Belleville, Paris and Porte Saint-Denis: Difference between pages

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Belleville (French pronunciation: ​[bɛlvil]) is a neighbourhood of Paris, France, parts of which lie in four different arrondissements. The major portion of Belleville straddles the borderline between the 20th arrondissement and the 19th along its main street, the Rue de Belleville. The remainder lies in the 10th and [[11th Arrondissement|11th arrondissements]].
The Porte Saint-Denis (French pronunciation: [pɔʁtə sɛ̃ dəni]; English: 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's former city walls. It is located at the crossing of the Rue Saint-Denis continued by the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, with the Boulevard de Bonne-Nouvelle and the Boulevard Saint-Denis.
 
It was once the independent commune (municipality) of Belleville which was annexed by the City of Paris in 1860 and divided between two arrondissements Geographically, the neighborhood is situated on and around a hill which vies with Montmartre as the highest in Paris. The name Belleville literally means "beautiful town".


==History==
==History==


Historically, Belleville was a working-class neighborhood. People living in the independent village of Belleville played a large part in establishing the Second French Republic through their actions during the Revolution of 1848. In 1871, residents of the incorporated neighborhood of Belleville were some of the strongest supporters of the Paris Commune. When the Versailles Army came to reconquer Paris in May of that year, it faced some of the toughest resistance in Belleville and in neighboring Ménilmontant. The bloody street fighting persisted in the two eastern districts, and the last of the barricades is said to have been in the Rue Ramponeau in Belleville.
===14th-century gate===
 
The Porte Saint-Denis was originally a gateway through the Wall of Charles V that was built between 1356 and 1383 to protect the Right Bank of Paris. The medieval fortification had two gates and was surmounted with four towers. Additional portcullises defended the outer gate along with a drawbridge and rock-cut ditch. However, with the advent of gunpowder and the development of cannons and bombards, the walls were eventually partly torn down in the 1640s to make way for the larger and more fortified Louis XIII Wall. In the 1670s, the remaining walls of Charles V were entirely demolished when Paris spread beyond the confines of its medieval boundaries.
During the first half of the 20th century, many immigrants settled there: German Jews fleeing the Third Reich in 1933, and Spaniards in 1939. Many Algerians and Tunisian Jews arrived in the early 1960s.
 
Belleville is home to one of the largest congregations of the Reformed Church of France. The Église Réformée de Belleville has been in the area since shortly before World War I.
 
==Culture==


Today, Belleville is a colourful, multi-ethnic neighbourhood and also home to one of the city's two Chinatowns, the other located in the 13th arrondissement near the Place d'Italie. Since the 1980s, an important Chinese community has been established there. There are many restaurants and associations as well as stores offering Chinese products. A fairly large and popular outdoor market is held there every Tuesday and Friday along the Boulevard de Belleville, where many local Île-de-France farmers sell their produce.
Entrance of Charles V of France into Paris via the old Porte Saint-Denis on 2 August 1358, Grandes Chroniques de France, miniature by Jean Fouquet, 1455-1460
Entrance of Charles V of France into Paris via the old Porte Saint-Denis on 2 August 1358, Grandes Chroniques de France, miniature by Jean Fouquet, 1455-1460


During the 1980s Parisian artists and musicians, attracted by the cheaper rents, the numerous vacant large spaces, as well as the old Paris charm of its smaller streets (Belleville was ignored, perhaps spared, during much of the architectural modernisation efforts and reparations of the 1960s and 1970s, the greatest exception being the area around the Place des Fêtes), started moving there. Many artists now live and work in Belleville and studios are scattered throughout the quartier. Some abandoned factories have been transformed into art squats, where several alternative artists and musicians, such as the band Les Rita Mitsouko began their careers.
===17th-century gate===


The demographics of the neighbourhood have undergone many changes throughout the decades. While Armenians, Greeks, and Ashkenazi Jews were once the predominant ethnic groups, North Africans, and more recently, sub-Saharan Africans have been displacing these others.
To replace the old gateway of the Porte Saint-Denis, Louis XIV commanded architect François Blondel and the sculptor Michel Anguier to build him a monumental archway that would honor the capture of Franche-Comté in 1668 and the victories on the Meuse and Rhine during the Franco-Dutch War. Work began in 1672 and was paid for by the city of Paris.[1] The construction of the gate was carried out by Blondel's student Pierre Bullet.[2]


Within the neighbourhood there is a cemetery and park, the Parc de Belleville, which ascends the western slope of the hill and offers, in addition to a panoramic view of the Paris skyline, a strikingly modern contrast to the classical gardens of the city centre and the eccentric nineteenth century romanticism of the nearby Parc des Buttes Chaumont. A School of Architecture is also located in Belleville.[3]
A monument defining the official art of its epoque, the Porte Saint-Denis provided the subject of the engraved frontispiece to Blondel's influential Cours d'architecture, 1698.[3] It was restored in 1988.


The iconic French singer Édith Piaf grew up there and, according to legend, was born under a lamppost on the steps of the Rue de Belleville. A commemorative plaque can be found at number 72. A true Bellevilloise, Piaf sang and spoke the French language in a way that epitomised the accent de Belleville, which has been compared to the Cockney accent of London, England, although the Parisian dialect is nowadays rarely heard. Belleville is prominently featured in the 2007 biographical film of her life, La Vie En Rose.
The Porte Saint-Denis was the first of four triumphal arches to be built in Paris. The three others are the Porte Saint-Martin (1674), the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel (1806–1808), and the Arc de Triomphe (1836).


Other famous Bellevillois include film director Maurice Tourneur, legendary French can-can dancer Jane Avril and popular singer and actor Eddy Mitchell. The filmmaker Maïwenn grew up in Belleville and lives there now.
Description
The Porte Saint-Denis is a triumphal arch inspired by the Arch of Titus in Rome. The monument is 24.65 m (80.9 ft) high, 25 m (82 ft) wide, and 5 m (16 ft) deep. The arch itself is 15.35 m (50.4 ft) high in the center and 8 m (26 ft) across.


==Politics here==
The main arch is flanked by obelisks applied to the wall face bearing sculptural groups of trophies of arms. Above the main arch, the southern face carries a sculptural group by Michel Anguier of "The Passage of the Rhine" in a sunk panel, while the north face carries allegorical figures of the Rhine and the Netherlands. The entablature bears the gilded bronze inscription LUDOVICO MAGNO, "To Louis the Great". Two smaller pedestrian walkways were built through the obelisk pedestals but they have now been closed.
Traditionally, Belleville is leftist and votes accordingly for either the Parti Socialiste (the French Socialist Party), the Parti Communiste Français (the French Communist Party) or the Lutte Ouvrière (Workers' Struggle). Communist Party headquarters is just outside Colonel Fabien station, between Belleville and its northern neighbor La Villette.

Latest revision as of 22:52, 22 September 2025

10th Arrondissement
Port Saint-Denis.jpg

The Porte Saint-Denis (French pronunciation: [pɔʁtə sɛ̃ dəni]; English: 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's former city walls. It is located at the crossing of the Rue Saint-Denis continued by the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, with the Boulevard de Bonne-Nouvelle and the Boulevard Saint-Denis.

History

14th-century gate

The Porte Saint-Denis was originally a gateway through the Wall of Charles V that was built between 1356 and 1383 to protect the Right Bank of Paris. The medieval fortification had two gates and was surmounted with four towers. Additional portcullises defended the outer gate along with a drawbridge and rock-cut ditch. However, with the advent of gunpowder and the development of cannons and bombards, the walls were eventually partly torn down in the 1640s to make way for the larger and more fortified Louis XIII Wall. In the 1670s, the remaining walls of Charles V were entirely demolished when Paris spread beyond the confines of its medieval boundaries.

Entrance of Charles V of France into Paris via the old Porte Saint-Denis on 2 August 1358, Grandes Chroniques de France, miniature by Jean Fouquet, 1455-1460 Entrance of Charles V of France into Paris via the old Porte Saint-Denis on 2 August 1358, Grandes Chroniques de France, miniature by Jean Fouquet, 1455-1460

17th-century gate

To replace the old gateway of the Porte Saint-Denis, Louis XIV commanded architect François Blondel and the sculptor Michel Anguier to build him a monumental archway that would honor the capture of Franche-Comté in 1668 and the victories on the Meuse and Rhine during the Franco-Dutch War. Work began in 1672 and was paid for by the city of Paris.[1] The construction of the gate was carried out by Blondel's student Pierre Bullet.[2]

A monument defining the official art of its epoque, the Porte Saint-Denis provided the subject of the engraved frontispiece to Blondel's influential Cours d'architecture, 1698.[3] It was restored in 1988.

The Porte Saint-Denis was the first of four triumphal arches to be built in Paris. The three others are the Porte Saint-Martin (1674), the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel (1806–1808), and the Arc de Triomphe (1836).

Description The Porte Saint-Denis is a triumphal arch inspired by the Arch of Titus in Rome. The monument is 24.65 m (80.9 ft) high, 25 m (82 ft) wide, and 5 m (16 ft) deep. The arch itself is 15.35 m (50.4 ft) high in the center and 8 m (26 ft) across.

The main arch is flanked by obelisks applied to the wall face bearing sculptural groups of trophies of arms. Above the main arch, the southern face carries a sculptural group by Michel Anguier of "The Passage of the Rhine" in a sunk panel, while the north face carries allegorical figures of the Rhine and the Netherlands. The entablature bears the gilded bronze inscription LUDOVICO MAGNO, "To Louis the Great". Two smaller pedestrian walkways were built through the obelisk pedestals but they have now been closed.

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