A NINTH-CENTURY FORTRESS THAT PROTECTED FROM THE VIKINGS KEPT THE TRADE ROUTE AWAY FROM THE RIVER
When the rampart built toward 1200 made the fortress obsolete, it became the prison, Tribunal, police headquarters and morgue.
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| The Grand Châtelet Seen from rue Saint-Denis by T.G.H. Hoffbauer / zoom, drawing based on the archives |
This map from 1750 shows why rue Saint-Denis starts at some distance from the river.
In the 1850's Paris underwent a giant transformation — more later — and the modern open space replaced the Grand Châtelet.
The Fountain of Victories, built in 1808 to celebrate Napoleon's victories, and was moved to the center of the new open space.
Rue Saint-Denis begins at the east-west trade route:
Paris in the 11th Century / zoom (please scroll down)
Yellow arrows show a location, red arrows our route.
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The information behind the green sign in the photo above informs on transport and services but skips the past. It does not even mention the trade and pilgrimage route.
We head toward the church steeple you glimpse in the background:
These are the highlights: All reflect the past.
Adapted from a Google map
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The medieval path had no distinguishing features and neither does this part of the route. Touristy shops and fast-foods align:
Then there's a puzzle: tiny parallel streets a few steps apart suggest that a change is coming.
Rue de la Ferronerie, seen on the 18th-century map above. Its follows that of the earliest rampart (disappeared) and indicates the edge of the town of the high Middle Ages.
 Rue des Innocents crops off the edge of the space we are coming to, giving the growing population more room (in the 1820's).
We come to the cemetery of the Holy Innocents, which for centuries was a site of death, commerce and conviviality. |
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