Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Philippe Auguste's compound was built between 1190 and 1215 to protect Paris from external attacks, including the Plantagenets. Commanded by the king before his departure for the third crusade, this 5 385-metre stone wall (2 850 m on the right bank, 2,535 m on the left bank) covered 253 hectares and housed approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Its route, still partially visible, structured medieval urban development, with streets backed by ramparts and filled ditches that became major axes such as the streets of Fossés-Saint-Bernard or Monsieur-le-Prince.

The construction began with the right bank (1190–1209), a priority due to Norman threats, followed by the left bank (1200–1215), less urbanized. Financed by the Royal Treasury (more than 15,000 pounds) and partly by the Parisian bourgeois, the enclosure included 73 semi-cylindrical towers and 14 main doors, some of which, like the Saint-Antoine or Saint-Honoré gate, played a key commercial role. Its initial absence of ditches was subsequently compensated by defensive adaptations in the 14th century, including barbacans and controlled floods.

Despite the construction of Charles V's enclosure in the 14th century, that of Philippe Auguste remained in place until the 16th century, when François I authorized its partial demolition. The current remains, classified since 1889, are concentrated in the 4th (Rue Charlemagne, high school of the same name) and 5th arrondissements (rue du Cardinal-Lemoine). These fragments, often integrated into private buildings, reveal medieval construction techniques: double-walled walls, towers 6 to 15 meters high, and round road accessible by ladders.

It also marked the social history of Paris: it protected trade fairs (such as the Champeaux), promoted the rise of the University on the left bank, and symbolized royal power in front of feudal lords. Its route had a lasting impact on the old network, with streets on the side (street Jean-Jacques-Rousseau) or dead end (sac-de-sac de la Bouteille) reminiscent of the old doors. The ditches, transformed into sewers and then covered galleries in the 17th century, disappeared permanently under the Haussmann boulevards.

Among the remarkable elements, four river towers (tour du Coin, tour Barbeau, tournelle Saint-Bernard, tour de Nesle) controlled the Seine via chains tensioned between their bases. These devices, coupled with poternes such as that of Rue Coquillière, illustrate the constant adaptation of the enclosure to military and economic needs. Today, 20 classified portions, including a courtine of 60 meters rue des Jardins-Saint-Paul, offer a tangible overview of this founding monument of Parisian identity.

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