Paris

Paris is the capital city of France, as well as the capital of the Île-de-France région, whose territory encompasses Paris and its suburbs. The city of Paris proper is also a département, called Paris département (French: département de Paris). It is a wonderful city for aimless wandering of which features a wide variety of style and décor and boasts a wide assortment of entertainment to satisfy even the most benign of tastes.

History

Main article: History of Paris

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Brief history

The name of the city comes from the name of a Gallic tribe (parisis) inhabiting the region at the time of the Roman conquest. The historical heart of Paris is the Île de la Cité, a small island now largely occupied by the huge Palais de Justice and the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. It is connected with the smaller Île Saint-Louis (another island) occupied by elegant houses built in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Related Topics:
Île de la Cité - ''Palais de Justice'' - Notre Dame de Paris - Île Saint-Louis

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Paris was occupied by a Gallic tribe until the Romans arrived in 52 BC. The invaders referred to the previous occupants as the Parisii, but called their new city Lutetia, meaning "marshy place". About 50 years later the city had spread to the left bank of the Seine, now known as the Latin Quarter, and was renamed "Paris".

Related Topics:
Gallic - Romans - 52 BC - Parisii - Lutetia - Latin Quarter

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Roman rule had ceased by 508, when Clovis the Frank made the city the capital of the Merovingian dynasty of the Franks. In 511, he commissioned the building of the cathedral of St.Etienne on the Île. Viking invasions during the 800s forced the Parisians to build a fortress on the Île de la Cité. On March 28, 845 Paris was sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collected a huge ransom in exchange for leaving. The weakness of the late Carolingian kings of France led to the gradual rise in power of the Counts of Paris; Odo, Count of Paris was elected king of France by feudal lords while Charles III was also claiming the throne. Finally, in 987 Hugh Capet, count of Paris, was elected king of France by the great feudal lords after the last Carolingian king died.

Related Topics:
508 - Clovis the Frank - Merovingian - Franks - 511 - Cathedral - St.Etienne - Île - Viking - 800s - March 28 - 845 - Ragnar Lodbrok - Ransom - Carolingian - Kings of France - Counts of Paris - Odo, Count of Paris - Charles III - 987 - Hugh Capet

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During the 11th century the city spread to the Right Bank. In the 12th and 13th centuries, which included the reign of Philip II Augustus (1180 to 1223), the city grew strongly. Main thoroughfares were paved, the first Louvre was built as a fortress, and several churches, including the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, were constructed or begun. Several schools on the Left Bank were grouped together into the Sorbonne, which counts Albertus Magnus and St. Thomas Aquinas among its early scholars. In the Middle Ages, Paris prospered as a trading and intellectual nucleus, interrupted temporarily when the Black Death struck in the 14th century, and again in the 15th century when urban revolts drove the royal court to abandon the city for almost 100 years. Under the reign of King Louis XIV, the Sun King, from 1643 to 1715, the royal residence was moved from Paris to nearby Versailles.

Related Topics:
Philip II Augustus - Louvre - Sorbonne - Albertus Magnus - St. Thomas Aquinas - Middle Ages - Black Death - Louis XIV - Versailles

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The French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. Many of the conflicts in the next few years were between Paris and the outlying rural areas.

Related Topics:
French Revolution - Bastille - July 14 - 1789

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In 1870 the Franco-Prussian War ended in a siege of Paris, followed by The Paris Commune followed. It surrendered in 1871 after a winter of famine and bloodshed. The Eiffel Tower, the best-known landmark in Paris, was built in 1889 in a period of prosperity known as La Belle Époque (The Beautiful period). The famous Parisian Haussmann Style also dates back to this period, during which much of the Paris known today was planned and constructed.

Related Topics:
Franco-Prussian War - Siege - Paris Commune - Eiffel Tower - La Belle Époque - Parisian Haussmann Style

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In 1900 Paris hosted the 1900 Summer Olympics, and hosted them again in 1924 (1924 Summer Olympics).

Related Topics:
1900 Summer Olympics - 1924 Summer Olympics

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In June 1940, several weeks after the German attack on France during World War II, Paris fell to German occupation forces, which remained there until late-August 1944. After the battle of Normandy, Paris was liberated when the German general Dietrich von Choltitz surrendered after skirmishes to the French 2nd Armoured Division commanded by Philippe de Hauteclocque backed by the Allies.

Related Topics:
World War II - Battle of Normandy - Paris was liberated - Dietrich von Choltitz - Philippe de Hauteclocque - Allies

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In the late-1960s, the Tour Montparnasse, a large, modern skyscraper, was constructed just south of the Jardin du Luxembourg. It is starkly out of place in its neighborhood and ruined many of Haussmann's carefully planned vistas; as such it was one of the most immediate causes for the changes in zoning and administrative rules that now keep all urban development outside the city limits (principally confining skyscrapers to La Défense).

Related Topics:
Tour Montparnasse - Jardin du Luxembourg - Haussmann - La Défense

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