With his ordinances in the mid-19th century, Haussmann gave the city center the modern look of the Parisian cityscape that remains today.
Napoleon III Bonaparte ordered the demolition of 12.000 square meters of medieval city buildings for an opera house. An architectural competition was announced, with entries including a young, 35-year-old, unknown architect Charles Garnier, who won the competition. Construction was hampered by high groundwater levels, making it difficult to secure the foundations.
Underneath the opera house is a reservoir for groundwater, the level of which firefighters must regularly check and pump out the excess.
