History of Place de l'Hôtel de Ville

Published by Manon de Sortiraparis · Published on April 12th, 2021 at 10:15 p.m.
The Place de l'Hôtel de Ville hasn't always been the lively, cheerful spot in the heart of Paris. Indeed, it was here that many public executions took place over the centuries. You'll never see the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville in the same light again!

TheHôtel de Ville de Paris (mentioned here) stands on the aptly named Place de l'Hôtel de Ville. Pedestrianized since 1982, this large and beautiful Parisian square is now the venue of choice for numerous events for locals and tourists alike. Transformed into an ice rink in winter, a venue for major sporting events such as the Football World Cup, or a concert venue in summer for the Fnac Live festival, it's always lively and knows how to bring the crowds together.

But if we go back several centuries, there's no soccer or skating rink in this part of Paris, but a sandy desert - in other words, a strike. In 1141, Louis VII Le Jeune sold the land to the merchants who transported their goods on the Seine, and very quickly a flurry of small ports, grouped together under the name of Port de Grève, sprang up on the banks of the river, replacing the Port Saint-Landry on theÎle de la Cité, which had become too small. Hay, wheat, salt, coal, wine and wood were unloaded here throughout the day.

Because of the proximity of the Port de Grève and all the goods transiting through it, a public market was created: the Place de Grève, the workplace of many Parisians with no fixed job. In those days, it was easy to find work for the day if you went to the Place de Grève early in the morning. For the record, the expression "faire grève/se mettre en grève", before meaning "to stop working", actually meant "to stand on the Place de Grève waiting for work"!

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Until 1648, the St. John's bonfire was held every year on the Place de Grève. And on this occasion, a very strange and downright creepy ceremony took place! A basket containing cats was placed on top of the faggots and branches ready for burning. The king would then light the fire, burning the cats alive to the clamor of the crowd gathered in the square.

Darker still, the Place de Grève long served as a venue for public executions. The first were held in 1310: Marguerite Porette and a priest were sent to the stake for heresy. In 1610, Ravaillac was drawn and quartered for assassinating Henri IV. And in 1680, Catherine Deshayes, the notorious poisoner behind the Poisons affair, was burnt alive for witchcraft. In the 18th century, executions continued on the Place de Grève. It was here that the first guillotine execution took place in 1792! It is said that the crowd was disappointed by the speed of the execution. From 1832, executions were no longer held on Place de Grève, but on rue du Faubourg Saint-Jacques.

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Under the Second Empire, Baron Haussmann enlarged the square, giving it the appearance we know today. In 1803, it was definitively renamed Place de l'Hôtel de Ville. In 2013, the words"Esplanade de la Libération" were added to "Place de l'Hôtel de Ville" to pay tribute to the Resistance fighters, the Free French, the Allies and all the insurgents who liberated Paris on the night of August 24-25, 1944.

Now that you know its history, you'll never look at Place de l'Hôtel de Ville the same way again!

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Place de l'Hôtel de Ville
75004 Paris 4

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