La Chapelle (Seine)

La Chapelle (French pronunciation: [la ʃapɛl] ^ⓘ) is a former commune of the Seine department, which existed from 1790 to 1860 before being incorporated into Paris, France. It was called "La Chapelle-Franciade" during the French Revolution. It is sometimes called "La Chapelle-Saint-Denis" or "La Chapelle-Sainte-Geneviève".

The village of La Chapelle lies on a natural pass between the hills of Montmartre and Belleville, on the ancient road linking Lutetia to the north, where Saint Geneviève decided to build an oratory in honor of Saint-Denis. For centuries, it was the scene of the processions of the kings of France who left to wage war in the northern lands or, later, to be buried in the abbey of Saint-Denis, as well as those of the monarchs of the north who entered Paris in peace or war. As a result, the town's commercial and craft activities turned to trades linked to this busy thoroughfare: innkeepers, wheelwrights, and blacksmiths. Beyond the road, however, the fields and plains supplied the capital with fruit and vegetables, wheat and oats, and, thanks to the few vines on the Goutte d'Or or other suitable land. This wine gave its name to this hamlet located to the southwest, outside the parish of La Chapelle. Several markets and fairs followed one another, giving the village its reputation, including the famous Lendit fair and cattle market.

The bailliage of La Chapelle, dependent on Saint-Denis, administered the seigneury from the Middle Ages until the Revolution, with rights of justice, police, and tithe collection. Often devastated by frequent assaults on Paris, both during the Wars of Religion and the Fronde, in 1429 the village was the starting point for Joan of Arc's unsuccessful attempt to liberate Paris. From the 17th century onwards, its "guinguettes" (dance halls) gave it a new appeal.

In 1790, the Convention annexed the Goutte d'Or and the faubourg de Gloire to the parish to form the commune of La Chapelle. In January 1791, the so-called Massacre de La Chapelle took place there, causing quite a stir in Paris.

In the first half of the 19th century, urban transformation began, with the massive arrival of people who had come to work in Paris but were too poor to afford housing. The new Northern and Eastern railroads built between 1843 and 1846, and their associated workshops and depots rapidly replaced the fields.

As the government could not control the spontaneous growth of the Paris conurbation, Baron Haussmann proposed the absorption of the capital's outlying communes. La Chapelle was largely integrated into the new 18th arrondissement of Paris, created in 1860, with the north divided between Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen, and Aubervilliers, marking the end of any autonomous municipal life and the disappearance of the village as such.