A Brief History of the Marais

The Origins of the Marais

The right bank of the Seine, at the foot of the Belleville and Montmartre hills, was a vast swamp crossed very early on by several communication routes, including the current streets of St Martin and St Antoine dating back to the Roman era. In 879, Emperor Charles the Bald donated these flooded lands to a religious community, the Abbey of Ste Opportune. The drainage of these lands transformed the old marshes into fertile "marais" (swamps), a Parisian term referring to vegetable and aromatic plant cultivation, and new religious orders participated in farming, including the Maison du Temple and St Martin des Champs. Then, in 1176, Louis VII the Young, father of Philip Augustus, made the Marais the vegetable garden of Paris.

From the 13th to the 16th Century

Philip Augustus built a wall to protect Paris. The Marais was excluded, but the city gates remained open to facilitate access to properties outside the walls. Around 1360, the future King Charles V, by constructing new protective walls, annexed the Marais district to Paris, which earned its nobility when he settled there first at the Hôtel St Paul, located between St Antoine street and the quay, and then at the Hôtel des Tournelles. During the subsequent English occupation, the Duke of Bedford resided in the Marais, and the area was later frequented by Kings Charles VII, Louis XI, Charles VIII, Louis XII, and Francis I. In 1545, the face of the district changed. The religious, who had been guardians of the Marais, commissioned Master Guillaume Payen to sell their lands in lots. Gradually, through the fields, streets like the Francs Bourgeois, Sainte Catherine (now Sévigné), Pavée, and Payenne, among others, were constructed.

The 17th Century and its Grandeur

Henry IV, the first great French urban planner, had the Place Royale (now Place des Vosges) built, which became the heart of the Marais. From then on, the area became a place of elegance and festivities. Princes, great nobles, and ambassadors made their formal entrances there. One had to be seen. Around it, magnificent private mansions in the French style were built—classic, discreet constructions between courtyard and garden, sheltered from the hustle of the street. The précieuses, philosophers, and libertines held salons there.

The Neglected 18th Century

The population followed their king. Louis XIV and his court made Versailles their home. The Marais and its center, the Place Royale, suffered from this distance and fell into neglect. Only Marie de Rabutin Chantal, the Marquise de Sévigné, a woman of letters and wit, chose to remain in the Hôtel Carnavalet, which today houses the Museum of the History of Paris. The nobles and bourgeois who owned private mansions, pushed by the Revolution and the nearby storming of the Bastille, decided to immigrate to the provinces.

The 19th and 20th Centuries: From Chaos to Resurrection

Mistreated, deformed, and transformed, the beautiful private mansions of the Marais suffered from the anarchy of production workshops and the invasion of concrete. This continued until the 1960s. Large urban projects jeopardized all this historical heritage. Fortunately, lovers of the district, such as architect Albert Laprade and puppeteer Michel Raude, alerted public opinion and the government. André Malraux, then Minister of Culture, quickly made decisions to protect the Marais district. The state's acquisition of historical sites, a preservation and enhancement plan for the Marais, and a festival in the prestigious places of the district allowed the Marais to escape the destruction that had been predicted.

The Radiant 21st Century

Since then, the Marais' appeal has never waned. Artists, creators, bourgeois bohemians, and history lovers have made the district a must-see destination.