Square René Viviani

Square René Viviani is marked by a black locust tree that leans heavily, its gnarled trunk supported by two visible concrete crutches. Planted in sixteen oh one by royal gardener Jean Robin, it holds the title of the oldest tree in Paris. The park itself sits on ground that served as a cemetery for the adjacent Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre Church as early as the sixth century, later housing monastic buildings and an annex of the Hôtel-Dieu hospital.