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Origin and history

Philippe Auguste's enclosure is an urban fortification system built in Paris from the end of the 12th century under the reign of Philippe Auguste. It is the second medieval enclosure of the city, the oldest of which is known with precision. Its main objective was to protect Paris from external attacks, especially from the Plantagenes, during the absence of the king party for the third crusade. Unlike later enclosures (Charles V, Fossés Jaunes), it left more visible remains, integrated into later urbanization.

Construction began on the right bank (1190–1209), more exposed to threats, and continued on the left bank (1200–1215). With a total length of 5,385 metres (2,850 m on the right bank, 2,535 m on the left bank), it covered 253 hectares and protected approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Partly financed by the Royal Treasury and the Parisian bourgeois, its total cost (including the Louvre and other fortifications) is estimated at at at least 20,000 pounds, a modest amount compared to the 115 000 pounds of annual revenue of the Crown at the time.

The forum played a key role in the urban development of Paris. It encouraged the growth of the central districts (like the Champeaux) and fixed roads still visible today (rues des Fossés-Saint-Bernard, Monsieur-le-Prince). The right bank, convex to include the trading districts, contrasted with the left bank, more straight and less urbanized. The ditches, added later to adapt the wall to the siege techniques, were filled in the seventeenth century for reasons of health.

Composed of a crenel wall of 6 to 9 meters high and 73 semi-cylindrical towers, the enclosure initially had 14 main doors, supplemented by poternes in the 13th century. Doors on the left bank, in the shape of chestnuts, differed from quadrangular doors on the right bank. Four river towers (tour du Coin, tour de Nesle, tour Barbeau, tournelle des Bernardins) controlled the Seine via chains.

Despite the construction of Charles V's enclosure in the 14th century, Philippe Auguste's was not demolished immediately. François I authorized its partial demolition in 1533, and the last remains gradually disappeared in the 17th and 18th centuries, replaced by boulevards. Today, 20 classified portions remain, often integrated with private properties (e.g., rue des Jardins-Saint-Paul, lycée Charlemagne).

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