Hôtel de Ville – because the city of Paris also needs a palace

As you walk along Rue de Rivoli, you suddenly come across a beautiful palace with a wide square where you can find changing exhibitions, an ice skating rink (in winter) and a carousel that is always there. This is the building of the Paris City Hall and it is called the Hôtel de Ville. You should know this, there are 20 districts in Paris, which you can read about in the article Paris map And each district has its own municipality. Municipality Paris It is a kind of "super-municipality" that deals with strategic issues relevant to the entire city and not to a specific district.

And one more thing you should know. For many Israelis, the word hotel means hotel, and I have already heard of several people who were interested in how much a night at the Hotel de Ville would cost (you are welcome to ask Robespierre, who spent the last night of his life there with a bullet in his jaw “at the expense of the house”). This is a common mistake because the word hotel that we use is actually an abbreviation for the word Hotel de Tourisme or “tourism house.”

Hence, the word "hotel" means house and not hotel, which is why there are so many palaces inMarais District called “Hotel de…”. Therefore “Hotel de Ville” means “city hall or town hall.” After we understood this and admired the magnificent building, another question arises. Why is the structure so magnificent? Couldn’t they have settled for some smaller, more functional office building?

I could of course provide you with the answer to this question in the next paragraph. However, instead, allow me to extend the journey a little and take you on a journey through centuries of the history of the city of Paris, during which you will discover quite a few fascinating stories about the history of the Hôtel de Ville (and, of course, finally, the answer to the question just asked).

The history of the Hotel de Ville

Not everyone knows, but Paris was once a port city, which managed to get rich thanks to trade with other cities in France. The goods were transported via the Seine River and the guild, which was responsible for this, was called the Water Merchants Guild (and no, they didn't walk the streets selling water). This guild became the most powerful guild in Paris during the Middle Ages, thanks to its wealth, and as its business grew, it needed a building in which to conduct its business.

In the Town Hall Square in Paris, people or books are burned (depending on the day).

The chosen location was a square near the riverbank, where wheat and other goods arriving by the Seine were unloaded. The square was named after that riverbank (Grève in French means riverbank, so the square was called Place de Grève). Since there was a lot of work involved in unloading and loading goods, many unemployed people would gather in this square to look for work.

Amusingly, the name of the square has become synonymous with strike over the years (faire une Grève means to strike in French), probably due to the crowds of unemployed workers who would gather there. During the 20th century, the strike became an integral part of French culture and a kind of national sport. If you would like to read more about the subject, you are welcome to visit the article Strike in Paris.

When goods were not being unloaded there, the square was the preferred place for executions and book burnings (Louis IX ordered the burning of Talmud books there in 9). Since the square was in the center of the city, criminals were not hanged there; that was left to Montfaucon, which was outside the city walls and where the bodies of criminals could remain hanging for weeks. But don't worry, the French brains invented patents for us and allowed executions in a wide variety of ways.

If you were noble, you were lucky because you would “earn” a quick death by beheading (this is what happened toMarquise de Berneville (who was executed after poisoning quite a few members of her family.) On the other hand, if you were unlucky enough to be accused of witchcraft or deviating from religion, you would “deserve” to be burned alive there.

But the most unfortunate people were those accused of harming the king. The punishment they received was to be tied to four horses, each going in a different direction. As a result, the criminal's arms and legs were torn off while he was still alive (before that, they also took care to torture him and pour hot lead into his wounds). And if you thought that such a barbaric execution was common only in the Middle Ages, you will be surprised to hear that in 1757, the mentally ill servant, Robert François Damien, tried to stab the Louis XIV Using a fruit-peeling knife, he received the same treatment.

With such a record, it is no wonder that in the late 18th century, the Place de Grève was “deserved” to become the site of the first execution by guillotine. The victim was a common thief named “La Peletier” and was beheaded there on April 25, 1792. Executions for criminal offenses continued in this square until the 30s, when King Louis Philippe transferred the guillotine to13th District.

In contrast, executions for “ideological” crimes were mostly carried out inPlace de la Concorde (Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Danton, etc.), the Bastille, and the Nation (although there were exceptions. For example, the head of the revolutionary prosecutor, Fauquier Tinville, was beheaded in the Town Hall Square).

Want to learn more about the dark history of Paris?

Place de Garb was indeed the prime location for executions, but it was not the only place where people were beheaded, hanged, tortured, or burned. If this topic interests you, you are welcome to listen to my lecture To see Paris and die , where you will discover more dark secrets that took place in the most touristic places in Paris, and of course you will hear the incredible story of the Sanson family, who held the title of “Hangman of Paris” for 7 consecutive generations.

Swinging but not sinking

Executions are an interesting thing, but we came to discuss the history of the Hôtel de Ville. So let's go back to the Water Merchants Guild. As mentioned, they set up offices and a court for commercial matters next to Grève Square in a building called the Column Building (because... it stood on wooden columns. Not every name has an interesting story, unfortunately).

As I wrote at the beginning of the article, the Water Merchants Guild was the most important guild in the city. Therefore, in 1357, this building became the first city hall of Paris and the emblem of the Water Merchants Guild became the emblem of the city.

Look at the symbol you see here. In the middle you can see the ship sailing down the river. This is the merchant ship sailing down the Seine. Below it we see the Latin motto of the city of Paris, also taken from the merchant guild, and it means “swaying but not sinking.” And indeed if we go through all theHistory of Paris, we will find that this motto fits her like a glove (bought in some boutique in Faubourg Saint Honore). And the truth is, it seems to me that the State of Israel could also adopt it…

And finally, notice the colors of the flag, red and blue. This is two-thirds of the flag. France of today, which was set at the time French Revolution (The white color in the middle is the color of the French monarchy and remained there long after the monarchy in France ceased to exist.)

Etienne Marcel, the legendary mayor of Paris

The person who transformed the position of head of the Paris Merchants' Guild into the de facto mayor was Étienne Marcel (1302-1358), whose statue can be seen in the city hall garden and whose name includes a street and a station. Metro In Paris. Who was this man who achieved so much fame during his lifetime and after his death?

Étienne was born into a wealthy and long-established merchant family in Paris (his mother was a descendant of the Barbou dynasty, one of the most powerful and wealthy families of Paris in the Middle Ages). It is therefore not surprising that Étienne managed to move up the political ladder until, in 1354, he became head of the merchants' guild (in French, Prevost de Marchands).

In 1356, King John II was captured by the English and France, impoverished by a series of losses in the Hundred Years' War, was forced to raise money to pay the ransom for his release. During this period, Etienne Marcel became a fierce opponent of the Dauphin (Crown Prince) Charles, Duke of Normandy And the relationship between the monarchy and the leaders of the city of Paris is becoming increasingly fragile.

About two years later, the conflict reached its peak when Etienne Marcel, at the head of the Parisian mob, burst into the king's palace, which was then in ruins.Ile de la Cita (where the court and the Conciergerie Palace are). The result of this break-in was a terrible massacre in which the marshals of the Normandy and Champagne regions were murdered. The Dauphin Charles managed to escape and when he became King Charles V he decided not to return to this palace, where he did not feel safe, and to move to Marais District, where he built the Saint Pol Palace, which unfortunately no longer exists.

Étienne Marcel had reached the peak of his career, but, puffed up with pride and self-importance, he allowed himself to go too far. He believed that if he collaborated with the King of Navarre, who was at the time fighting against the King of France, he could turn Paris into a kind of autonomy. However, on July 31, 1358, Étienne Marcel made a mistake and tried to open the gates of Paris to the forces of that king. When the people of Paris heard of this, they murdered Étienne Marcel and his supporters, while the Dauphin returned to Paris, having been forced to flee.

Despite all this, Etienne Marcel left behind an important legacy, for which he was honored with a statue in front of the City Hall. First, he turned the mayor of Paris into an important political figure and Paris into the most important city in France. Second, Etienne Marcel created a legacy of Parisian uprisings every century, a legacy that continues to this day. Don't believe it? Look at what has happened since his time:

• Century 15: Paris rebels against the King of France and opens its gates to the Burgundians and the English
• Century 16: During the Wars of Religion, Paris deposes King Henry III and surrenders to the Catholic League.
• Century 17: The Fronde rebellion against Cardinal Mazarin and Anne of Austria.
• Century 18: French Revolution, which began in Paris.
• Century 19: The revolutions of 1830, 1848 and the Paris Commune of 1871.
• Century 20: The student uprising of May 1968.
• 21st century: The Yellow Vests And the immigrant riots in Paris and its suburbs.

In short, since Etienne Marcel, Paris is definitely a city not worth messing with, and if there's a song that describes this better than any other, it's the following song by Mireille Mathieu:

The political turmoil that Paris has experienced throughout its history meant that from the 19th century until the mid-20th century, Paris did not have its own elected mayor and was instead governed by a Prefet appointed by the Emperor or President. This is why Baron Haussmann, who had the greatest influence on the appearance of the city thanks to his reconstruction of the city, never held the title of Mayor of Paris, but rather the title of Prefet de la Seine (if you want to read about him and the reconstruction of Paris, I recommend you read the article Paris during the Belle Époque (1853-1914)).

Paris is worth a palace

It seems to me that we have again deviated a little from the topic for which we gathered here, so allow me to go back in time a little and talk about the city hall itself.

The first city hall of Paris, built by Etienne Marcel, was called, as mentioned, the “House of Columns” and incorporated a municipal administration and a commercial court where lawsuits related to commerce in Paris were heard.

During the 16th century, the condition of the Columned House deteriorated until it was decided to completely demolish it and build a Renaissance-style palace. The new building was designed by the architect Bocador and financed by the king. Francois I, who hoped through this gift to gain the sympathy of the citizens of Paris. Since it was a very expensive structure, it took quite a while to finish building it and it was only fully opened to the public during the Louis XIV.

As you can see in the picture above, this building resembles the one we see today, although it is not the same building. The Hôtel de Ville of François I managed to survive almost all the revolutions that Paris went through, which I mentioned earlier. However, in 1 it was burned down by the Paris Commune (you can read the story of its burning in the article When Paris almost burned down).

After the collapse of the Commune and the Second Empire, which had collapsed a little over six months before, the Third Republic was established. In its early years, the Republic lacked public and international legitimacy because a large portion of the population of France were monarchists, as were quite a few European countries.

Because the Hôtel de Ville was a Republican symbol, it was decided to rebuild it in a style similar to the previous one, but at the same time to enlarge and embellish it in order to create a kind of Palace of Versailles Republican. The building was completely rebuilt between 1874-1882 by the architects Théodore Ballu (1817-1885) and Édouard Deperthes (1833-1898).

The interior design was not neglected either, and some of the most famous artists of the period were recruited for the task, such as Puvis de Chavanne andAugust RodinThe result was nothing short of spectacular. If you step inside you will discover magnificent rooms and even a hall of mirrors that rivals that of Versailles. Indeed, to paraphrase Henry IV’s saying “Paris is worth a mass”, Paris is definitely worth such a palace!

Today, the Hôtel de Ville continues to serve as the super-city hall of Paris, and its square no longer hosts executions, but ice skating (in winter) or temporary exhibitions (the rest of the year). It is a wonderful and truly photogenic place, and it is never boring to look at its enormous facade. It is a 183-meter-long facade, on which you can find statues of quite a few of France's great people, and I would love to have a competition with the Francophiles in Paris one day, to see how many statues each of us can identify.

All of this makes the Hotel de Ville a must-see when visiting the City of Lights. Now that I've made you want to visit there (I hope), you'll probably want to get some practical information about the place.

Hotel de Ville – Useful Information

How do you get to Hotel de Ville?

You can get there by metro on lines 1 or 11 (Hôtel de ville station). You can also get there by bus lines 70 and 72.

Visit to the Hotel de Ville

Although the Hotel de Ville is very beautiful from the outside, it is definitely recommended to visit it inside and enjoy the beauty of its halls. And here I have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. The good news is that the tour of the Hotel de Ville is completely free. The bad news is that you need to book this visit in advance. How much in advance? The recommendation is two months in advance (although there are cases where people have managed to visit the inside with shorter notice).

How do you book a visit to Hotel de Ville?

To book a visit to the Hotel de Ville, please call +1 (42)76 54 04 0 33.

pay attention: From what I know, these tours are currently on hold due to the situation.Corona in FranceHowever, if you somehow manage to visit Paris during this period, it is definitely worth calling and trying.

The Garden of the Hotel de Ville

The Jardin des Hôtels de Ville is the public open garden of the City of Paris. It is a very quiet and quite intimate place. This small, well-kept and unknown garden is located next to the southern side of the City Hall, the one closest to the river and is only for non-smokers…

In the past, this garden belonged to the mayor of Paris and the general public was not allowed to visit it. However, in recent years the situation has changed and the garden has been opened to the public. So the next time you are in Paris, you are definitely welcome to come to this relatively lesser-known garden, enjoy the vegetation and of course get a close look at the statue of Etienne Marcel, which we talked about earlier.

שעות פתיחה:

• In winter, the place is open until 17:00 PM.
• In spring it is open until 18:00 PM.
• In the summer the park is open until 20:30 PM.

Accommodation near the Hotel de Ville (Hotels and Vacation Apartments)

The Hotel de Ville is located right in the center of Paris. On the one hand, it is very close toMarais, Center Pompidou וThe Louvre MuseumOn the other hand, it is located very close to the Ile de la Cité andNotre Dame Church, allowing you to easily skip to the Latin Quarter, which is on the left bank of the Seine River.

Hence, it is highly recommended to live in the streets near the Hotel de Ville, whether in the Marais (mainly the 4th arrondissement) or in the 1st arrondissement. If you are looking for recommended hotels and excellent vacation apartments in these districts, you can find them here:

• Hotels in Paris – recommended hotels in every district and for every budget
• Apartments for rent in Paris – recommendations for great vacation apartments

Looking for something else to see?

You've finished enjoying the beauty of the Hotel de Ville, are you in the area and looking for what else to see? Here are two more articles that can really help you:

• attractions in paris: An article containing information about various attractions in each district (in your case, if you are traveling near the Hotel de Ville, then you can search for attractions in districts 1,3,4,5, XNUMX, XNUMX, and XNUMX).
• Itineraries in Paris: If you like to discover Paris on foot, you will be happy to discover a long list of routes here tailored to every area of ​​interest.