Long ago Rue du Faubourg Saint-Marcel was known as the “suffering faubourg”. It was the ugliest saddest and poorest district in Paris.
Rue du Faubourg Saint-Marcel’s history stretches back to ancient times. The area was once a vast necropolis a burial ground bordering a Roman road to Melun. The ashes of the dead left their mark. The etymology of the old Rue de Lourcine now Rue Broca reflects this. Medieval documents called the area “Terra de lococinerum” land of ashes. Many Merovingian era burials were found here.
A primitive chapel dedicated to Saint Clement existed in the 3rd century. The original village name was perhaps Chambois or Chamboy. After the death of Saint Marcel around 435 his tomb became a site of miracles. It gave its name to the district. By the 6th century enough houses clustered around the chapel for Gregory of Tours to call it a vicus a small village.
The Norman siege of 885 saw Saint Marcel’s relics moved to Notre-Dame Cathedral. The saint’s cult flourished drawing pilgrims and making him a patron saint of Paris. Despite nearby quarries supplying stone for Notre-Dame Saint-Germain des Pres and the Temple enclosure urbanization of the faubourg came later.
The construction of the Saint-Marcel collegiate church in the 11th century transformed the area. The addition of Saint-Martin chapel and Saint-Hippolyte church and the establishment of a parish in Faubourg Saint-Médard before 1163 under the jurisdiction of Sainte-Geneviève Abbey gave the faubourg a new identity.
In the late 13th century Faubourg Saint-Médard across the Bièvre River attracted wealthy landowners. By the early 16th century this changed. Artisanal activities replaced grand estates. The banker Scipion built a mansion on Rue de la Barre in the mid-16th century. The Bièvre River was not yet lined with buildings.
In the early 13th century Rue du Faubourg Saint-Marcel acquired walls and moats. These followed the lines of today’s Rue des Gobelins Rue de la Reine Blanche and Rue des Fossés Saint-Marcel. The Mouffetard passage now Avenue des Gobelins was protected by the Porte Poupeline. The Bièvre River served as a natural northern defense. In the 14th century a new wall was built further south. The new Porte Poupeline or Porte Saint-Marcel became a tax office.
By the end of the Middle Ages the village was called Saint-Marcel-lez-Paris. It only became part of Paris in 1724. The river Bièvre encouraged numerous artisans to settle here. Butchers were the first drawn by the river’s ability to carry away waste. This led to the name Pont aux Tripes Tripe Bridge for one of the bridges. Megissiers tanners curriers baudroyeurs shoemakers and dyers followed polluting the Bièvre until its covering in the late 19th century.
The faubourg also produced wine from the 13th century. A brewery catered to English and Flemish workers. The Bièvre’s banks were filled with inns cabarets and taverns frequented by Rabelais and Rousseau.
In 1443 Jean Gobelin established a dyeing workshop on the Bièvre. His family’s success and reputation shaped the area’s character for centuries. In 1662 Louis XIV brought artisans who worked for Fouquet to the faubourg.
In 1663 the royal manufactory of furniture and tapestries was founded with Charles Le Brun as director. New buildings rose near Rue Mouffetard and the Bièvre. Louis XIV initially supported the manufactory generously. It produced tapestries silverware textiles and furniture. After Louis XIV moved to Versailles the manufactory declined somewhat though its products remained renowned.
Despite its relative prosperity the royal manufactory did not benefit everyone. Most residents remained impoverished. The faubourg’s reputation as a rough area lasted until the 19th century. Rousseau’s description in his Confessions captures this.
The 19th century saw Rue du Faubourg Saint-Marcel’s integration into Paris losing its status as a separate faubourg. The industrial revolution brought more poor workers. Haussmann’s urban renewal radically changed the area. The opening of Boulevards Saint-Marcel and Arago in 1857 erased the medieval past. The collegiate church and most medieval houses disappeared. The heart of the faubourg was at the Gobelins crossroads. The works unearthed a huge late Roman Christian necropolis still beneath the ground. The covering of the Bièvre ended riverside industries.
Today Rue du Faubourg Saint-Marcel is a more affluent area. The city is studying the possibility of uncovering sections of the Bièvre River. The enduring legacy of Rue du Faubourg Saint-Marcel is its fascinating blend of history poverty industry and transformation.