209m above Paris

Posted on 27/04/2021 by Mayken

The Montparnasse office tower is the highest building inside the Paris city limits, and for 40 years it was the highest building in France. The tower was built on the site of the old Montparnasse train station. The new Montparnasse station is just behind it, with long-distance trains going to the entire Atlantic coast up to and including Brittany, and commuter trains to the suburbs and Versailles.

The tower is 209m high, with a rooftop terrace on the 59^th floor and a restaurant on the 56^th, both open to the public for a magnificent view of Paris. The elevator, fastest in the world at the time of construction, only needs 38 seconds to reach the top.
The other floors are mainly occupied by businesses, with 5,000 people working in the tower on a daily basis.

In recent years, major asbestos removal works have been undertaken, as the tower was built during a period when the danger of asbestos was not recognized.

But what is one lonely skyscraper doing in the 15^th arrondissement?

The Montparnasse Tower seen from the Eiffel Tower

The tower was subject to controversy before, during and after its construction (1969-1973). In 1975, the city of Paris decided to ban the construction of buildings higher than 7 floors, effectively cutting short any prospects of creating a skyscraper business district within the city limits. But by then, the construction of skyscrapers in the new business district La Défense on the western outskirts was already well under way.

La Défense business district as seen from the Eiffel Tower

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Modern Paris city limits

Posted on 13/04/2021 by Mayken

Today, the limits of the city of Paris which is at the same time the département of Paris (n° 75) coincide with the expressway Boulevard Périphérique (“le Périph’” or “BP”), a 35km-long dual carriageway with the particular rule that entrants have priority over those already on the expressway. The speed limit is 70km/h but most of the time traffic jams don’t allow for that speed anyway.
The Périphérique intérieur runs clockwise, the Périphérique extérieur counter-clockwise.

The strip between the boulevards des Maréchaux (“les Maréchaux”) and the Périph’ is occupied by social housing, schools, and sports equipment.

There are three “extensions” to the surface of the city of Paris that lie outside of this limit: the Bois de Boulogne park to the west, the Bois de Vincennes park to the east, and the Paris heliport in the southwest near the Seine river, belonging to the 15^th arrondissement.

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The Adolphe Thiers Wall

Posted on 06/04/2021 by Mayken

The final city wall that was an actual wall was built between 1841 and 1844 on the orders of Adolphe Thiers, President of the Council, a position that corresponded to that of Prime Minister. It ran around the entire city, a space of almost 80km² and followed the boulevards des Maréchaux, a 33,7km-long ring road named after Marshals of the First French Empire that circles Paris and can today be traced by the PC (Petite Ceinture) buses (west) and the tram lines T3A (south and east) and T3B (east and north).

It was destroyed between 1919 and 1929, and only very few short sections remain, such as Bastion 44 in the rue du Bastion in the 17^th arrondissement, the Poterne des Peupliers (a postern) in the 13^th arrondissement or Bastion 1 at Porte de Bercy in the 12^th arrondissement, in the middle of the Bercy interchange.

The Adolphe Thiers wall (in light green) and the location of Bastion n° 1

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The Charles V Wall

Posted on 16/03/2021 by Mayken

In the 14^th century, King Charles V had a new wall built on the right bank but the Philippe Auguste wall was not demolished for all that, since it was considered so solid and wide that a cart could run on top of it.

Charles V was king of France from 1364 to 1380. His reign marks the end of the first part of the Hundred Years War, as he recovered almost all of the lands lost by his predecessors. He was a learned king who founded the first royal library, predecessor to the French National Library (Bibliothèque Nationale de France).

In 1356, Étienne Marcel, Prévôt des Marchands (a position similar to that of a mayor) had a new wall constructed on the right bank, however, he died before the works were completed. Charles V continued the fortification works following his tactics of terre déserte (“better a crushed land than a lost land”) and reinforced the Philippe Auguste wall on the left bank while creating a whole new wall on the right bank that was 5km long and consisted of a combination of ditches and earth-filled ramparts, the last of which was crowned by a small wall. The fortification extended beyond the Louvre Castle to the west, which made the castle lose its protective function. In the east, however, the residence of the king, the Hôtel Saint Pol, was poorly protected and therefore another small bastion was built: the Bastille. It protected against invasions through the Porte Sainte Antoine gate, and in case of an insurrection within Paris, it covered the road leading to the Château de Vincennes, the king’s residence outside of Paris.

The Charles V wall was destroyed in the 17^th century, and there are few remains today. However, it left its imprint on the map of the city, as many boulevards run along the site of the fortification, such as boulevard Saint Denis, boulevard Saint Martin, boulevard du Temple, boulevard des Filles-du-Calvaire, boulevard Beaumarchais and boulevard Bourdon, to name only a few.

The purple line shows the boulevards named above – running along the Charles V wall (see map below).

In 1672, Louis XIV, the Sun King, had a triumphal arch built on the site of one of the former wall’s gates, the Porte Saint Denis. Two years later, he had another triumphal arch built about 250m away, the Porte Saint Martin. The names are misleading since neither of them was ever meant to be a gate, but to glorify Louis XIV and his military victories.

Charles V wall (orange) and Philippe Auguste wall (brown)

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The Philippe Auguste Wall

Posted on 09/03/2021 by Mayken

In Gallo-Roman times, the population of Lutetia lived mostly on Cité Island and the south shore. There are still some remains to be seen today that will be the subject of a later blog post.

Philippe Auguste was king from 1180 to 1223 CE. He stands out among medieval kings of France for his long reign, his important military victories and his measures to reinforce the power of the king and put an end to feudalism.

He built the city wall that bears his name to defend Paris against attacks from the English Plantagenet dynasty in particular, coming from the north and the east. It was a simple wall 5km long with 77 towers.

Later he also built a second portion of the wall on the left bank, after Normandy fell into the hands of the Plantagenet, and an attack from the north-west had to be envisioned.

In order to protect Paris against invaders coming up the Seine river, Philippe Auguste had a fortress built, the Louvre Castle. (It was later demolished to make way for the Louvre Palace, but that’s a subject for another post.)

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Paris city limits

Posted on 02/03/2021 by Mayken

Since the first settlers built a fence around their settlement, the inhabitants of Paris have constructed walls around their habitat. As early as the 4^th century CE, there were walls on Cité Island. As the city grew, new walls were erected, forming concentric circles, from Gallo-Roman times to the 21^st century.
Let’s have a closer look.

The city wall of Philippe Auguste dates back to the 13^th century. Remains can be found near the Pantheon in the 5^th arrondissement on the left bank, as well as in the 4^th arrondissement on the right bank, in the Marais and near the Village Saint Paul.

The city wall of Charles V dates back to the 14^th century. It was destroyed in the 17^th century.

The General Farmers Wall was built between 1784 and 1791 by the corporation of tax farmers. It was no longer a wall to protect Paris from invaders but to collect taxes on incoming goods.

Finally, the Adolphe Thiers Wall from 1846 corresponds more or less exactly to the boulevard des Maréchaux of today.

The present-day Paris city limit lies just a little over 100m further out and is marked by the Boulevard Périphérique (“Périph” or BP) expressway, a 35km-long ring road around Paris, but also including the Bois de Boulogne to the west, the Bois de Vincennes to the east, and a heliport in the southwest, near the Seine river.

We will have a closer look at each of these walls in the following posts. Stay tuned!

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La Libération, August 1944

Posted on 02/02/2021 by Mayken

As first a settlement and later a city, Paris has existed for over 2,000 years. History has left its marks on the city, and traces of different time periods can be found all around Paris. In non-chronological order, let’s look at some that you might have come past during a visit without knowing.

If you have been driving on the roads of northwestern France, maybe you have noticed stone markers with a flame in addition to regular distance markers. The bornes de la liberté are set along the route of the Allied Forces from D-Day in June 1944. Liberty Road (la Voie de la Liberté) starts in Normandy, travels across northern France to Metz near the German border and then northwards to Bastogne on the border of Luxemburg and Belgium. But other markers can be found outside of this main route.

In March 1941, following the battle of Kufra in Libya, Leclerc (then a colonel) and his men swear an oath to “not put down the arm until our colours fly over the cathedral of Strasburg”. They fulfilled their oath in November of the same year. But before they could liberate Strasburg, they had to liberate Paris.

In August 1944, the Second Armored Division, in French 2^e Division Blindée shortened to 2^e DB, marched into Paris from the south. Commanded by the now General Leclerc, it was also called the Division Leclerc.

This monument commemorates not only the Oath of Kufra and the Liberation itself but also the events in this town the 2^e DB crossed.

Traces of the combat in Paris in August 1944 can be found–among other places–on the wall of the Paris School of Mines on the boulevard Saint Michel (6^th arrondissement, near the Luxemburg Gardens).

The avenue d’Orléans, in the 14^th arrondissement leading from the Porte d’Orléans to the Place Denfert-Rochereau is today called Avenue du Général Leclerc.

Map of Paris showing the Avenue du Général Leclerc (the lower point) and the wall of the Paris School of Mines (the upper point).

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Why the Hôtel de Sens is not a hotel

Posted on 26/01/2021 by Mayken

Did you know that in French, a “hotel” isn’t always a place where you can book a room for a night? A hôtel-Dieu, for example, was originally a hospital for the poor run by the Catholic Church, Dieu being the French word for God. The most famous of all these hospitals is also the oldest in Paris, created in the year 651 by the Parisian Bishop Saint Landry. Today you can find the hospital building right next to Notre Dame on Cité Island.

A hôtel particulier is no more a hotel than a hôtel-Dieu, but a grand townhouse or mansion. Their main characteristic is that they will be free-standing, most often located between the main courtyard and the garden, and of course, be in a city.

The Hôtel de Sens is a hôtel particulier built in the 15^th century in the 4^th arrondissement, near the Seine river. At the time, Paris did not have its own archbishop but belonged to the archbishopric of the Archbishop of Sens, a town 100km to the southeast of Paris. The archbishop had this hôtel particulier built as his pied-à-terre when he was in Paris.
Several archbishops resided there, in fact, over time, as well as other notable figures such as Antoine du Prat, chancellor and prime minister under King François 1^er, Louis de Bourbon-Vendôme, a prince from the royal family, or Louis de Guise, Cardinal of Lorraine.

One resident, however, had a more eventful stay than the others: Marguerite de Valois, better known as La Reine Margot (granddaughter of François 1^er and first wife of King Henri IV). Her marriage with King Henri IV was annulled in 1599. She lived at the Hôtel de Sens from 1605 to 1606. Legend has it that she had a fig tree at the door cut down because it was in the way of her carriages. Whether it is true or not, the street now bears its name.

Marguerite had a number of lovers. According to another legend, two of them fought it out just below her window. One was killed, the other executed in the same spot.

Main entrance of the Hôtel de Sens on the corner of Rue du Fauconnier and Rue du Figuier

During the Revolution, the Hôtel de Sens became property of the state, was sold and housed, like many hôtels particuliers in the area at the time, shops, workshops, or factories. During the 1830 Revolution (commemorated by the July Column at Bastille), a cannonball hit the façade and lodged so deep within the wall it became impossible to remove. It is still there today, visible to any passersby, with the date engraved beneath.

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Snow in Paris

Posted on 19/01/2021 by Mayken

On Saturday, January 16, 2021, Paris woke up in the snow. We don’t have snow very often here, and when it falls, it rarely stays on the ground due to everything that heats up the ground, from the rarely-below-0°C temperatures to the métro and other underground installations.
I’ve been living here for twenty years, and I can count the number of days where the snow actually covered the ground on my hands.

In January and March 2013, we had a bunch of snow days, and again for two days in February 2018. Every other snowfall in the last decade has been negligible.
Hence the excitement of visitors, the confusion of unused-to-snow locals (without adequate footwear), the amusement of Montrealers, and the desperation of overground public transport drivers.

Have some photos from the 2013 and 2018 winters:

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Nicolas Flamel

Posted on 29/12/2020 by Mayken

You might know Nicolas Flamel from fiction stories or movies, where he is portrayed as an immortal alchemist who discovered the philosopher’s stone. But did you know Nicolas Flamel was a real-life person?
Most facts about him are debated and vary from one source to another, so I’ll stick with the key points.

Nicolas Flamel’s birth year and place are uncertain, but he was probably born around 1340 in the Paris area. He died on March 22, 1418 in Paris.
As a child, he was lucky enough not to die of the plague, which in 1348 killed between a third and half of the European population.

In the days long before the printing press was invented, Nicolas Flamel began his career as a public writer in a small single-story house in the rue des Écrivains, Writers Street. This street disappeared when the central east-west axis rue de Rivoli was created in the 1800s.

Nicolas Flamel married Pernelle, twice widowed, with whom he opened a small shop near the church Saint Jacques de la Boucherie, and a workshop nearby specialized in precious manuscripts. He financed the construction of a doorway of the Saint Jacques de la Boucherie church, the arcade of which showed him with Pernelle. Today, only the Tour Saint Jacques remains of this church, a tower which was built a hundred years later.

The Tour Saint Jacques seen from Rue Nicolas Flamel

It was often speculated how the Flamels acquired their wealth, and Nicolas was rumored to be a successful alchemist. In reality, Pernelle brought money into the marriage from her previous two husbands, and Nicolas had a successful career as a scribe and bookseller. He also owned several houses in Paris and its suburbs, real estate investments that in the economic depression of the Hundred Year War contributed to his wealth.

They contributed financially to churches, and Nicolas continued to do so after Pernelle’s death in 1397. He had several houses built to house the poor. The only one still in existence is located at 51 rue de Montmorency (3^rd arrondissement) and is said to be one of the oldest stone houses in Paris.

Nicolas Flamel died in 1418 and was buried in the church Saint Jacques de la Boucherie. His bones, together with Pernelle’s, were later transferred to the Catacombs. His tombstone can be seen in the National Museum of the Middle Ages – Musée Cluny in Paris.

location of Rue Nicolas Flamel and Maison Nicolas Flamel

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Mayken Brünings

Writing Middle Grade fiction in Paris

Tag Archives: Paris

209m above Paris

Modern Paris city limits

The Adolphe Thiers Wall

The Charles V Wall

The Philippe Auguste Wall

Paris city limits

La Libération, August 1944

Why the Hôtel de Sens is not a hotel

Snow in Paris

Nicolas Flamel