Old Map of Paris

Historical Background

Paris under Louis XIII

Matthäus Merian’s plan records Paris near the beginning of the reign of Louis XIII. Rather than presenting the city as a flat street plan, Merian used an elevated viewpoint that allows individual buildings, towers, gardens and stretches of wall to be recognised. The result is both a useful record of early seventeenth-century Paris and a highly decorative portrait of the city.

Map Details

• Original title: Le Plan de la Ville, Cité, Université et Fauxbourgs de Paris • Engraver: Matthäus Merian the Elder • Date: 1615 • Area shown: Paris, the Île de la Cité and the surrounding faubourgs • Format: Oblique bird’s-eye plan viewed from the south • Notable features: Notre-Dame, the Louvre, the Tuileries, Pont Neuf, Place Royale and the River Seine

The Four Parts of Paris

The title distinguishes between the ville, cité, université and fauxbourgs: the commercial city on the Right Bank, the historic centre on the Île de la Cité, the university quarter on the Left Bank and the suburbs growing beyond the established walls. This division reflects how Paris was understood before its later expansion absorbed the surrounding districts.

The Île de la Cité and Pont Neuf

At the centre stands the Île de la Cité, dominated by Notre-Dame and joined to both banks by a succession of bridges. The recently completed Pont Neuf is especially prominent. Unlike many earlier Paris bridges, it was built without houses along its sides, leaving open views across the Seine and making it one of the most distinctive structures on the map.

The Louvre, Tuileries and Place Royale

The Louvre appears beside the river, with the Tuileries palace and its formal gardens nearby. Elsewhere, the Place Royale—now the Place des Vosges—represents one of the important planned developments of the period. It had been formally inaugurated only a few years before this map was produced.

Paris Beyond the Walls

Merian carefully contrasts the tightly packed streets within Paris with the open ground outside. Fields, gardens, religious houses, roads and small settlements surround the capital, showing how sharply the built city still ended at its walls and gates.

Decorative Details

The upper border carries the map’s long French title, while royal and civic arms decorate the composition. A compass device appears in the lower corner. Together with the delicate colouring and exceptionally detailed buildings, these features make the plan both an important historical document and one of the most engaging early views of Paris.