Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The waters of Belleville form a set of hydraulic installations designed to bring the sources of Belleville Hill to the neighborhoods below Paris. This system, spread over the 10th, 19th and 20th arrondissements, includes slugs, underground aqueducts ("pierres") and control looks such as that of the Messiers. Its origin dates back to the 12th century, when the monks of Saint-Martin-des-Champs Abbey created the first gullies to irrigate their lands between the current streets of Belleville and the Envierges.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the city of Paris built the grand aqueduct of Belleville, 750 meters long, to feed the population and institutions such as the abbeys of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs and the Roquette, or the Saint-Pol hotel. Networks were gradually unified in the 18th century, and some views, including that of the Messiers, still remained today. These developments, classified as historical monuments in 2006, bear witness to medieval engineering and the importance of water in Parisian urban planning.

The Messier look, located 17 rue des Cascades, is one of the protected remains of this system. It illustrates the central role of religious orders in the management of water in Paris, as well as the technical evolution of the networks, from open-air vents to underground galleries. Its classification in 2006 highlights its heritage value, linked to the hydraulic and monastic history of the capital.

The waters of Belleville also fed hospitals like Saint-Louis in the 17th century, showing the constant adaptation of the system to urban needs. Today, these remains offer a unique insight into everyday life and medieval infrastructure, while recalling the historical link between the hills of East Paris and the city centre.

The preservation of these gazes, despite the disappearance of some, allows to trace almost seven centuries of technical and social history. Their discreet presence in the current urban landscape contrasts with their major role in the development of Paris, from the abbeys of the Middle Ages to the modernization of the networks in the 18th century.

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