Place du Châtelet, named after a medieval fortress
The Place du Châtelet, a major Parisian intersection on the Left Bank, marks the boundary between the 1st and 4th arrondissements.
It stretches from the Pont au Change, which leads to the Palace of Justice on the Île de la Cité, to the intersection of the Boulevard de Sébastopol and the Rue de Rivoli, near the Tour Saint-Jacques, and is bordered by two renowned theatres, the Théâtre du Châtelet and the Théâtre de la Ville.
However, the square was not so welcoming in the Middle Ages!
In the 9th century, it was indeed home to an imposing wooden defensive tower, replaced in 1130 by a stone fortress known as the Grand Châtelet.
This fortress protected the Grand Pont, the current Pont Notre-Dame.
The Grand Châtelet Fortress stood between the present-day Théâtre du Châtelet and the central esplanade, facing Rue Saint-Denis.
Its counterpart, the Petit Châtelet, was located on the Left Bank and guarded the Petit Pont.
In 1190, King Philip-Augustus enclosed Paris within a rampart that included the Grand Châtelet, thus making it obsolete. The fortress was then repurposed to house the courts of the provosts of Paris.
Fontaine du Palmier on Place du Châtelet
Louis XVI commissioned the demolition of the Grand Châtelet, but the outbreak of the French Revolution halted the work, which was not resumed until the First Empire, at the beginning of the 19th century.
Emperor Napoleon wished not only to create a modern city, but also to distance himself from the negative memories attached to the monarchy and the Revolution. The new square facilitated traffic flow, and a fountain was installed on its centre to provide drinking water to the residents of the neighbourhood.
The engineer Bralle designed this fountain in 1808. Gabriel Davioud created the basin, and Louis-Simon Jacquemart sculpted the four sphinxes that frame it and commemorate Napoleon’s victories in Egypt. Jacquemart also sculpted the allegorical statues symbolising Faith, Strength, Law, and Vigilance that adorn the shaft’s base.
This triumphal fountain is known as the Fontaine du Palmier and Fontaine de la Victoire (Palm Fountain and the Victory Fountain) because of the sculpted palm fronds and the statue of Victory that crowns its shaft. This statue is a replica of the original sculpted by Boizot, which is kept at the Carnavalet Museum.
Haussmann enlarged the Place du Châtelet in the 1860s and modified the fountain, which is now a listed historical monument.
Théâtre du Châtelet and Théâtre de la Ville
Gabriel Davioud also designed the two theatres that flank the Place du Châtelet.
The Théâtre du Châtelet, originally called the Théâtre Impérial du Châtelet, was inaugurated on August 19, 1862.
Its elegant arcades support a two-storey Italian Renaissance-style facade, and statues representing Drama, Music, Dance, and Comedy adorn the terrace. The theatre offers a diverse program, ranging from ballet and concerts to music hall performances.
The Théâtre de la Ville, formerly the Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt, is primarily dedicated to contemporary dance.
Directions: 1st and 4th district
Metro: Châtelet on Lines 1, 4, 7, 11 and on RER A, B, D
Coordinates: Lat 48.857556 – Long 2.347304
Photo via Wikimedia Commons: Grand Chatelet Fortress by Dupré (Graveur) public domain
