The Rue des Archives is a street in The Marais at the border of 3rd and 4th arrondissements of Paris, France.[1]

Rue des Archives
Rue des Archives is located in Paris
Rue des Archives
Shown within Paris
Length900 m (3,000 ft)
Width15 m (49 ft)
Arrondissement3rd, 4th
QuarterMarais
Coordinates48°51′42″N 2°21′31″E / 48.86158°N 2.35867°E / 48.86158; 2.35867
From50 Rue de Rivoli
To51 Rue de Bretagne
Construction
Completion1874
Denomination13th century

Location and access edit

The street is located in Le Marais district of central Paris. It is served by the metro stations Hôtel de Ville and Rambuteau.

Origin of the name edit

This street owes its name to the fact that it runs alongside the Archives Nationales (National Archives) of France.

History edit

 
Map between the Rue du Temple (Porte du Temple) and the Rue des Archives (Porte du Chaume)

The enclosure of Philippe Auguste initially cut off the street at No 54 before a gate, the Porte du Chaume, was created at the end of the 13th century.

The Rue du Chaume, Rue du Grand Chantier, and Rue des Enfants Rouges were opened at the end of the 13th century as the main road for the subdivision of the Ville-Neuve du Temple created by the order of the Templars and once formed the Rue Neuve-du-Temple.[1]

On 23 May 1863, a decree declares the alignment of streets Rue des Billettes, Rue de l'Homme-Armé, Rue du Chaume, Rue du Grand-Chantier, Rue des Enfants-Rouges, and Rue Molay.[2] These were designed to form a single axis crossing Le Marais.[3]

In 1874, the Rue des Archives was created by the merger of:[4]

In 1890, the street was extended between Rue Rambuteau and Rue de Rivoli by the absorption of:

Before 1910, the Rue des Archives ended at the Rue Dupetit-Thouars. At that time, the name of Rue Eugène-Spuller was given to the part of Rue des Archives between Rue de Bretagne and Rue Dupetit-Thouars.

In 2019, three sections of Rue des Archives were officially named (from north to south):[citation needed]

Buildings and structures edit

The plans decided in 1863 were not fully implemented and historical buildings have therefore been preserved:[1] th

  • Nos 22 to 26: eastern part of Rue des Billettes with mainly the Church of Les Billettes, with the oldest medieval cloister still existing in its original form in Paris. On this part, the constructions of only the odd side were destroyed and replaced by aligned Haussmannian buildings while the opposite bank has retained its old irregular layout.
  • No 34: Building whose 1st and 2nd floors were occupied from 1965 to 1980 by a specialized school for hearing impaired people: Le Collège et Lycée Privés Morvan (Le Cours Morvan) now at No 68 Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin, 75009 Paris.
  • No 40: House known as “Jacques Coeur” because it was owned by one of his descendants, nursery school, Rue de l'Homme-Armé.
  • No 45: Former convent of the Fathers of the Merci; there are two wall sundials inside the courtyard, only one visible from the street.

On the part along the former convent, the street has retained its original width.

  • Northeast corner of the intersection of Rue des Archives and Rue des Francs-Bourgeois: remains of a fountain transformed into a viewing window during the reconstruction of the Hôtel de Soubise, then remodelled in 1959 after creating of a doorway.[5] A plate indicates the sea level measured in the basin of the port of Marseille, as well as its difference with the zero level of Pont de la Tournelle.[6]
  Click on images to enlarge

Further up the street, there are other interesting buildings, notably at Nos 79, 81, 85, and 90.[7]

Literature edit

In the novel Ferragus: Chief of the Devorants, by Honoré de Balzac, the widow Gruget lives at No 12 in the "Rue des Enfants-Rouges". This is where Jules Desmarets listens to the conversation between his wife (Clémence Desmarets) and Ferragus XXIII.[8]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Rue des Archive". ParisMarais: The Art of Living Guide. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  2. ^ Alphand, Adolphe; Deville, Adrien; Hochereau, Émile (1886). "Decree of 23 May 1863". In Imprimerie nouvelle (association ouvrière) (ed.). Ville de Paris: Collection of letters patent, royal ordinances, decrees and prefectural orders concerning public roads (in French). Paris. p. 348.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ "General plan of the works of Paris at the scale of 0.001 for 10 meters (1/10,000) indicating the routes executed and planned from 1851 to 1868". gallica.bnf.fr..
  4. ^ Opcit, “Decree of June 25, 1874”, p. 402.
  5. ^ a b Hillairet, Jacques. Dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris (in French). Vol. 1. p. 104.
  6. ^ "Paristoric". www.paristoric.com.
  7. ^ Hillairet, Jacques. Dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris (in French). Vol. 1. pp. 105–106.
  8. ^ de Balzac, Honoré (1977). Ferragus: Chief of the Devorants. Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. Vol. V. Éditions Gallimard. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

Bibliography edit

  • Gady, Alexandre (2002). Le Marais: Guide historique et architectural. Paris: Éditions Le Passage. p. 368. ISBN 978-2847420050.

External links edit