Georges-Eugène Haussmann (Paris 1809 – Paris 1891) was a French civic planner whose name is associated with the rebuilding of Paris. He was hired by Napoleon III in 1852 to "modernize" the city.
Haussmann created expansive gardens (Montsouris, Luxembourg), a network of broad avenues, and renovated Place de l'Etoile, Place Léon-Blum, Place de la République, Place de l'Alma, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Grand Opera House, as well as undertaked important water works, city facilities and public monuments. Also, Haussmann had the Gare de Lyon constructed in 1855, the Gare du Nord in 1865 and the construction of 600 kilometers of aqueduct (1878).
Additionally, Haussmann improved rail transportation and a better lighting and water sanitation.
Paris emerged from being a mediaeval city to become a modern capital.
