deposited an arm and a rib of Sainte-Opportune in 853 or 878. Soon, miracles attracted pilgrims, the chapel became a church surrounded by a large cloister. The church, rebuilt in the 13th century, was held in great veneration till its destruction in 1792.


http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier...aris_KU_10.jpg


Statue of Sainte-Opportune in the place of the same name

image hosted on flickr

architectural details023 par Akieboy, sur Flickr


Rue Sauval existed in 1300


by pubup (Panoramio) http://www.panoramio.com/photo/27251961


The Medicis column, 28 m high, was built in 1575 for Queen Catherine de Medicis


http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier...icis.coupe.JPG

image hosted on flickr

La plus haute colonne de Paris 16 mètres par Ackteon, sur Flickr

[charpentier]

The Church of Saint-Leufroy stood between the Grand Châtelet and the river. It was torn down in 1684.


http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b77440621


Hôtel du Chevalier du Guet, city hall of the 4th arrondissement till 1860, demolished 4 years after.




In the middle ages, there were two bridges in front of the Châtelet : the Pont au Change inhabited by money changers and the Pont aux Meuniers a footbridge equipped with water mills. Both were destroyed by fire in 1621. the Pont au Change was rebuilt between 1639 and 1647, the present bridge dates from 1860.


Pont aux Meuniers


Musée Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet (Theodor Josef Hoffbauer)


Pont aux Meuniers and Pont au Change


© Grez Productions / Paris au Moyen Age http://www.linternaute.com/actualite...arisiens.shtml

[charpentier]

Pont au Change


Pont aux Meuniers in 1580, Pont de Bois in 1621, Pont au Change in 1647 and in 1830:





http://www.unav.es/ha/008-TIPO/paris-seine.htm


Île de la Cité and Pont au Change to the right, in 1650 and 1860:



http://www.unav.es/ha/008-TIPO/paris-seine.htm

Destruction of the houses of Pont au Change, in 1786:


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...Change_rwk.jpg


Today

image hosted on flickr

Pont Au changé par Vânia Wolf, sur Flickr


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IMG_6366 par Photosaint, sur Flickr

[desi1]

I applaud your dedication to and the quality of this thread, Charpentier.

[charpentier]

Thank you


Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois in 1450 (Atlas historique de Paris):




Like Saint-Gervais (post # 369), the bourg Saint-Germain (not to be confused with Saint-Germain-des-Prés) grew around a church built on a hillock surrounded by marshes.


L'Arche-Popin

In 1369, the quay at the west of the Châtelet was built. Archways preserved access to the river, the Arche-Popin was one of them. It was demolished by 1825. The last remaining medieval houses disappeared in 1913 for the construction of sewers and the line 7 of the métro.


http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b7744786v


L'École Saint-Germain, was the port of the Bourg.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/73553452@N00/6565118303


Rue de l'Arbre-Sec existed at the end of the 13th century

image hosted on flickr

Apartment in Paris par Cosmojojo, sur Flickr

[charpentier]

Church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois

The church is one of the oldest of Paris founded by King Chilperic in the 6th century but destroyed during the Viking siege of Paris in 885. It was rebuilt in the 11th century, the porch is from 1429.


image hosted on flickr

Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois par IT*Man, sur Flickr


The romanesque tower dates from the 12th century:


by HEBRARD (Panoramio)


The tower with a spire in the 17th century:


http://bibliotheque-numerique.inha.f...saint-germain/


image hosted on flickr

Saint Germain l'Auxerrois 4 par dominotic, sur Flickr

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Portal of St. Germain l'Auxerrois par Jeffrey B., sur Flickr

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La Nef, St Germain l'Auxerrois, Paris par Diratoli, sur Flickr

[charpentier]

The Louvre neighborhood, in 1450 (Atlas historique de Paris):





Rue Saint-Honoré was a roman road

image hosted on flickr

Rue Saint-Honoré par Paris in Four Months, sur Flickr


The Hôpital des Quinze-Vingt, a home for blind people founded by Louis IX around 1260. The building was destroyed in 1790.

)
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier...1567_Paris.jpg

[charpentier]

The Louvre

In 1190, a fortress was built as a part of the city wall under the reign of Philip Augustus. During the middle ages, the Louvre was a keep surrounded by towers and ditches, it served as a prison and arsenal. In the 14th century, king Charles VI converted the Louvre into a royal residence. The keep was torn down in 1528.



© Grez Productions / Paris au Moyen Age http://www.linternaute.com/actualite...t-michel.shtml


© Grez Productions / Paris au Moyen Age http://www.linternaute.com/actualite...e/louvre.shtml


The Louvre in the Très Riche Heures du duc de Berry (15th century)


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...hes_Heures.jpg


image hosted on flickr

Le Louvre Medieval par katherinejulia, sur Flickr


Evolution of the Louvre since 1380 (the keep was torn down in 1528)





http://www.unav.es/ha/008-TIPO/paris-seine.htm

[charpentier]

Basis of the medieval Louvre under the Cour Carrée, during the renovation in 1984:


http://coefficient.pagesperso-orange...oto/page4.html

image hosted on flickr

Le Louvre médiéval par pixxiefish, sur Flickr

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LOUVRE MEDIEVAL (3) par cbaarch, sur Flickr

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Museu do Louvre, Paris, França par Samuel Santos, sur Flickr


The keep

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Medieval Moat par Bodhi, sur Flickr

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Remains of the keep - Castle of the Louvre par pluralzed, sur Flickr


Wall of Charles V

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Louvre medieval par Ivan Costa Baldoino, sur Flickr

[charpentier]

Clignancourt and Montmartre, in 1450 (Atlas historique de Paris):




Clignancourt is mentioned in 1235. In the 15th century, it was a hamlet dedicated to vine culivation, but also cereals and cherries.


Clignancourt at the beginning of the 19th century:





http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b7711270h/f2.zoom


The Ligers were the lords of Clignancourt, their manor:



To own a dovecote was a seigneurial priviledge. According to the historian Jacques Hillairet, this humble dovecote is the last medieval structure of Clignancourt (15th century). It was included into a building dating from the 18th century, a former porcelain factory.


http://lafabriquedeparis.blogspot.fr...ies-fines.html


Around 1890:


http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv...946d.r=.langFR

[charpentier]

Montmartre


Rue Cortot

image hosted on flickr

2005_05_16-02 par Doug Bale, sur Flickr

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Rue Cortot par Bee.girl, sur Flickr


Rue de la Bonne

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Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, 27.6.09 P 030 par Renaud21, sur Flickr


Rue Norvins

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Rue Du Norvins par gregou73, sur Flickr

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Montmartre, France - Rue Norvins par Delphine VEZMAR, sur Flickr

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Monmartre la rue norvin. par internetophile75017, sur Flickr

[charpentier]

Rue Saint-Rustique

image hosted on flickr

A la Bonne Franquette par Tristan ℛ☽♠, sur Flickr

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Rue Sainte-Rustique par Toya K, sur Flickr


Callejón en Montmartre par Ainvar Photography, sur Flickr


Rue Poulbot

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Rue Poulbot, Paris par Iain McLauchlan, sur Flickr

[charpentier]

View of medieval Montmartre (Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Louvre) in the Pietà of Saint-Germain-des-Prés (1500)

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73553452@N00/6565118303


Montmartre, in 1672


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi..._Rochefort.jpg


Church of Saint Peter of Montmartre (église Saint-Pierre de Montmartre)

It is one of the oldest churches of Paris and all that remains of the royal abbey of Montmartre founded in 1133.


http://ronanfrombzh.blogspot.fr/2010...ontmartre.html


The abbey in 1625


http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6937410m/f1.item

[charpentier]

A chapel already existed here in the 6th century. The choir is from 12th century, the nave was restaured in the 15th.

image hosted on flickr

Église Saint-Pierre-de-Montmartre, Paris, 2003 par dostring, sur Flickr

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St Pierre de Montmartre par jannypanns, sur Flickr

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2011-12-24 Paris - L'église Saint-Pierre de Montmartre - 6 par Topaas, sur Flickr


These columns are said to come from a Roman temple which stood on the site, they would be the oldest remains of sacred architecture in Paris.

image hosted on flickr

St-Pierre de Montmartre, Paris, France par Grangeburn, sur Flickr

image hosted on flickr

Roman Column par BrotherMagneto, sur Flickr

[ludovicien]

I'd rather defend Haussmann's Paris, but this is not the right thread.

Parvis notre-Dame. On left, Foundling hospital by Germain Boffrand (1727). Its demolition was one of Haussmann's greatest mistakes.


But I like the Hotel-Dieu. The northern facade on the Seine is probably as close as you can get to what an enormous Roman waterside building would have looked like (the architect, Diet, claimed to have taken inspiration from Diocletian's palace at Split). Note how much the Tribunal de Commerce (a building just as derided in its time) has benefited from a good wipe a few years back. Source Wiki Commons, my picture.







The interior courtyard is simply one of the most breathtaking examples of 19th century architecture in the city.




Above all, the exterior needs a good clean, but certain forces would like to close the hospital down and it is politically helpful to leave it coated in grime and repugnant to the casual passer-by. This tactic has worked especially well in London and probably explains why the Adelphi, that other mad recreation of a Roman riverside terrace building is missing.

[Xemita]

Impressive thread!!

Maybe Haussmann project destroyed too much... but what if this Corbusier project had been done?


http://www.rude-magazine.com/news/la...-arquitectura/

[ludovicien]

Le Corbusier's Plan Voisin was not serious, was it? More of a thought experiment. Not that he'd have turned down the work.

Here's what the city was cooking up in the early 1970s for what is now part of a Unesco World Heritage site - an urban expressway following the quays of the Seine on the left bank between pont Saint Michel and past the Pont de Sully. For anyone who knows Paris a little, that is from about halfway along the ile de la Cite and all the way along the ile Saint Louis. Here's my view of the route, taken from pont de la Tournelle, looking west

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24635708@N00/3288771364/

The proposed Voie Express Rive Gauche was the counterpart to the one opened on the Right bank between the Louvre and quai Henri IV in 1967.

It very nearly happened but a variety of factors saved this rather unique area. Not the least of which was the death of President Georges Pompidou, whose enthusiasm for la voiture seemed limitless. He would have been able to admire the finished scheme from the (presumably double-glazed) windows of his apartment on quai de Bethune, on the ile St-Louis. The project appeared to have existed in three forms. One which would have been largely above ground and would have meant removing a fair chunk of the quays, either on the left bank or next to Notre Dame (the cheapest), another that would have been partially underground (pricier) and a third that would have meant constructing a tunnel along the length of the Seine for several hundred metres (insanely expensive). The first of these alternatives was chosen amid furious protest from heritage nuts and nimbys (my kind of people, I live right here) but funding depended on a 40% contribution from the state. When Pompidou died, two of the most prominent candidates to succeed him (Francois Mitterand and Valerie Giscard d'Estaing) expressed reservations over the plan and after Giscard was elected the state withdrew its support, scuppering the deal. Giscard also cancelled plans to build a skyscraper for a world trade centre at the western end of Les Halles and it is from this date that the general prohibition of towers in central Paris dates.

Here is an article (in French) about the Notre Dame expressway.
http://www.site-notre-dame.fr/voie-e...ive-gauche.htm

The following are scans from the long-defunct magazine Paris Projet, which is a fascinating record of the genuine excitement that drove the sort of projects from the 60s and 70s that look a bit mad to today's eyes.

Here are two possible routes. The black sections are the open air ones.





And here is the mock up of how it would looked next to notre-Dame. In the foreground is the petit pont, looking east along quai de Montebello. This, for people who know Paris a bit is where the Shakespeare and Co bookshop and the church of St Julian le Pauvre are to be found. And where the bouquinistes (outdoor booksellers selling from picturesque green boxes fixed to the walls of the quays) sell mostly tourist tat. All gone in this view.



And from above. On the left is the parvis notre Dame.



A little further west, the view of pont Saint Michel looking east. You can see a couple of bouquinistes have managed to cling on but they'd need to shout to get their customers to hear them.