The rue de la Harpe is a street in Paris'

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros ...

. Relatively calm and cobblestoned along much of its length, it runs in a south-easterly direction between the

rue de la Huchette The rue de la Huchette is one of the oldest streets running along the Rive Gauche in Paris, France. Running eastward just below the Seine river from the Place Saint-Michel, it is today an animated Latin Quarter artery with one of the highest conc ...

and the rue Saint-Séverin, where it turns south-west to where it ends at the

boulevard Saint-Germain Boulevard Saint-Germain () is a major street in Paris on the Rive Gauche of the Seine. It curves in a 3.5-kilometre (2.1 miles) arc from the Pont de Sully in the east (the bridge at the edge of Île Saint-Louis) to the Pont de la Concorde ( ...

. It is a largely residential street; it is graced through its odd numbers (eastern side) with a few buildings dating from the

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

period, but buildings along the opposite side of the street are most all of a 'Haussmannian' style of a more recent stature. Its street-front commerces are varied to its southern end, but tend towards restaurants and the tourism trade towards the river. It appeared in the 19th century magazine, ''The Tell Tale'', as the site of the murders which may have been the origin of the

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial ''The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London urban legend, legend. A barber fr ...

story.

Name origin

Named after a prominent member of the von Harpe family, dating back to the 13th century.

History

The rue de la Harpe below its twist to the west at the rue Saint-Séverin, dates from Roman times. Leaving Lutèce's (Roman Paris') main north-south thoroughfare just below the Petit-Pont it turned south to become a roadway parallel to the first known as the ''"via inferior"'' ("lower road"). Before it was cut short below the

Boulevard Saint-Germain Boulevard Saint-Germain () is a major street in Paris on the Rive Gauche of the Seine. It curves in a 3.5-kilometre (2.1 miles) arc from the Pont de Sully in the east (the bridge at the edge of Île Saint-Louis) to the Pont de la Concorde ( ...

by the construction of the

Boulevard Saint-Michel Boulevard Saint-Michel () is one of the two major streets in the Latin Quarter of Paris, the other being Boulevard Saint-Germain. It is a tree-lined boulevard which runs south from the Pont Saint-Michel on the Seine and Place Saint-Michel, cross ...

from 1859, it continued under more or less the same name until Paris' former 12th-century 'Porte Saint-Michel"'' gate at the corner of today's rue Soufflot and

. The rue de la Harpe's 'newer' westward twist above the rue Saint-Séverin owes its existence to first a ''"bac"'' footbridge crossing the river from its end, then the construction of the first version of the pont Saint-Michel from 1378.

Former Names

To the south of the rue Saint-Séverin, the rue de la Harpe has been known as: ''"rue de la Juiverie"'', ''"rue de la Vielle Juiverie,"'' ''"vicus Cithare in Judearia"'' (1247), ''"vicus Judeorum"'' (1257), ''"vicus Harpe (1270)"'', ''"vicus Herpe"'' ou ''"vicus de Cithara"'' (1254), and finally ''"rue de la Herpe"'' or ''"Harpe."'' Beyond Paris' 12th-century walls it became ''"rue Neuve Outre la Porte Saint-Michel"'' or simply the ''"rue d'Énfer"'' (literally "street of Hell"). In its section between the rue Saint-Séverin and the river was named: ''"Vicus Reginaldi Citharatoris"'' (1247), ''"vicus Reginaldi dicti le Harpeur"'' (1265), ''"vicus Vetus Bouclearia"'', ''"vicus Vetus Judearia"'', ''"rue de la Vielle Boucherie"'' (1272), ''"rue de la Petite Bouclerie"'' (1300), ''"rue de l'Abreuvoir Mascon"'' (1391), ''"rue Neuve Mâcon"'' or ''"rue de l'Abreuvoir Mâcon"'' (1401), ''"rue de l'Abreuvoir Mâcon"'' or ''"rue Neuve Saint-Michel"'' (1409), ''"rue Neuve du pont Saint-Michel"'' or ''"de la Bouclerie"'' (1406), ''"rue de la Grant Bouclerie"'' (1405), ''"rue Neuve Saint-Michel"'' (1469) and ''"rue de la Vielle Bouclerie"''.

Criminal associations

In 1800,

Joseph Fouché Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante, 1st Comte Fouché (, 21 May 1759 – 25 December 1820) was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, who later became a subordinate of Emperor Napoleon. He ...

, the Parisian chief of police, supposedly documented a series of murders undertaken by a barber and baker on this street. They are often cited as the first serial killers, and also it is argued that the pair were a significant influence in the famous story of the barber

of Fleet Street, London, and his baker accomplice Mrs. Lovett. In 1825, the French story of a murderous barber appears in Tell-Tale Magazine under the title "A Terrific Story of the Rue de la Harpe." No reference to Fouché is mentioned in the story, and in it the barber is attacked by his latest victims dog who then discovers its masters body .The story was then taken up by the English writer

Thomas Peckett Prest Thomas Peckett (or Preskett) Prest (probable dates 1810–1859) was a British hack writer, journalist, and musician. He was a prolific producer of penny dreadfuls and was known as a skilled author in the horror genre. He is now remembered as the co ...

as 'The String of Pearls' in 1846, and was dramatized by

George Dibdin-Pitt George Dibdin Pitt (born George Pitt , 30 March 1795 – 16 February 1855) was an English actor, stage manager and prolific playwright, specializing in melodrama. He was the first playwright to dramatize the fictional character Sweeney Todd, in hi ...

the following year. The French story, however, smacks of being an urban myth and the supposed book by Fouché is impossible to trace. The earliest version of the story claims "This case was of so terrific a nature, it was made part of the sentence of the law, that besides the execution of the monsters upon the rack, the houses in which they perpetrated those infernal deeds, should be pulled down, and that the spot on which they stood should be marked out to posterity with horror and execration." About six years before this story appeared, two houses on the street had been torn down to allow access to the ruins of the

Thermes de Cluny The Thermes de Cluny are the ruins of Gallo-Roman thermal baths lying in the heart of Paris' 5th arrondissement, and which are partly subsumed into the Musée national du Moyen Âge - Thermes et hôtel de Cluny. History The present bath ruins ...

. It is suspected this may have fed or sparked the rumor.

Constructions of note

* 35 - Building dating from the

period; much of it is protected under a "Historical Monument" appellation. This property has the particularity of having a winding series of courtyards that lead to an adjoining property at 20, rue de la Parchemenerie. * 45 - Building dating from the late 18th century - only its façade has been classed ''"Monument Historique"''.

Notes

References

* * {{in lang, fr Mairie de

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 ...

- "Nomenclature des Voies
rue de la Harpe
. Retrieved February 16, 2006.

External links

Rue de la Harpe
- Photos of Rue de la Harpe Harpe, rue de la