Baron Haussmann

Baron Haussmann

Born on March 27, 1809 from a Protestant family with origins from Germany, Baron Georges-Eugene Haussmann was a French civic planner who is known for the rebuilding, hero, and destroyer of Paris, France. He gained much of his education from the College Henry IV. From College Henry IV he studied law while simultaneously attending classes at the Paris conservatoire of music. In 1830 Haussmann became what was known as the sous-prefet of Nerac and in 1853 Haussmann was chosen by Persigny for he would be prefect of the Seine Department, which was a department of France surrounding Paris and its suburbs. Many of Baron Haussmann's works gave him a certain reputation as mainly a hero of Paris. Although many may have seen him as a hero, there were those that saw him as a destroyer of Paris because his work in rebuilding the city and destroying the social fabric of the city.

During the period between the Revolution of 1789 and Haussmann's rebuilding of Paris in the 1860's, many ideals in Paris were changed. The ideals of the city of Paris have changed from a politically motivated city to a city that is economically and socially centered. The rise in modern technology such as railroads and gas lamps were considered conveniences in which the rising bourgeoisie could enjoy their leisurely lifestyle. The new spaces created from the rebuilding in Paris encouraged many of the bourgeoisie to show off their new wealth. Because of the rising new wealth, there was a boost in Paris' economy.

Baron Haussmann was appointed by Napoleon III in 1853 in order to modernize the city of Paris. Napoleon's main objective or goal was to better control the traffic flow and to encourage economic development in the city of Paris. Another objective by Napoleon was to rebuild the city in a way to prevent revolutions or to make it "revolution proof" which would be done by making it harder to build barricades. By appointing Haussmann, Napoleon III would accomplish all that is demanded by his regime. Haussmann accomplished the rebuilding of Paris by tearing up many of the old, twisting streets and decaying apartment houses. They were replaced with wide tree-lined boulevards and expansive gardens. These attributes are what Paris is famous for today. The rebuilding brought up many concerns over the social fabric and physical fabric of the city of Paris. Although Haussmann rebuilt the city of Paris, the city was a little different before the renovation.

Paris before the renovation by Haussmann during the 19th century was a city of contrasts. Monuments, significant historic buildings, and slum dwellings were often adjacent to each other because of the many centuries of haphazard development. The city was also densely populated as a result from immigration from the provinces. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, author of Les Confessions, writes the following about his first impressions of Paris,

"Entering through the faubourg Saint Marceau, I saw only small, dirty and stinking streets, ugly black houses, an air of filth, poverty, beggars, carters, sewing women, women hawking tisanes and old hat" (Rousseau).

The quote by Rousseau clearly indicates how the city of Paris was in the 19th century before the renovation of Paris by Haussmann. Many of the city's districts contained old tenements, which were five to six stories in height. Only one household out of five had running water and chamber pots were emptied into the streets from the windows. Two-thirds of the streets contained open sewers. These had been built over centuries in a gradual fashion. Part of the city's water supply came from the Seine, often downstream from the orifice of sewers, which emptied their contents into the river. The cramped, unhealthy conditions brought up disease. Cholera, moving westward from Asia, arrived in Europe in the early 19th century. In 1832, 39,000 Parisians contracted cholera and 18,400 of those people died, including the Prime Minister. A similar number died in 1848-49.

The old neighborhoods located in the east and the city center, parts of which dated from the medieval period, had become less desirable. The crowded southeast had been the stronghold of resistance during the revolutions of 1830 and 1848. Because of this, many of the wealthy were moving towards the west. Although the wealthy were moving away from such decay in the old neighborhoods, even the wealthy areas were interspersed with slums. Because of the slums and other decaying in the city of Paris, Haussmann was appointed to clean up the old city where he was required to tear down many old buildings in order to create a new Paris.

When Haussmann became Prefect of the Seine, Napoleon presented him with a map of Paris on which he had drawn the new streets he proposed to build. Haussmann and Napoleon would develop Napoleon's plans together, into a grand plan for the transformation of Paris.

Haussmann's first task was to commission a detailed map of Paris, which formed the basis of his work. He established the department of the Plan de Paris, which installed wooden towers throughout the city. These towers were taller than the surrounding buildings in order to serve as triangulation points in the surveying process.

In the early nineteenth century, Paris was divided into twelve districts, which were encircled by two walls. The outer wall was comprised by military fortifications. The inner wall, the Wall of the Tax Farmers, existed solely for the purpose of collecting taxes on goods coming into the city. Haussmann and Napoleon decided to tear down this wall, despite the reduction in revenue that this would require. In 1859, the areas outside the inner wall were annexed to Paris. Paris had doubled in area, and increased its population by a third, to 1,600,000 inhabitants.

The great crossroads of Paris had been envisioned even before Napoleon I. North to South and East to West movement was considered difficult on the Right Bank, as well as the travel between the two banks. The crossroads would extend from North to South across the two banks, and from East to West across the Right Bank. Part of the crossroads, which were the Rue de Rivoli and the Rue de Strasbourg, had been built before Haussmann took his position. Haussmann extended the Boulevard du Strasbourg to the south with the Boulevard de SÐ"©bastopol, and across to the Left Bank with the Boulevard St-Michel. He also extended the Rue de Rivoli from the Louvre to the HÐ"Ò'tel de Ville.

Haussmann's constructions effectively moved the center of Paris to the northwest, which was the area where the wealthy had been migrating