Do you know the terrible and gloomy history of the Buttes-Chaumont park?

Nowadays, the Buttes-Chaumont park is one of the most popular green spaces for Parisians and tourists, who come, from the first days of spring, to read, picnic or sunbathe. With its large lake, its belvedere and its hectares of lawn, the place is clearly bucolic and idyllic to spend a good time in the 19th district. But did you know that its past is far from being so beautiful? Former dump, charnel house during the Commune, death sentences, nothing very engaging!

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Since the Middle Ages, the place has had a very gloomy reputation, since the gibbet of Montfaucon stood there, where the remains of those condemned to death were exposed to the public, until the 17th century. The hill was then used as an open-air public dump, and bandits and other ill-intentioned citizens turned the surrounding suburbs into veritable gutters. Before being used as gypsum quarries, the Buttes were also the main Parisian rendering center, adding to the smell of garbage and excrement that of death, which spread throughout the capital depending on the direction of the wind.

The atrocities calmed down a bit when the commune of Belleville was annexed to Paris in 1860. The district then became a little more touristy and welcoming, with the creation of the English-style park that we know today, by the engineer Alphand in 1867. But it doesn't stop there! In the pretty lake where today onlookers fish, the bodies of 300 communards were thrown in during the Paris Commune in 1871! Finally, there is a footbridge in the park, the"Pont des Suicidés", which takes its name from the numerous suicides that were committed from this 22m high bridge, including 29 people in 1896.

Well, now that we know this story, who wants to have a picnic on the nice lawns of the park? Finally, we could almost walk there at Halloween, and meet some lost souls since centuries!

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Paris's largest charming mountain park
The Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, is one of the largest green spaces in Paris. For a jog, a picnic or a walk in the countryside, this large green setting is a must. [Read more]