Belleville (commune)

Its territory is now shared by the 19th and 20th arrondissements, but a neighborhood has retained its name: the quartier de Belleville.

The village was built on and around a hill, the second highest of the French capital after Montmartre.

The area was inhabited for many years by people who worked the local quarries, vintners and other merchants.

Its name is derived from belle vue (literally "beautiful view") and its territory extended to what is today the Parc des Buttes Chaumont and the Père Lachaise Cemetery.

The population increased dramatically in the first half of the 19th century and Baron Haussmann decided to incorporate it into Paris.