It all began in 1612 when Maria de’ Medici, wife of King Henri IV, set up the hospice Notre-Dame de la Pitié (Our Lady of Pity) on the site of a former jeu de paume court (occupied by the Paris Mosque since 1926). A few years later, her son Louis XIII chose this site for ‘Le Petit Arsenal’ or ‘Salpêtrière’, where saltpeter, an essential ingredient in the making of gunpowder, was produced. In 1656, Louis XIV signed a royal edict concerning the creation of a “general hospital for the confinement of the poor of Paris.” This institution, responsible for the internment of beggars, outcasts and vagrants, would have three establishments: La Pitié for children, Bicêtre for men, and La Salpêtrière for women. For two centuries, La Salpêtrière was simultaneously an asylum, hospice, prison, and reformatory… but not a hospital in the modern sense of the word. On the eve of the French Revolution, it had nearly 8,000 residents, frequently kept locked up in appalling conditions. During the 19^th century, La Salpêtrière was gradually transformed into a real place of health care. The 20^th century saw further changes: the closure of the lunatic asylum in 1921, and that of the hospice in 1968. In 1964, La Salpêtrière and La Pitié merged to form the largest hospital group in Europe covering a surface area of 33 hectares, with more than 1,700 hospital beds, and approximately 7,800 people working on the site.

Controlling movement into Paris, taxing the merchants, preventing enemies from invading the city: over the centuries, a series of walls were built for various purposes.

At the end of the 18^th century, the wall of the Farmers-General was built, making it possible to levy tolls on goods entering the city (area shaded pink on the map below). This highly unpopular construction was the cause of numerous disputes, as recalled by this anonymous alexandrine: “Le mur murant Paris rend Paris murmurant” (The fence around Paris is an offense to Paris). In 1840, the defensive policy adopted by the government of Adolphe Thiers led to a new project: the creation of a 33-kilometer long wall to protect Paris in the event of war (line shaded red on the map below), running between the current boulevards des Maréchaux and the route followed by the ring road. These ‘fortifications’ (known as fortifs) – which, as it turned out, wouldn’t stop the Prussians from bombarding Paris starting in December 1870 – were pulled down between 1919 and 1929. Ultimately, the railway tracks and Paris ring road would define the limits of the district, cutting it off from the Seine on the one side and from the neighboring town of Ivry on the other.

It was in the 19^th century that the district became truly industrialized. In 1829, the opening of the Paris-Basel road encouraged the setting up of factories of all sizes. In 1840, the construction of the Gare d’Austerlitz railway station – initially known as the ‘Orleans railway station’ – confirmed this new vocation for this part of Paris.

For many years, the railway station was behind the construction of numerous workshops and warehouses necessary for its activities. Spared from demolition, a few of them have found new purposes and become exceptional places enjoying a reputation that extends far beyond the boundaries of the district.