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Origin and history

The gate of Paris, also known as the door of the sick, is an ancient fortified gate of the enclosure of Lille, transformed into an arc of triumph at the end of the seventeenth century to commemorate the triumphal entrance of Louis XIV in 1667 and the attachment of the city to France. Originally built between 1686 and 1694 by architect Simon Vollant, it replaced a 13th-century medieval gate, the door of the sick, leading to an outside leprosy. This monument, both symbolic and defensive, glorified the Sun King with allegorical sculptures and royal coat of arms.

In the 19th century, the gate lost its military role when the Lille fortifications were dismantled around 1860. The adjacent 17th century guard corps was destroyed, but the door itself was saved from demolition thanks to the intervention of a commission led by architect Charles Garnier. Between 1888 and 1892 Louis-Marie Cordonnier completed it with an interior façade and remodeled the surrounding square (now Simon Vollant Square), giving it its present appearance. Ranked a historic monument in 1875, it now embodies a military, royal and urban heritage.

The door of Paris is distinguished by its double facade: on the south side, the Baroque triumphal arch of Vollant, decorated with mythological figures (Mars, Hercules) and trophies celebrating Louis XIV; city side (north), the neoclassical facade added by Cordonnier. The monument, surrounded by 24 cast iron grenades restored in 2018, also symbolizes the urban transformations of Lille, including the enlargement of 1858 and the modernization of the Saint-Sauveur district. Its vaulted corridor and drawbridge recall its past defensive use.

Its history reflects the upheavals of Lille: passage under French domination in 1668 (Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle), suppression of medieval leprosy in the seventeenth century, and integration into the modern urban fabric. The rue des maladies, now rue de Paris and then rue Pierre-Mauroy, illustrates this evolution. Today, the Paris Gate, located near the town hall and served by the metro, remains an emblem of the Lille heritage, mixing military memory, baroque art and urban history.

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