The highest
level of water supply per capita in Paris was actually reached during the Gallo-Roman centuries (some 250 litres per person per day), then even higher than today
(some 200 litres per person per day), but...the Roman aqueducts from the 2nd
century were abandoned when new rulers arrived. During the following centuries
some "pipelines" from surrounding hills were installed, basically to supply some monasteries and
royal castles, but the balance of the water came from the Seine and from wells. The water consumption per capita was extremely low for centuries –
some documents mention a yearly bath… (Actually the Vikings had a reputation for cleanliness, they had a weekly bath - the translation of the Nordic word for Saturday
is the day of bathing.)
Henry IV
wanted to improve the water supply and took several initiatives in this
respect. After his assassination in 1610, his widow Marie de’ Medici (mother of
Louis XIII and grandmother of Louis XIV) took over the idea of creating a new
aqueduct, more or less following the trace of the old, abandoned, Roman one. It
was completed in 1623 and is referred to as the “Medici Aqueduct”. The water
was brought to a building, from where some natural cleaning and some
distribution to different users was organised. This building is still there, “La
Maison Fontainier” (see top picture), close neighbour to the Paris Observatory
(see previous post here). It was also the home of the person who had the royal charge
of water supply (fountains). The family Francine had this office 1623 – 1784.
Here we can
see an ancient map of the “Medici Aqueduct” and its approximate route with a
starting point at Rungis, just north of the Orly airport.
Just north
of the Parc de Montsouris (see previous post here), some recent construction
work made parts of the old aqueducts, very close to each other, visible and
some parts can now be seen from the street. (Especially the window protecting
the Medici one would need to be cleaned.)
The “Medici
Aqueduct” had 27 “regards”, small buildings with stairs down to the water
level, points of observation and maintenance. It should be noted that the Medici water
canals were wide and high enough to allow walking along. Here you can see no.
23 and no. 25. “La Maison Fontainier” has the no. 27.
Under the “Maison
de Fontanier” you can still see the 17th century installations.
Different basins and canals permitted a distribution, which in the beginning
meant basically supplying the royalty (Luxembourg Palace…), some convents …. and
a little bit for public fountains.
Until 1845
water just went through, but then a large installation was added, permitting a
regulation of the in- and outflow.
These installations are of course today not used for drinking water, but the aqueduct
supplied the Medici Fountain (see previous post here) in the Luxembourg Gardens
until 1904 and still some “lakes” in the Parc Montsouris.
The Paris water system was completely changed
during the 19th century, but that’s another chapter.
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