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Origin and history

Place du Tertre is located on the Montmartre hill in the Clignancourt district of the 18th arrondissement of Paris, 130 metres above sea level. An ancient centre of the village of Montmartre, it is known worldwide for its painters, portraitists and lively terraces. Close to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and the Church of St Peter, it embodies the artistic heritage of the late 19th and early 20th century, when artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso or Modigliani lived there.

Its name could come from its high position on the hill, or from the Dutertre family, linked to the Abbey of Montmartre in the 16th century. Formed in 1635 on land ceded by the abbey nuns, the square was then planted with trees protected by fines. It also housed the patibular forks of the abbesses and became, after 1790, the centre of the independent commune of Montmartre, before its attachment to Paris in 1860.

The square was the scene of significant events, such as the outbreak of the Paris Commune in 1871, when the National Guards opposed the seizure of guns stored on the hill. In 1898 Louis Renault reached the place with his first oil car, symbolizing the beginning of the French automobile industry. Today, it remains an emblematic place, although marked by tensions between artists, restorers and public authorities for the use of its space.

Among its remarkable buildings are the former town hall of Montmartre (1790), the restaurant A la Mère Catherine (founded in 1793), and commemorative plaques, such as the one reminiscent of Louis Renault's exploit. The square is served by the metro stations Abbesses and Antwerp, as well as by bus 40, the only line directly serving the hill.

Since the 1980s, there have been polemics between artists and coffee makers for the occupation of public space. In 1998, the Council of State validated the municipal regulations limiting the locations of painters to 140 spaces of 1 m2, against a gradual extension of restaurant terraces, now the majority on the square.

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