Saint-Jacques (Paris Metro)
Encyclopedia
Saint-Jacques is a station
Metro station
A metro station or subway station is a railway station for a rapid transit system, often known by names such as "metro", "underground" and "subway". It is often underground or elevated. At crossings of metro lines, they are multi-level....

 of the Paris Métro
Paris Métro
The Paris Métro or Métropolitain is the rapid transit metro system in Paris, France. It has become a symbol of the city, noted for its density within the city limits and its uniform architecture influenced by Art Nouveau. The network's sixteen lines are mostly underground and run to 214 km ...

 serving line 6
Paris Metro Line 6
Line 6 is one of the sixteen lines of the Paris Métro rapid transit system. Following a semi-circular route around the southern half of the city above boulevards formed by ancient city walls , it runs from Charles de Gaulle – Étoile in the west and Nation in the east.Opened between 1900 and 1906...

 at the Place Saint-Jacques in the 14th arrondissement. The Boulevard Saint-Jacques and the Rue Faubourg Saint-Jacques also intersect the square. It is one of only a few Metro stations that have a combined entrance and ticket hall at street-level.

History

The station opened as part of the former Line 2 South
Paris Metro Line 6
Line 6 is one of the sixteen lines of the Paris Métro rapid transit system. Following a semi-circular route around the southern half of the city above boulevards formed by ancient city walls , it runs from Charles de Gaulle – Étoile in the west and Nation in the east.Opened between 1900 and 1906...

 on 24 April 1906, when it was extended from Passy
Passy (Paris Metro)
Passy is a rapid transit station on Line 6 of the Paris Métro in the 16th arrondissement of the city. It is elevated at its eastern end, while its western end is in the mouth of a tunnel.-Location:...

 to Place d'Italie
Place d'Italie (Paris Metro)
Place d'Italie is a rapid transit station of the Paris Métro located in the heart of the 13th arrondissement of Paris, at the Place d'Italie. It is the terminus of Line 5 and is also served by Line 6 and Line 7.-History:...

. On 14 October 1907 Line 2 South was incorporated into Line 5
Paris Metro Line 5
Paris Métro Line 5 is one of the 16 metro lines built in Paris, France. It crosses the east of Paris from Bobigny to Place d'Italie. It is the eighth busiest line on the network....

. It was incorporated into line 6 on 12 October 1942. The station is named after the Rue Faubourg Saint-Jacques, which was originally the Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...

 to Orléans
Orléans
-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...

 and main street of the Roman city of Lutetia
Lutetia
Lutetia was a town in pre-Roman and Roman Gaul. The Gallo-Roman city was a forerunner of the re-established Merovingian town that is the ancestor of present-day Paris...

. In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 it became the pilgimage route of St James
Way of St. James
The Way of St. James or St. James' Way is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried....

 (French: Saint-Jacques) from Paris to Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...

 in Spain. Hence the street inside Paris' wall
Wall of Philip II Augustus, Paris
The Wall of Philip Augustus is the oldest city wall of Paris whose plan is accurately known. Partially integrated into buildings, more traces of it remain than of the later fortifications which were destroyed and replaced by the Grands Boulevards....

 became known as the Rue Saint-Jacques and its extension outside the wall through suburban development (French: Faubourg
Faubourg
Faubourg is an ancient French term approximating "suburb" . The earliest form is Forsbourg, derived from Latin foris, 'out of', and Vulgar Latin burgum, 'town' or 'fortress'...

), became known as the Rue Faubourg Saint-Jacques. The station was the location of the Barrière Saint-Jacques (known as the Barrière d'Arcueil during the French Revolution), a gate built for the collection of taxation as part of the Wall of the Farmers-General
Wall of the Farmers-General
The Wall of the Farmers-General was built between 1784 and 1791 by the Ferme générale, the corporation of tax farmers. It was one of the several city walls of Paris built between the early Middle Ages to the mid 19th century. It was 24 kilometers long and roughly followed the route now occupied by...

; the gate was built between 1784 and 1788 and demolished in the nineteenth century. Saint Jacques station was one of a number of Paris locations of Stanley Donen's 1963 film Charade, starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.

Places of Interest

Nearby are the La Santé Prison
La Santé Prison
La Santé Prison is a prison operated by the Ministry of Justice located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is one of the most famous prisons in France, with both VIP and high security wings....

 and the Institut d'astrophysique de Paris
Institut d'astrophysique de Paris
The Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris is a research institute of the CNRS, located at 98bis, Boulevard Arago in Paris, France.Among its research priorities, there are strong groups involved in extragalactic astronomy and physical cosmology....

.
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