Rue Mouffetard, Paris

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5e Arrt.

Rue MOUFFETARD

Arrondissement	Ve
Quarter	Saint-Victor . Jardin des Plantes . Val de Grâce . Sorbonne .
Begins	3 rue Thouin
Ends	rue Censier and 2 rue Pascal
Length	605 m
Width	7 m
Creation	c. 1st century
Denomination


Street markets such as this one in Rue Mouffetard are still common in France. Resellers and farmers sell fruits and vegetables, but also meat and fish, and other products.

Rue Mouffetard is a street in the Ve arrondissement of Paris, France.

Situated in the fifth (cinquième) arrondissement of Paris, Rue Mouffetard is one of Paris's oldest and liveliest neighbourhoods. These days the area has many restaurants, shops, and cafés, and a regular open market.

[edit] Origin of the name

This street was once a roadway along a flank of a hill called in the 13th century, but most likely from Roman times, "mont Cétarius" or "mont Cetardus": "Mouffetard" is a derivation of this name. Over the centuries the rue Mouffetard has appeared as rue Montfétard, Maufetard, Mofetard, Moufetard, Mouflard, Moufetard, Moftard, Mostard, and also rue Saint-Marcel, rue du Faubourg Saint-Marceau ("street of the suburb Saint-Marceau") and rue de la Vieille Ville Saint-Marcel ("street of the Old Village Saint-Marcel").

[edit] History

The origins of this thoroughfare are ancient, dating back to Neolithic times. As with today's rue Galande, rue Lagrange, rue de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève and rue Descartes, it was a Roman road running from the Roman Rive Gauche city south to Italy.

From the Middle Ages a church along this section of roadway became centre of a "bourg Saint-Médard" (Saint-Médard village), and from 1724 was integrated into Paris as the main artery of the "Faubourg Saint Médard".

The area remained relatively unchanged because of its location on the Saint Geneviève hill, which protected it from Baron Haussmann's redevelopment during the reign of Napoleon III.