Medieval houses on Rue François-Miron

While wandering around the Marais, make sure to take a detour over to Rue François-Miron (map) to get a glimpse of these two gorgeous medieval houses. They really stand out when you see them in the context of all the plain gray/white 19th-century buildings that run up and down that street.

Here, I translated the Histoire de Paris sign for you; don't say I never gave ya nothin':

Houses from the Middle Ages

Medieval houses are very rare in Paris. These two on Rue François-Miron, with the sign of the Reaper for number 11 and the sign of the Sheep for number 13, are recorded in the early sixteenth century and could date, in their original state, from the fourteenth century. Since 1508, royal decrees prohibited new construction with projecting parts that might collapse and cause accidents in the street. Therefore the protruding gable of number 13 was shortened in the seventeenth century. It was rebuilt in 1967 during the restoration of both houses.

In 1607, an order was issued to cover the exposed wooden framework of the buildings with plaster in order to prevent fire hazards. The architect removed the wooden beams and then put them back according to the houses' original design.