The sewers of Paris trace their origins to 1370, when the first underground sewer line was built beneath the Rue Montmartre, following earlier small scale Roman sewer construction on the Left Bank. Successive French governments enlarged the system, including major expansions under Louis XIV and Napoleon III and modernization programs in the 1990s under Mayor Jacques Chirac, and the system has since featured in popular culture, including the Victor Hugo novel Les Miserables.
Facts
SignificanceThe Paris sewer system has repeatedly featured in popular culture, including Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel Les Misérables and H. L. Humes’s 1958 novel The Underground City. 1 FAQs
How did Eugène Belgrand change the design of the Paris sewers?
He built larger, cleaner tunnels that workers could reach for maintenance.
Belgrand took a disciplined engineering approach. His tunnels were designed to be clean, easily accessible for maintenance, and substantially larger than the underground sewers that came before them.
Sources
1. Sewers of Paris (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, expansion history
Consecutive French governments enlarged the system to cover the city's population, including modernization and expansions under Louis XIV and Napoleon III.
Lead section, first underground system date
the development of the sewers of Paris dates back to the year 1370, when the first underground system was built under Rue Montmartre.
Lead section, cultural depictions
Paris's sewer system has featured in popular culture throughout its existence, including Victor Hugo's 1862 novel, Les Misérables, and H. L. Humes's 1958 novel The Underground City.
status sentence
Successive French governments enlarged the system, including major expansions under Louis XIV and Napoleon III and modernization programs in the 1990s under Mayor Jacques Chirac, and the system has since featured in popular culture, including the Victor Hugo novel Les Miserables.
In Group: Water Supply and Sewer Systems, Introduction
Although the Romans built a small number of sewer lines on the Left Bank, the development of the sewers of Paris dates back to the year 1370, when the first underground system was built under Rue Montmartre.
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