Barrière d'Enfer

Two identical stone pavilions stand on opposite sides of the Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, marking what was once the southern gateway into Paris. Built by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux in the seventeen eighties, these structures formed the Barrière d'Enfer, a customs post where officials collected duties on goods entering the city. The name, meaning Barrier of Hell, likely stems from the proximity to the catacombs, but it also terrified merchants who faced steep taxes at these very gates.