Square du temple

History and description

The place was occupied by the Knights Templar, they were military and religious and were in charge to protect the pilgrims in the Holy Land;
In 1312, they were accused of heresy and suffered from repression, in 1314, several Knights Templar and the great master Jacques de Nolay were burned in the "Ile de la Cité.
Then, the place was occupied by the Order of Malta.
In 1667, a palace whose entrance is located at the entrance of the Square du temple was erected at the instigation of the Grand-Prior Jacques de Souvres.
The fortress became national property during the Revolution and was converted into a prison, the famous "prison of the Temple" (1792-1808) who was the last home of Louis XVI and the Dauphin Louis XVII.

The dungeon that had housed them was destroyed by order of Napoleon I in 1809, he wanted to erase all traces of the disastrous past.
Until 1853, the square was use as a convent, then a barracks, the place was destroyed and 12 years later,became the Paris garden that we know today.

In the square du temple, there are two gorgeous trees planted in 1882 and 1862 : a hazel (Corylus colurna) of 18m high and 1.85 m in circumference and a Japanese pagoda tree (Sophora japonica) of 17m high and 2 70 in circumference. The fauna is rich of birds of different species, like the Mandarin (native of southeast-Asia).
The Square du temple houses also an artificial waterfall, built with rocks from the Fontainebleau forest. its area is 7696 square meters and was opened in 1857 and redesign by Jean-Charles Alphand in 1865 (the same than the Park des buttes-chaumont).

In the square there is a bandstand from 1900.
There are 2 sculptures, 1 statue of the chansonnier Béranger (1780-1857) in stone (the first was a bronze statue and was destroyed, it was replaced by a stone one, and 1 bust;

There is also a stele with 85 children names. They were living in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris and were deported between 1942 and 1944, their age ranged from 2 months to 6 years old. The stele was inaugurated the 26th of October, 2007.

Location of the Square du temple

The square du temple is located in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, the 64 rue de Bretagne 75003 PARIS

How to get to the square

You can use the Paris metro line, you will have to walk around 5 minutes:
-Paris metro line 3, temple station (the closest, less than 5 minutes)
-Paris metro line 3, line 11, Arts et métiers station (5 minutes).

Entrance fee and opening hours

From 1st to 30th of September: 9am to 8pm.
From May 1st to August 31th: 9am to 9pm.
From October 1st to October 28th: 9am to 6:30pm.

Square du temple map