Island of the City – history, photo, what to see, map
In the heart of Paris is the oldest district, from where the birth of the capital of France began. This is the Ile de la Cité, which has been the strategic, administrative and religious center of Paris for centuries.
Story
More than 2,000 years ago, on a small island in the middle of the Seine, there was a village where the Celtic tribe of the Parasii lived, after whom the capital of France would be named centuries later. In 52 BC, the Roman legions, led by the commander and future emperor Gaius Julius Caesar, set up camp near the Celtic settlement. The aim of the Romans was to pacify and subjugate the locals, which was subsequently successfully carried out. At this place, the city of Lutetia appeared. The palace of the Roman governor and the temple of Jupiter were erected here.
In the Middle Ages, Cité became the center of state and church power in France, as evidenced by the royal residence built there, the episcopal palace, the cathedral and numerous government buildings. In 1726, the island was named by its present name in honor of Saint Louis IX (“siete” in French means saint).
sights
Ile de la Cité, washed by the Seine and connected by nine bridges to the rest of the city, is a popular tourist destination. It houses unique architectural structures that reflect the great history of France. These are the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Palace of Justice, the Sainte-Chapelle Chapel, the Conciergerie Castle, and other famous buildings.
Cathedral of Notre Dame
The majestic Catholic church of Notre Dame de Paris is the world famous symbol of France and the main attraction of the Ile de la Cité. The first stone of the Gothic building was laid in 1163. The construction of the cathedral lasted more than 180 years. The destruction caused by wars and revolutions has distorted the original appearance of the church over the centuries. The basilica was in danger of being demolished. The novel by the French writer Victor Hugo “Notre Dame Cathedral”, published in the middle of the 19th century, marked a revival of interest in the Gothic temple and prompted the authorities of Paris to restore the unique structure.
The cathedral is a cross in plan, supported by inclined arches (flying buttresses) and crowned with a spire. The frontal powerful facade of the basilica, resembling the letter “n”, is divided vertically by pilasters, and horizontally by galleries into three tiers. The lower tier is represented by deep portals, the pediment of which is decorated with religious bas-reliefs. Above them is a cornice with statues of the kings of Judea.
The central tier is decorated with an openwork rose window 10 meters in diameter. On the sides of it, paired lancet windows framed with decorative ornaments are visible. The third tier is a gallery with thin columns and a balustrade with chimeras. Mythical images embodying human sins are essentially drainpipes. The facade is crowned with two tetrahedral bell towers with a flat roof and narrow windows. Their height reaches 69 meters.
The interior of the cathedral impresses with its grandeur. Its length is 130 meters, and the height of the vaulted ceiling is 35 meters. The spacious hall can accommodate more than 9,000 people. Sunlight enters the temple through stained glass windows. Galleries, supported by cylindrical five-meter columns, divide the space of the basilica into five naves. In the cathedral you can see sculptural compositions, confessionals, church utensils and sacred relics.
Saint-Chapelle
On the adjacent territory of the Palace of Justice rises one of the best examples of Gothic architecture in the world – the chapel of Sainte-Chapelle. In the 13th century, King Louis IX initiated the construction of a church in the courtyard of his residence to store the relics of the Passion of Christ, which he brought from Constantinople. This is the crown of thorns of Jesus and a fragment of the cross.
The basilica was consecrated in 1248 and served as a royal chapel until the French Revolution, during which it was subjected to numerous destructions. The church consists of two chapels located one above the other. The façade, framed by colossal lancet windows with ornate lattices, is decorated with protruding vertical ribs, pinnacle turrets, a wide portico with a triangular pediment, bas-reliefs, a rose window with a radial net and soaring spiers. The chapel is topped with a gable roof surrounded by a marble balustrade.
The interior of the basilica impresses with its magnificence and beauty. Along the walls of the lower chapel there are arches resting on graceful columns. The vaulted ceiling is painted with murals imitating the starry sky. The apse has a polygonal shape. The upper chapel is an artistic masterpiece. The large nave with marble arcades along the perimeter is surrounded by fifteen-meter stained-glass windows, which display church scenes. There are 1134 images in total. Each thin pilaster, covered with paintings, has a wooden sculpture of an apostle. Sunlight, penetrating through the windows, fills the entire space of the chapel with bright reflections.
Conciergerie
On the western side of the Ile de la Cité, the Conciergerie castle, built in the 13th century, stretches along the coast. Initially, the building was intended for the royal family, and after the residence was transferred to the Louvre, it served as a state prison. During the French Revolution, thousands of citizens were imprisoned here, who lived out their last hours before the guillotine. The severe castle is a traditional medieval building with three rounded towers and one square with a clock.
Now it is a museum in which cells for prisoners of different classes are recreated. The beggars slept on straw, while the rich families were kept in more comfortable conditions. On the lower floor of the castle is a large hall of the Guard with three rows of powerful columns supporting a vaulted ceiling. The Revolutionary Tribunal met here. In the castle you can see many rooms associated with the tragic period of French history.
Palace of Justice
A large area of the island of Cité is occupied by the Palace of Justice, the current state institution – the Ministry of Justice. The building was the main administrative center and royal residence of France until the 14th century. When Charles V moved to the Louvre, the palace was placed at the disposal of the parliament and the supreme court of the kingdom. In the 19th century, the building acquired a modern neoclassical style with a monumental western façade decorated with tall colonnades.
Place Dauphine
A few meters from Notre Dame Cathedral, on the outskirts of the Ile de la Cité, there is a small triangular place Dauphine, founded by decree of Henry IV in 1607. The place is named after the king's son, the Dauphin of France, who later became Louis XIII. The cozy and calm square is framed by three-story residential buildings with beautiful facades, the first tiers of which are decorated with arches. In the park, with flowering chestnut trees, there are many benches for relaxing, there is a sand area for playing petanque and several restaurants with terraces.
new bridge
The wide stone New bridge connecting part of the island of the City with the banks of the Seine was erected in 1606. Contrary to its name, this is the oldest of all the surviving bridges of the capital. Pont Neuf was the first building in Paris that did not have houses and shops blocking the view of the river. The bridge, 232 meters long, consists of 12 arched spans, is equipped with a pedestrian sidewalk and is decorated with a balustrade.
Statue of Henry IV
On the New Bridge stands an equestrian statue of King Henry IV, installed 4 years after his death in 1610. During the revolutionary impulse, destroying the traces of the hated regime, the monument was dropped and sent to be melted down. In 1818, the sculpture was re-sculpted and put in its original place.
Hotel Dieu
Near the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris is one of the oldest hospitals in the city – Hotel Dieu. The institution, founded in 651, was intended for the shelter and treatment of the poor, the disabled and vagrants. There were so many needy that over time the almshouse began to stretch the entire width of the island. For centuries, the Hôtel-Dieu was the only place in the city where the poor could get help. The current building was rebuilt in the 19th century after the old walls were dismantled. Now the Faculty of the Medical University is located here, consisting of two parallel buildings connected by galleries.
The crypt of the Notre Dame porch
On the square of Notre Dame Cathedral there is an underground city-museum, deepened by 120 meters. This is an interesting archaeological site, founded in 1980, where you can see authentic fragments of buildings, streets, ruins of various buildings. The expositions show the history of the development of architecture in Paris, from the time of the rule of the Roman Empire to the Middle Ages.
Zero kilometer
At 50 meters from Notre Dame de Paris, there is a small platform in the form of a bronze star, marking the zero kilometer mark. This is the symbolic center of the whole of France, from where the distance to other cities of the country is calculated. According to legend, if you stand on the sign and turn clockwise, then your cherished desire will come true.
Memorial to the victims of deportation
On the east side of the island is a memorial dedicated to French Jews who died in concentration camps. The memorial site is a narrow underground gallery with crystal drops flickering on the walls, personifying the names of 200 thousand people. The memorial was opened by General Charles de Gaulle in 1962.
Bird and flower markets
After visiting the monumental sights, filled with Gothic austerity, you can find yourself in the most famous flower market in Paris. The marketplace evokes the feeling of a large garden, consisting of 1900 pavilions. Exotic flowers and shrubs are fragrant in them. In addition to fragrant plants, they sell seeds, vases, bowls and various items for decorating interiors. On Sundays, the market is filled with sellers of colorful singing birds.
Where is it located and how to get there
The Ile de la Cité, located in the middle of the Seine, belongs to two Parisian districts at once: the first and the fourth. This is the very center of the city. The island has the Cite metro station, which is the deepest of the entire Parisian subway. Connected to the rest of the city by nine bridges. Therefore, you can get to it by sightseeing bus or on foot.