The wall of Charles V, built from 1356 to 1383 is one of the

city walls of Paris The city walls of Paris ( French: ''enceintes de Paris'' or ''murs de Paris'') refers to the city walls that surrounded Paris, France, as it grew from ancient times until the 20th century, built primarily to defend the city but also for adminis ...

. It was built on the right bank of the river

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

outside the

wall of Philippe Auguste The Wall of Philip Augustus is the oldest city walls of Paris, city wall of Paris (France) whose plan is accurately known. Partially integrated into buildings, more traces of it remain than of the later fortifications. History The wall was built ...

. In the 1640s, the western part of the wall of Charles V was demolished and replaced by the larger

Louis XIII wall The city walls of Paris ( French: ''enceintes de Paris'' or ''murs de Paris'') refers to the city walls that surrounded Paris, France, as it grew from ancient times until the 20th century, built primarily to defend the city but also for adminis ...

, with the demolished material reused for the new wall. This new enclosure (''enceinte'') was completely destroyed in the 1670s and was replaced by the

Grands Boulevards The Boulevards of Paris are boulevards which form an important part of the urban landscape of Paris. The boulevards were constructed in several phases by central government initiative as infrastructure improvements, but are very much associated w ...

History

The wall of Philippe Auguste

The

was created at the beginning of the 13th century and enclosed 253 hectares with houses and vegetable and vine fields allowing people to protect from a possible military siege. But decades later, the fields had been replaced by homes and crops had been pushed outside the city walls. Several suburbs were growing rapidly, particularly in the west. The growing population could no longer be contained in the city. Furthermore, with the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

, it became necessary to build a new enclosure to protect the capital of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

A rampart of fortified earth

Étienne Marcel Étienne Marcel (between 1302 and 131031 July 1358) was provost of the merchants of Paris under King John II of France, called John the Good (Jean le Bon). He distinguished himself in the defence of the small craftsmen and guildsmen who made u ...

, provost of the merchants, began to build a moat from 1356, a few hundred yards beyond the wall of Philippe Auguste. Only the right side was affected by this expansion. King

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

, from 1358, ordered the fortification and the addition of a large and deep ditch that would be filled by the river Seine. The new fortification extended westward beyond the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, which lost its function as a fortress. Charles V transformed the Louvre into a residence, but without changing its dimensions. He established a library there with 973 books. On the east, the new home of the King, the Hotel Saint-Pol, was poorly protected. Charles V decided to build the ''Chastel Saint-Antoine'', the Parisians called it ''the Bastide Saint-Antoine'', then la Bastille (Bastide or Bastille is an old French word for castle). In 1370, the provost Hugues Aubriot laid the cornerstone of the building which was completed in 1382. The city then spread over with more than 150,000 inhabitants. The wall, as well as its extension built by

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

on the west side was destroyed in 1670, on orders of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

after his victories in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

The route

The wall left the Seine at the

tour du bois Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

between the

Pont du Carrousel The Pont du Carrousel () is a bridge in Paris, which spans the River Seine between the Quai des Tuileries and the Quai Voltaire. History Begun in 1831 in the prolongation of the ''rue des Saints-Pères'' on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank, the origi ...

and the

Pont Royal The Pont Royal is a bridge crossing the river Seine in Paris. It is the third oldest bridge in Paris, after the Pont Neuf and the Pont Marie. Location The Pont Royal links the Right Bank by the Pavillon de Flore with the Left Bank of Paris betwe ...

. Then the wall was north of the

Rue Saint-Honoré The rue Saint-Honoré is a street in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. It is named after the collegial situated in ancient times within the cloisters of Saint-Honoré. The street, on which are located a number of museums and upscale bou ...

and

Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal ...

then to north-east along the

Place des Victoires The Place des Victoires is a circular ''place'' in Paris, located a short distance northeast from the Palais Royal and straddling the border between the 1st and the 2nd arrondissements. The Place des Victoires is at the confluence of six streets ...

and the

Rue d'Aboukir ''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of ''Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bluis ...

(opened on the location of the moat) up to the

Porte Saint-Denis The Porte Saint-Denis ( en, St. Denis Gate) is a Parisian monument located in the 10th arrondissement, at the site of one of the gates of the Wall of Charles V, one of Paris' former city walls. It is located at the crossing of the Rue Saint-De ...

. It then followed the

( Boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle,

Boulevard Saint-Martin A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls. In American usage, boulevards may ...

Boulevard du Temple The Boulevard du Temple, formerly nicknamed the "Boulevard du Crime", is a thoroughfare in Paris that separates the 3rd arrondissement from the 11th. It runs from the Place de la République to the Place Pasdeloup, and its name refers to the ne ...

, Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire,

Boulevard Beaumarchais The Boulevard Beaumarchais is a boulevard of the 3rd, 4th and 11th arrondissement of Paris. It is named after Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. Boulevards in Paris {{France-geo-stub ...

). The wall returned to the Seine on the east at the tour de Billy. The wall on the left bank of the river, built by Philippe-Auguste was kept, leaving the new

faubourg Saint-Germain ''Faubourg Saint-Germain'' () is a historic district of Paris, France. The ''Faubourg'' has long been known as the favourite home of the French nobility, French high nobility and hosts many aristocratic ''hôtels particuliers''. It is currently pa ...

outside the walls.

The gates

The wall on the right bank included only six gates : * Porte Saint-Honoré (on the

, about 500 meters outside of the wall of Philippe Auguste) * Porte Montmartre (on

Rue Montmartre Boulevard Montmartre is one of the four grands boulevards of Paris. It was constructed in 1763. Contrary to what its name may suggest, the road is not situated on the hills of Montmartre. It is the easternmost of the grand boulevards. History ...

, at the junction with the

rue d'Aboukir ''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of ''Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bluis ...

) *

Porte Saint-Martin The Porte Saint-Martin ( en, St. Martin Gate) is a Parisian monument located at the site of one of the gates of the now-destroyed fortifications of Paris. It is located at the crossing of Rue Saint-Martin, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin and the '' g ...

* Porte du Temple (in the location of the current

Place de la République The Place de la République (known as the Place du Château d'Eau until 1879) is a square in Paris, located on the border between the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements. The square has an area of .Warner, p. 250 Named after the First, Second a ...

) *

Porte Saint-Antoine The Porte Saint-Antoine was one of the gates of Paris. There were two gates named the Porte Saint-Antoine, both now demolished, of which the best known was that guarded by the Bastille, on the site now occupied by the start of Rue de la Bastille i ...

(the location of the current

Place de la Bastille The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris where the Bastille prison once stood, until the storming of the Bastille and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution. No vestige of the ...

)

Bibliography

* Danielle Chadych et Dominique Leborgne : ''Atlas de Paris'', Parigramme, 2002, . *''This page is a translation of its French equivalent.''

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wall Of Charles V, Paris Fortifications of Paris Geography of Paris Urban planning in France Military history of France City walls in France Former buildings and structures in Paris Buildings and structures demolished in the 17th century