The site dates back to the 1400s, where the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés held the Foire Saint-Germain, a renowned fair that attracted people from all over France from 1486 through the early 1800s. Afterward, the church was rebuilt as the Blondel market, a hotspot for trade in Paris. Around 1860, Napoleon III covered the courtyard to create the structure Parisians are familiar with today.