[An illustration of a ship, symbolizing the symbol of Paris]

Histoire de Paris

L’enceinte de Philippe-Auguste
Les remparts édifiés au début du Xllle siècle n’ont jamais servi militairement jusqu’à l’époque de Charles V: sur la rive gauche, ils sont jugés encore suffisants au XIVe siècle, et simplement consolidés puis entourés d’un fossé sec. La rue Mazarine en témoigne: cet ancien chemin extérieur de l’enceinte de Philippe-Auguste est en effet baptisé au XVIle siècle "rue des Fossés de Nesle". Avec l’essor de la capitale, les fortifications médiévales sont lentement absorbées dans le tissu urbain: la muraille devient limite de propriété, soubassement de maison ou carrière de pierres, et ses tours servent de logis, d’atelier, ou même de chapelle. Ici, un longpan de mur et la base d’une tour sont visibles à l’intérieur du parc de stationnement souterrain. Ces remplois successifs ont sauvegardé de multiples fragments de l’enceinte monumentale, la préservant ainsi d’une démolition radicale.

One of the series of signs describing historical places in Paris. The signs were placed starting in 1992 and are also called sucettes Starck (Starck’s Lollipops) after Philippe Starck who designed them.

The sign depicts the enclosure (wall) of King Philip II (Philip Augustus)

The place where the sign is located was photographed on the same day Click for a larger image

Translation of the text on the sign:

[An illustration of a ship, symbolizing the symbol of Paris]

History of Paris

The enclosure of Philippe-Auguste
The ramparts built at the beginning of the 13th century were never used militarily until the time of Charles V: on the left bank, they were still considered sufficient in the 14th century, and were simply consolidated then surrounded by a dry moat. Rue Mazarine bears witness to this: this old road outside the Philippe-Auguste enclosure was in fact named "rue des Fossés de Nesle" in the 16th century. With the growth of the capital, the medieval fortifications were slowly absorbed into the urban fabric: the wall became a property boundary, the base of a house or a stone quarry, and its towers served as a home, workshop, or even a chapel. Here, a long section of wall and the base of a tower are visible inside the underground parking lot. These successive reuses saved multiple fragments of the monumental enclosure, thus preserving it from radical demolition.