Ledru-Rollin Avenue is a street situated in the neighbourhoods of Quinze-Vingts of the
12th arrondissement and Sainte-Marguerite and Roquette of the
11th arrondissement of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
Location
Ledru-Rollin Avenue is a broad thoroughfare of about 1.5 kilometres in length which unites the
Austerlitz Bridge to the Town Hall of the 11th arrondissement, at Leon Blum Square (Place Léon Blum). Its initial orientation is North-East, but Ledru-Rollin Avenue eventually curves towards the North. The entire boulevard is bordered by trees on both sides, and it passes through the three main east-west arteries of the 12th arrondissement: Avenue Daumesnil, the
rue de Charenton
The Rue de Charenton is a historic street in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France. Several buildings along the street have been listed as official historical monuments by the French Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Culture (french: Mi ...
and the rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, the last of which marks the border between the 12th and the 11th arrondissements. Most of the buildings on the avenue date from the 19th and 20th centuries, and some of them are quite distinguished.
Ledru-Rollin Avenue is easily accessed via the Métro stations
''Quai de la Rapée'' ( ),
''Ledru-Rollin'' ( ), and
''Voltaire'' ( ). It is also close to the stations
''Bastille'' and
''Gare de Lyon'' on Metro Line , and is home to many bus stops as well, including the 20, 24, 57, 61, 63, and 65 as well as the 69, 76 & 86.
Origin of the name
In 1879, the avenue was named in honour of the French lawyer and politician Alexandre Auguste Ledru, also known as
Ledru-Rollin
Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin (; 2 February 1807 – 31 December 1874) was a French people, French lawyer, politician and one of the leaders of the French Revolution of 1848.
Youth
The grandson of Comus (Nicolas Philippe Ledru), Nicolas Philip ...
(1807-1874), Minister of the Interior of the 2nd Republic, and a champion of universal suffrage (for men). Twenty-six other French cities and towns also bear streets with the name Ledru-Rollin: a boulevard in Montpellier, and streets in Agen, Dijon, Avignon, Châteauroux, Tours, Tarbes, Bellac, Argenton-sur-Creuse, Limoges, Marseille, La Ciotat, Moulins, Pertuis, Hellemmes, Reims, Roanne, Rueil-Malmaison, Suresnes, Mauguio, Rochefort-sur-Mer, Sotteville-lès-Rouen, Houilles, Choisy-le-Roi, Ivry-sur-Seine, and in Fontenay-aux-Roses, where he died on 31 December 1874.
History
A part of Ledru-Rollin Avenue was inundated in the famous
flooding of the Seine River in January 1910.
Paris 1910 Inondation avenue Ledru-Rollin.jpg, Pedestrians traversing planks over the floodwaters.
Manifestation des inondés de 1910, Paris 1911.jpg, A demonstration against flooding conditions in January 1910.
P1300134 Paris XI avenue Ledru-Rollin rwk.jpg, Ledru-Rollin Avenue in the 11th arrondissement.
PB280015 Paris XII Av Ledru Rollin reductwk.JPG, In the 12th arrondissement, towards the Austerlitz Bridge and the Seine River.
Notable buildings
* The beginning of the
Austerlitz Bridge.
* No. 33, the technical secondary school Chennevière-Malézieux.
* No. 40, the sculptures on the facade are by
Émile Joseph Nestor Carlier (1849-1927).
* At the intersection with Avenue Daumesnil, the high line called
Promenade plantée
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...
, developed in the late 1990s from a disused train bridge.
* No. 66, the primary entrance to the parish church
St. Antoine des XV-XX.
File:Avenue Ledru Rollin-at Avenue Daumesnil-Coulée Verte.jpg, The pedestrian bridge of the "Promenade Plantée" ("Coulée Verte") traverses the avenue at the intersection of Avenue Daumesnil. The steeple of St. Antoine church is also visible.
File:P1330919 Paris XII avenue Ledru-Rollin clocher eglise St-Antoine rwk.jpg, The bell tower of St. Antoine des XV-XX church.
File:Saint-Antoine des XV-XX-porte d'entrée.jpg, The main entrance to St. Antoine church from Ledru-Rollin Avenue.
P1330645 Paris XI av Ledru-Rollin rue de Charonne rwk.jpg, Building known as the ''Bistrot du peintre''.
Rue Charonne-Bistrot du Peintre 3.JPG, An overall view of the brasserie.
Rue Charonne-Bistrot du Peintre 2.JPG, Art nouveau mosaics.
Rue Charonne-Bistrot du Peintre 1.JPG, Art nouveau Brasserie.
* At No. 153, a former
Protestant church
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
, built in 1882 by W. Hansen, is notable for the sculpture of an open Bible. This building is listed on the protected buildings of the 11th arrondissement.
[Règlement du PLU, tome 2, annexe VI, .]
* At No. 160, the pastry shop ''La Couronne du Roi'', is located, which specialises in cake design.
Avenue Ledru Rollin 153 -1.JPG, Exterior of the former Protestant church.
Avenue Ledru Rollin 153 -2.JPG, Inscription above the door of the former church.
References
{{reflist
Streets in the 11th arrondissement of Paris
Streets in the 12th arrondissement of Paris