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

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

situated just west of the

Île de la Cité The Île de la Cité (; English: City Island, "Island of the City") is one of the two natural islands on the Seine River (alongside, Île Saint-Louis) in central Paris. It spans of land. In the 4th century, it was the site of the fortress of ...

. The island was named for the number of executions of

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

that took place on it during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. It was on this island that

Jacques de Molay Jacques de Molay (; 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 The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

, 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 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 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 ...

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, a smaller royal castle on the left bank of the Seine. The island alongside it, of similar size, was called the Île à la Gourdaine, and was the location of a mill. 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 Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

Name

The island 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 Templiers. 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

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ile aux Juifs Former islands of France 1st arrondissement of Paris Landforms of Paris Île-de-France region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Islands of the River Seine Islands of Île-de-France