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Origin and history

The enclosure of Philippe Auguste, built between 1190 and 1215, is the second medieval wall of Paris and the oldest whose route is precisely known. Ordered by King Philippe Auguste before his departure for the third crusade, it aimed to protect the capital from the attacks of the Plantagenets, whose territories spread from Normandy to the Pyrenees. The right bank, more exposed, was first fortified (1190–1209), followed by 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 housed approximately 50,000 inhabitants at the end of the 12th century. Its financing, estimated at over 15,000 pounds, was provided by the Royal Treasury and partly by the Parisian bourgeois.

Designed without an initial external ditch, the enclosure consisted of a creneled wall of 6 to 9 meters high, flanked by 73 semi-cylindrical towers and pierced by 14 main doors. Four massive towers at the ends (turn of the Corner, tower of Nesle, tower Barbeau, tower of the Bernardins) allowed control of the Seine via chains. The wall played a key role in the urban development of Paris: it integrated peripheral towns (such as Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois or Sainte-Geneviève) and structured the old network, still visible today (rues des Fossés-Saint-Bernard, Monsieur-le-Prince). Its layout influenced the orientation of medieval streets, such as Rue Saint-Honoré or Rue Saint-Antoine.

In the 14th century, despite the construction of Charles V's enclosure (right bank only), Philippe Auguste's was preserved and strengthened: dug ditches, added back-casts, and doors with barbacans. However, from the 16th century its gradual dismantling began under Francis I (demolition of the gates in 1533), then under Henry IV, who preferred to dig new ditches outside the suburbs. The remaining remains, often integrated into private buildings, were gradually erased in the 17th century for reasons of safety and traffic. Today, 20 portions classified as historical monuments remain, such as those visible on Rue des Jardins-Saint-Paul (4th) or Rue du Cardinal-Lemoine (5th).

The enclosure symbolizes the transition from Paris to a medieval political and cultural capital. Under Philippe Auguste, the city became the main royal residence, housing a central administration and the nascent University. The wall also accelerated the urbanization of central districts, such as the Champeaux (future market of the Halles), and fixed the boundaries of the city until the 16th century. Its urban heritage persists in the streets on its old ditches (rue des Fossés-Saint-Jacques) or behind its rampart (rue Jean-Jacques-Rousseau).

The vestiges accessible today include towers (such as the Montgomery Tower, rue des Jardins-Saint-Paul), courtines (Charlemagne Lycée), and indirect traces (close buildings on Saint-Germain Boulevard). These relics, often unknown, illustrate medieval defensive engineering and the adaptation of Paris to its population growth. The enclosure was also a social marker: its financing involved both the crown, religious institutions (expropriated and compensated) and the bourgeois, reflecting the power dynamics of the time.

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