Lost in plain sight. That is the story of Voie Mazas. This street is sometimes referred to as a square in Paris. Yet it is very little known. But it is located by the River Seine. Here you can discover two different memorial plaques.
Place Mazas is more of an actual street in the city. It is sometimes referred to as one of the squares in Paris. A formal decree on 14th February 1806 by Napoleon Bonaparte officially named it Place du Colonel-Mazas. Later the name was shortened to Place Mazas. That is the name we know it as today.
It was the proximity to the Pont d’Austerlitz bridge that led to its naming. It was named after Colonel Francois Jacques Mazas. He died during the Battle of Austerlitz on 2nd December 1805. His name is also mentioned on the Arc de Triomphe. Napoleon also commissioned that famous monument in Paris.
The decree also mentioned the formation of a semi-circular area. It was planned like a room. Yet this was never constructed. But by another decree on 19th May 1913, part of the area became utilized. It was for the Institut Medico Legal de Paris. This translates to the Institute of Forensic Medicine of Paris.
At the Place Mazas, you can see a large plaque. It is positioned on a low stone wall. This plaque is in memory of the First French Army. They liberated France from the Mediterranean.
In addition to this, there is another plaque. It is found on the railings at the Place Mazas. It is in memory of Marco Lazard. He was 19 years of age when he died on 19th August 1944. He was serving in the French Forces of the Interior.
This particular plaque is positioned at the Place Mazas. Marco died here on the first day of the National Insurgency. This was during the Liberation of Paris.
You will find the Place Mazas located between the Boulevard Diderot and the Boulevard de la Bastille. It is close to the River Seine in the 12th Arrondissement of Paris. It is situated by the Quai de la Rapee. That is also the name of the nearest Metro station on line 5.
It is located in the Quartier des Quinze-Vingts area of the city. This street come square is within easy walking distance of the Pont d’Austerlitz bridge. It is also near the Jardin des Plantes on the opposite bank.
Until 1952, the Place Mazas had a pretty French garden. It was on the side of the Quai de la Rapee station. This garden was created in the late 1920s. It was destroyed when the road was widened. The rail bridge crossing the lock was built as well. The Voie Georges Pompidou was constructed. For forty years it was replaced by a car park.
The Place Mazas was the subject of a consultation in 2016. It was launched by the Mairie de Paris. This was part of the call for projects “Réinventer la Seine”. The project selected includes the construction of a 7-story building. It will have coliving housing and animation spaces by 2021.
At the end of Boulevard de la Bastille, the panorama of the Bastille stood from 1885. It looked like a circus with a dome. At the top was a belvedere. It showed all of Paris on the day of the storming of the Bastille. There was also an exhibition on different ways of using torture and execution. The establishment disappeared in 1902.
At n° 1, is a pretty lock keeper’s house. At n° 2 is the Institut médico-légal. Since 1923, it has replaced the old morgue on the Île de la Cité. The square is named in memory of Albert Tournaire. He was the chief architect of the International Colonial Exhibition of 1931. He also created the Institut médico-légal.
So, as we conclude our visit to the Place Mazas, remember its layers of history. Think of Colonel Mazas. Think of the liberation. Think of reinvention. Think of the ever-changing face of Paris.