Place de Grève
Encyclopedia
The public square in the 4th arrondissement of Paris
that is now the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville
(City Hall Plaza) was, before 1802, called the Place de Grève. The French word grève refers to a flat area covered with gravel or sand situated on the shores or banks of a body of water. The location presently occupied by the square was the point on the sandy right bank of the river Seine where the first riverine harbor of Paris was established.
expressions, être en grève (to be on strike) and faire (la) grève (to strike, literally: "to go on strike").
However, the principal reason why the place de Grève is remembered is that it was the site of most of the public executions
in early Paris. The gallows
and the pillory
stood there.
The highest-profile executions took place on the grève, including the gruesome deaths of the assassins François Ravaillac
, and Robert–François Damiens, as well as the bandit-rebel Guy Éder de La Fontenelle
. In 1310 the Place de Grève was also the site of the execution of the beguine heretic Marguerite Porete
. In the words of Victor Hugo
(in The Hunchback of Notre Dame
), the grève was "the symbol of medieval and ancien régime justice: brutal, corrupt, and inadequate."
, which crosses eighty metres of water to reach the island, Île de la Cité, in the middle of the Seine. At this point on the riverbank, the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville is formed by the convergence of three streets: the Quai de l'Hôtel de Ville, the Quai de Gesvres, and the Rue du Renard. The Rue de Renard, which passes in front of the Parisian city-hall building, forfeits its name for one city block, adopting instead "Place de l'Hôtel de Ville" addresses.
served by lines 1 and 11.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
that is now the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville
Hôtel de Ville, Paris
The Hôtel de Ville |City Hall]]) in :Paris, France, is the building housing the City of Paris's administration. Standing on the place de l'Hôtel de Ville in the city's IVe arrondissement, it has been the location of the municipality of Paris since 1357...
(City Hall Plaza) was, before 1802, called the Place de Grève. The French word grève refers to a flat area covered with gravel or sand situated on the shores or banks of a body of water. The location presently occupied by the square was the point on the sandy right bank of the river Seine where the first riverine harbor of Paris was established.
The Place de Grève
Later it was used as a public meeting-place and also as a location where unemployed people gathered to seek work. This circumstance accounts for the current FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
expressions, être en grève (to be on strike) and faire (la) grève (to strike, literally: "to go on strike").
However, the principal reason why the place de Grève is remembered is that it was the site of most of the public executions
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
in early Paris. The gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
and the pillory
Pillory
The pillory was a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse, sometimes lethal...
stood there.
The highest-profile executions took place on the grève, including the gruesome deaths of the assassins François Ravaillac
François Ravaillac
François Ravaillac was a French factotum in the courts of Angoulême and a regicide. A sometime tutor and Catholic zealot, he murdered King Henry IV of France in 1610.-Early life and education:...
, and Robert–François Damiens, as well as the bandit-rebel Guy Éder de La Fontenelle
Guy Éder de La Fontenelle
Guy Éder de Beaumanoir de la Haye, also known by his nicknames La Fontenelle or Ar Bleiz , was born in 1573 in the former parish of Bothoa, today called Saint-Nicolas-du-Pélem....
. In 1310 the Place de Grève was also the site of the execution of the beguine heretic Marguerite Porete
Marguerite Porete
Marguerite Porete was a French mystic and the author of The Mirror of Simple Souls, a work of Christian spirituality dealing with the workings of Divine Love. She was burnt at the stake for heresy in Paris in 1310 after a lengthy trial, after refusing to remove her book from circulation or recant...
. In the words of Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
(in The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a novel by Victor Hugo published in 1831. The French title refers to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, on which the story is centered.-Background:...
), the grève was "the symbol of medieval and ancien régime justice: brutal, corrupt, and inadequate."
Location
The southern end of the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, the end closer to the river, is on the right-bank side of the Pont d'ArcolePont d'Arcole
The Pont d'Arcole is a bridge in Paris over the River Seine. It is served by the Metro station Hôtel de Ville.-History:The need for a bridge communicating between place de Grève and the île de la Cité had been felt for years...
, which crosses eighty metres of water to reach the island, Île de la Cité, in the middle of the Seine. At this point on the riverbank, the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville is formed by the convergence of three streets: the Quai de l'Hôtel de Ville, the Quai de Gesvres, and the Rue du Renard. The Rue de Renard, which passes in front of the Parisian city-hall building, forfeits its name for one city block, adopting instead "Place de l'Hôtel de Ville" addresses.
Metro station
The Place de l'Hôtel de Ville is: