Place des Vosges is a carefully ordered square of brick-and-stone façades, arcades, and a central garden. Begun under Henri IV in 1605, it set a new model for planned urban space in Paris.
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The repeated façades around Place des Vosges make the square feel remarkably coherent, but that unity was deliberately imposed. Henri IV began the Place Royale project in 1605, distributing building plots according to strict rules for materials, height, and form. Brick, pale stone, slate roofs, and ground-floor arcades created a consistent public frontage.
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UpgradeQuick facts
- Construction of the Place Royale began in 1605 under Henri IV.
- The original design required brick and stone façades with arcades.
- The square received its current name in 1800.
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