Île aux Juifs, Paris (literally ''Island of the Jews'' or ''Jewish Island''), also called Île des Templiers, was a small island on the Seine in Paris situated just west of the

Île de la Cité Île de la Cité (; English: City Island) is an island in the river Seine in the center of Paris. In the 4th century, it was the site of the fortress of the Roman governor. In 508, Clovis I, the first King of the Franks, established his palace ...

. The island was named for the number of executions of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

that took place on it during the Middle Ages. It was on this island that

Jacques de Molay Jacques de Molay (; c. 1240–1250 – 11 or 18 March 1314), also spelled "Molai",Demurger, pp. 1-4. "So no conclusive decision can be reached, and we must stay in the realm of approximations, confining ourselves to placing Molay's date of birth ...

, the last Grand Master of the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

, and another Templar leader,

Geoffroi de Charney Geoffroi de Charney,The first name was sometimes spelled Geoffrey, surname sometimes spelled de Charnay and de Charny. also known as Guy d'Auvergne, (died 11 or 18 March 1314) was preceptor of Normandy for the Knights Templar. In 1307 de Charny ...

, were burnt to death for heresy on 18 March 1314. The island, along with two other small islands next to it, were joined to the Île de la Cité when the

Pont Neuf The Pont Neuf (, "New Bridge") is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. It stands by the western (downstream) point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was, between 250 and 225 BC, ...

was built across it between 1578 and 1604.

History

The island was located just to the west of tip of the

, approximately where the Square du Vert-Galant and is today. It was overlooked by the tower of the old royal palace at the end of the Île de la Cité and was opposite the

Tour de Nesle The Tour de Nesle () was one of the four large guard towers on the old city wall of Paris, constructed at the beginning of the 13th century by Philip II of France and demolished in 1665. The tower was situated on the left (south) bank of the S ...

, a smaller royal castle on the left bank of the Seine. The island alongside it, of similar size, was called the Île de la Gourdaine, and was the location of a mill."Dictionnaire historique de Paris", "Îles", p. 360 A third, very small island, made of gravel, was at the very point, and was called the Motte aux Papelards, or Terrain. The addition of the three small islands at the end, plus the constructions of quays alongside, increased the size of the Île de la Cité from about eight hectares (20 acres) in Roman times to seventeen hectares (42 acres) today. In the Middle Ages the island was the property of the

Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Pres An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conc ...

."Dictionnaire historique de Paris", "Îles", p. 360

Name

The island It was also known at various times as the Île aux Treilles, Ile de Justice, Île de Galilee, and Ile aux Bureaux,Fierro, Alfred, "Histoire et Dictionnaire de Paris", 1996, Laffont, p. 941 ("Ile") and as the Île des Templars. File:Plan de Bâle 1552 - Extrait île de la Cité.jpg, The Ile aux Juifs (bottom right), on the Plan de Bâle (1552) File:Plan de Belleforest - 1575 - Extrait île de la Cité.jpg, The island on the Plan de Belleforest (1575) File:P1170404 Paris Ier square du Vert-Galant rwk.jpg, The "Island" today, part of the

Square du Vert-Galant The Square du Vert-Galant is a small, triangular park pointing downstream located at the western tip of the Ile de la Cité, next to the Pont Neuf, in the First Arrondissement of Paris. It was created in 1884 by joining two small islands to the la ...

References

Bibliography

* * * Former islands of France 1st arrondissement of Paris Landforms of Paris Île-de-France region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{france-geo-stub