Doesn’t the name Boulevard de la Fourragere sound like something out of a storybook? It evokes images of rolling fields. It makes you think of farmers tending to their crops. The Boulevard de la Fourragere has a history rooted in agriculture.
La Fourragere was once a rural area. It lay just outside Marseille’s city limits. From the Middle Ages until the late 20th century, it was farmland. The area provided food crops. Farmers kept cows and horses. These animals helped with plowing. La Fourragere also provided forage for them.
Water was plentiful thanks to streams flowing from the Huveaune river. Since the 13th century, an aqueduct passed near La Fourragere. It supplied water to 380 wells in Marseille’s old city.
La Fourragere did not develop a village center. It was close to Saint-Barnabé, les Caillols, and la Pomme. Instead, the Palamède de Forbin family developed the land. From the 17th to the mid-20th century, cultivated lands mixed with country houses. These “campagnes” were bourgeois residences. They featured wooded parks and small streams. Wealthy residents escaped the city’s heat in these estates. They also escaped the recurring stench in the city. This included the particularly nauseating smell from Marseille soap production. This soap was made through natural saponification via combustion.
In the mid-20th century, things began to change at the Boulevard de la Fourragere. Individual housing developments started. People displaced by the Armenian genocide settled here. Small houses with gardens and villas were built above the Avenue des Caillols. Later, the Avenue de la Fourragere was created. It cut through old farmlands. From the 1960s, these farmlands were transformed into residential complexes. These included La Marie-Christine and les Borromées. Also built was the large housing project called La Fourragere.
In the 20th century, the area around Boulevard de la Fourragere became desirable. There were elegant houses, villas with gardens, and low-rise apartment buildings. These residential buildings were often surrounded by trees. But Marseille’s growing population required denser urbanization. This redevelopment accelerated in the late 20th century.
By the early 21st century, “campagnes” had disappeared from La Fourragere. But some small green spaces were preserved. These were saved during the construction of private residences.
Today, the Boulevard de la Fourragere area is well-connected. The Rocade L2 highway borders it to the west. The A507 runs north to south through the district.
Public transportation is readily available. The Marseille Metro Line 1 terminates here. The La Fourragere metro station has bus connections. Several bus lines serve the area. These include lines 7, 9, 10, and 240. The metro station also has a large park-and-ride facility. This helps to reduce traffic in Saint-Barnabé.
The Boulevard de la Fourragere area provides many facilities. These include a post office and supermarkets. There is also a clinic and a medical center. For education, there are two public middle schools and two high schools. There is also a stadium and tennis courts.
The Boulevard de la Fourragere has transformed. From agricultural fields to residential complexes, it reflects Marseille’s growth. While the farms are gone, the name La Fourragere reminds us of its rural past.