Faubourg Saint-Germain

The Faubourg Saint Germain (French pronunciation: ​[fobuʁ sɛ̃ ʒɛʁmɛ̃]) is a historic district of Paris. The faubourg has long been known as the favorite home of the French high nobility and hosts many aristocratic Hôtels particuliers. It is currently part of the 7th arrondissement.

In its early history, Faubourg Saint-Germain was an agricultural suburb of Paris, lying west of the historical Saint-Germain-des-Prés urban district.

In 1670, Louis XIV initiated a project of grandiose home and hospital for aged and unwell soldiers: the Invalides. The king chose a site at the western end of the Faubourg and commissioned architect Libéral Bruant. The enlarged project was completed in 1676, the river front measured 196 metres and the complex had fifteen courtyards, the largest being the cour d'honneur ("court of honour") for military parades. Jules Hardouin Mansart assisted the aged Bruant, and the chapel was finished in 1679 to Bruant's designs after the elder architect's death. The construction of the Invalides opened a new district to urbanizing, offering large empty spaces between the new monument and the old city limit: the Faubourg's history had started.

During the 18th century, French high nobility started to move from the central Marais, the then-aristocratic district of Paris where nobles used to build their urban mansions (see Hotel de Soubise) to the clearer, less populated and less polluted Faubourg Saint-Germain that soon became the new residence of French highest nobility. The district became so fashionable within the French that the phrase le Faubourg has been used to describe French nobility ever since. The oldest and most prestigious families of the French nobility built outstanding residences in the area such as the Hôtel Matignon, the Hôtel de Salm or the Hôtel Biron.

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