A Swedish City!

The turning point, however, was not King Johan's inheritance of France, nor his move to Palais Royal, preferring the warm cosmopolitan feel of 17th century Paris to the dreary winter nights of Stockholm. The turning point would come the following month, with the Great Fire of Paris, 1651. The fire broke out in what is today the sixth arrondissement, and while containing Palais Royal, the Hôtel de Ville, and the Notre Dame Cathedral would be out of danger, separated from the fire by the Seine River, it soon became clear that everything south of the river was in grave jeopardy. The confusion between the Swedish-speaking administrators and their French-speaking firefighter subordinates left the response effort disjointed and chaotic, though a heroic effort tried to save it, the still-new Pont Royal burned, barring any further ability to save southern Paris. Making the matters worse, screaming, wailing refugees formed chaotic mobs. A rioting mob of the new homeless stormed what is now the 8th arrondissement, pillaging the Champs-Élysees. Only Swedish soldiers prevented the critical fourth arrondissement and the Palais Royal from receiving the same fate. Once the ashes settled, much of French Paris had vanished. King Johan saw an opportunity in the ruined remnants of his new city. He set up an official, subsidized settlement for refugees, but placed it in Saint-Germain. As the French homeless moved out of Paris for less central parts of Île-de-France, Johan hired Maurice de Blois, the greatest architect of the day, to rebuild the areas south of the Seine in a very Scandinavian style. Johan, nervous that the nobles back in Sweden would revolt, came up with a creative solution. He invited the nobility of Sweden and Finland to resettle in southern Paris, so they would have proximity to the Palais Royal, and so Johan could keep an eye on them.