Montmartre

Montmartre is a hill in the north of Paris, France, in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. The community on the hill is also called Montmartre.

19th century

When Napoleon III and his city planner Baron Haussmann planned to make Paris the most beautiful city in Europe, a first step was to grant large sweeps of land near the center of the city to Haussmann's friends and financial supporters. This drove the original inhabitants to the edges of the city — to the districts of Clichy, La Villette, and the hill with a view of the city, Montmartre.

Related Topics:
Napoleon III - Baron Haussmann - Europe - Clichy - La Villette

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Since Montmartre was outside the city limits, free of Paris taxes and the local nuns made wine, the hill quickly became a popular drinking area. The area developed into a center of free-wheeling and decadent entertainment at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. In the popular cabaret the Moulin Rouge, and at Le Chat Noir, artists, singers and performers regularly appeared including Yvette Guilbert, Marcelle Lender, Aristide Bruant, La Goulue, Georges Guibourg, Mistinguett, Fréhel, Jane Avril, Damia and others.

Related Topics:
19th century - 20th century - Moulin Rouge - Le Chat Noir - Yvette Guilbert - Marcelle Lender - Aristide Bruant - La Goulue - Georges Guibourg - Mistinguett - Fréhel - Jane Avril - Damia

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Basilica of the Sacré C?ur was built on Montmartre from 1876 to 1912 by public subscription as a gesture of expiation after the defeat of 1871 in the Franco-Prussian War. Its white dome is a highly visible landmark in the city, where just below it artists still set up their easels each day amidst the tables and colorful umbrellas of Place du Tertre.

Related Topics:
Basilica of the Sacré C?ur - 1876 - 1912 - 1871 - Franco-Prussian War - Place du Tertre

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At the beginning of his political career, the future French statesman Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929) was mayor of Montmartre.

Related Topics:
Georges Clemenceau - 1841 - 1929

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