On this day in 1951, the city of Paris celebrated its 2,000th birthday.
The history of the city goes back to 250 B.C., when a Gallic tribe known as the Parisii settled on an island in the Seine River, the one we now know as the Île de la Cité.
Julius Caesar took over the city after winning the Gallic Wars and changed its name to Lutetia, which means “midwater dwelling.” This name didn’t last long, and people started calling the city Paris.
In 481, the Franks, one of many Germanic groups in post-Roman Europe, with their leader Clovis, took over Paris, and later Clovis made it his capital.
By the Middle Ages, Paris transformed into the intellectual capital of Christendom. The city continued to expand, and with this expansion its two sides started to have very distinct personalities. The Left side of the river was the intellectual and academic side. Meanwhile, the Right became the primary hub for business, finance, and trade.
From the late 15th century to the 17th century, during the French Renaissance, Paris started becoming a center for art and architecture. By the mid 1800s the city layout started to look different as Napoleon III wanted to completely update the city. Napoleon hired Georges-Eugène Haussmann, who planned to make Paris a modern city, he worked on adding a new sewer system, wide boulevards and public parks that the city is famous for today.
Paris’ birthday lasted for a whole week, the Arc de Triomphe, the Opera, and the Eiffel Tower were illuminated, with many festivals and parades throughout the city. The celebration also featured a lavish luncheon at the Plaza Athénée hotel in Paris by the Boston-based retailer Filene’s to celebrate the city’s anniversary. A massive cake with 2,001 candles was made, 2000 for each year, and one for Paris to keep growing.
Today, Paris remains a center for beauty, creativity, fashion, and art.
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