Quartier du Temple
The Temple Quarter is located in the historic Marais district, on the Right Bank of Paris.
Although officially part of the 3rd arrondissement, it is commonly referred to as the Quartier du Marais. This district encompasses the Square du Temple and the Carreau du Temple, both developped within the former grounds of the Enclos du Temple, the fortified monastery founded by the Knights Templar in the 13th century.
The Order of the Knights Templar was founded in 1128 after the First Crusade. This religious order of noble lords and warrior-monks protected pilgrims on their journeys to and within the Holy Land. In recognition of their bravery and unwavering support during the Crusades, French monarchs granted them substantial endowments of money and land.
This influx of resources allowed the Templars to establish numerous estates, known as commanderies, throughout France, and their business acumen enabled them to amass considerable wealth and to extend loans to the King of France and even the Pope.
Quartier du Temple named after the Enclos du Temple
Among these numerous endowments, the Templars received a plot of land north of the Place de Grève (today Place de l’Hôtel de Ville). At that time, the right bank of the Seine was a vast marshy area, hence its name, Marais (Marsh).
The Templars cleared and drained their land and developed their Enclos du Temple, a vast fortified complex of 130 hectares protected by an imposing 8-meter-high wall.
The Grand Master of the Templar Order took residence at the Enclos du Temple after the loss of Palestine in 1291. This fortified enclave was centred on an imposing keep flanked by four turrets, a large church designed as a faithful replica of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, and various outbuildings including shops, workshops, and dwellings.
The Templars fostered the growth of a community of skilled artisans within their Enclosure, ensuring their protection and tax exemptions, privileges granted to them by the kings of France. The Temple Enclosure functioned like a city within Paris!
However, King Philip the Fair, increasingly suspicious and envious of the Order’s growing influence and immense wealth, saw it as a threat to his authority. He obtained the dissolution of the Order of the Temple in 1313, confiscating all their possessions and condemning their Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, and his lieutenants to be burned at the stake in 1314 in what is now the Square du Vert Galant on the Ile de la Cité.
The king bequeathed the Temple Enclosure to the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, who would later become the Order of Malta in the 16th century. Under the direction of their Grand Prior, Jacques Souvres, the Hospitallers modified the ramparts in 1667 to build a palace.
Development of the Quartier du Temple district
The Enclos du Temple was declared public property during the French Revolution. The ramparts and the land were sold off in lots, but the keep was transformed into a prison where Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and their children were held. On January 21, 1793, Louis XVI was taken from the keep to the Place de la Concorde, where he was executed.
In 1808, Napoleon ordered the demolition of the church and the keep to prevent the latter from becoming a royalist pilgrimage site and to erase all traces of the tragic events associated with it. The keep stood at the corner of modern-day Rue Perrée and Rue Eugène-Spuller. Today, the Carreau du Temple and the north wing of the 3rd arrondissement town hall stand on its site, and you’ll find a commemorative plaque on the wall of the town hall.
After housing a Benedictine monastery until 1848, the Prior’s Palace and its outbuildings were converted into barracks and finally demolished in 1853 to make way for the charming public garden, Square du Temple. Although the Enclos du Temple has disappeared, its memory remains etched in the street names of the Quartier du Temple.
Metro: Temple on Line 3
Coordinates: Lat 48.864304 – Long 2.361835
Photo via Wikimedia Commons: Donjon Public domain
