Paris, France
Paris is named after the first people who settled there and founded a fishing village on an island in the river, sometime between 250 BC and 200 BC, the Parisii.
The city was conquered by Julius Ceaser in 52 BC and became known as Lutetia. It was a regional administrative centre of the Roman Empire.
In the late 5th century a second wave of Franks and other Germanic groups, under the leadership of Merovius overran the territory. A few centuries later the rulers of the Carolingian dynasty were almost permanently away fighting and Paris was mostly controlled by the Counts of Paris. In the early 9th century Charlemagne changed the capital to Aix-la-Chapelle leaving Paris badly protected, which culminated in the city being attacked by the Vikings.
Taking advantage of the feuds going on between the Carolingians, the Counts of Paris elected one of their own, Hugh Capet, as King of France, and Paris became, once again, its capital.
The middle ages were a period of prosperity for Paris: the Cathedral of Notre Dame started being built, the swampy area of Marais was drained, Saint Chapelle was built in 1248 and the Sorbonne opened its doors in 1253. This period of prosperity was interrupted by two main events, the One Hundred Years War and the Black Plague. In the 15th century, the battles between Catholics and Huguenots brought further instability and culminated in the massacre of Saint Bartholomew in which 3000 Protestants were killed. Peace was finally brought by the Protestant, converted to Christianity, King Henry IV.
In the 1600s King Louis XIV moved the seat of government to Versailles. However, in 1789 the Parisians once again revolted and the storming of the Bastille marked the beginning of the French Revolution. Paris was the stage for three other revolutions in the 19th century; nevertheless, it was in the 19th century that the city underwent major urban renovation, including the construction of wide boulevards, forever changing its layout.
What to visit in Paris:
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