Category Archives: history

The Arts & Crafts Museum

Posted on by
Reply

The Musée des Arts et Métiers. the Museum of Arts and Crafts in the 3rd arrondissement is dedicated to science and technology.

It occupies the premises of the former Priory of Saint Martin des Champs, which was nationalized during the French Revolution. Part of the museum is even housed in the former priory church.

Even though only about 2,500 of the over 80,000 objects and 15,000 drawings are on display, there are many treasures to discover, such as an original Foucault pendulum, the official meter and kilogram, printing presses, first-generation cars and planes, the original model of the Statue of Liberty or the first mechanical calculator.

The museum was first opened in 1802, at which time the different devices were explained to the visitors by demonstrators. The collection grew also thanks to the various World Fairs held in Paris.

The Foucault pendulum
Meters

The permanent exhibition is organized into seven collections, scientific instruments, materials, energy, mechanics, construction, communication, and transport, which are again subdivided into four time periods: before 1750, 1750-1850, 1850-1950, after 1950.

An object from a very recent period
Share this:

Below the Bastille

Posted on by
Reply

Below the Bastille, three metro lines meet: line 1, line 5 with remains of an outer Bastille wall on the platform, discovered during the construction of that metro line, and line 8.

The line 1 platform is above-ground and on the eastbound side allows for a view of the Arsenal harbor basin. The walls on both sides are decorated with a 180m² ceramic tile fresco of scenes from the 1789 Revolution, created in 1989 for the bicentennial of the Revolution.

Below the platform, the Canal Saint Martin ends in the Arsenal harbor basin which in turn connects with the Seine east of Saint Louis island.

The station was opened in July 1900 as part of the first section of line 1 which ran from Porte de Vincennes (east) to Porte Maillot (west). It was built above the canal in order to avoid the foundations of the July column which dominates the Place de la Bastille.

Bastille was the last station on line 1 to have automatic doors installed as line 1 was automatized due to the difficulty of the curved shape of the platform.

Share this:

La Grande Arche

Posted on by
Reply

La Grande Arche, the Great Arch, is the western end point of the axe historique. It was one of French president François Mitterrand’s “grands projets”, inaugurated in 1989 at the bicentennial of the French Revolution. A 110m high cube, it houses government offices and a viewing platform.

As with the Louvre, the Grande Arche is not centered on the axis but at a 6.5° angle. The reason for this is technical: below the parvis run a highway, the metro and the RER train, and the foundations would have stood right in the way of those. As it is, the shift shows off the depth of the monument.

La Grande Arche was initially known as La Grande Arche de la Fraternité  (The Great Arch of Fraternity) but is referred to as La Grande Arche de la Défense or simply La Grande Arche.

Share this:

La Défense

Posted on by
Reply

La Défense is Europe’s largest purpose-built business district with 560ha (1,400acres). It is located outside the Paris city limits in the département Hauts-de-Seine. and divided between four municipalities: Puteaux, Courbevoie, Nanterre and La Garenne-Colombes.

The name stems from a monument called La Défense de Paris honoring the soldiers defending the city of Paris during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. It was inaugurated in 1883 and has since been moved several times to accommodate the changing business district that now bears its name.

180,000 people work here, while only about 25,000 people live in the apartments that can be found in between the office towers. La Défense can be reached on public transport with the métro 1 which has two stations, one at each extremity: Esplanade de La Défense and La Défense (Grande Arche), as well as with the RER A at the La Défense station.

The axis in its extension from the Champs-Élysées was drawn under Louis XV, but it was only in the 1960s that the business district began to grow. It went through several stages until it became the collection of skyscrapers that it is today. Currently its highest tower is the Tour First at 231m, which is also France’s highest skyscraper.

Visitors to La Défense will notice the long esplanade stretching along the center of the district and culminating in the Parvis square between the CNIT, the Quatre Temps Shopping Center and the Grande Arche.

The Parvis with the CNIT on the left and the Quatre Temps shopping mall to the right – in the distance, the Arc de Triomphe

The CNIT is the oldest building of La Défense and the largest unsupported concrete span enclosed space in the world. Entry is free, you just need to look up to see the impressive roof structure.

inside the CNIT

The Quatre Temps Shopping mall was the most visited shopping mall in France in 2019.

Below the esplanade hides a network of streets, the métro, the RER train, delivery docks, service and  emergency access roads, and parking garages.

La Défense métro station below the Esplanade
Share this:

Arc de Triomphe

Posted on by
Reply

The Arc de Triomphe, or Triumphal Arch, was built on the orders of Napoléon Ier. Its construction began at the same time as that of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, in 1806. By the time it was achieved in 1836, Napoléon had long since disappeared and a king sat once again on the French throne, namely Louis-Philippe.

Built on a hill, the Arc de Triomphe is easily visible both from the Place de la Concorde and the Esplanade de La Défense.

Napoléon Ier had the arch built following the victorious battle of Austerlitz. Initially, he wanted it to be located on the east side of the city, near the Bastille, so that returning armies would enter the Faubourg Saint Antoine by passing under his arch. However, he could be convinced that the current location was better suited (especially for financial reasons).

Today, the Arc de Triomphe still is a monument with a strong historical connotation, which was only reinforced by the burial of the unknown soldier from WWI beneath it in 1921. The eternal flame arrived two years later, one of the first of its kind in the modern era. It is rekindled every evening at 6.30pm.
When the European Union flag was flown inside the Arc de Triomphe at the beginning of January 2022, to mark the French presidency of the European Union (January-June 2022), it earned much criticism, and the flag was taken down. (The EU circle of stars on a blue-illuminated Eiffel Tower was fine, as the tower does not bear the same historical significance.)

Several times a year, the sun rises or sets in the axis of the Arc de Triomphe: sunrise on February 4, 5 and 6 and November 7, sunset on May 7, 8 and 9 as well as August 3, 4 and 5.

Among the events that took place at the Arc de Triomphe, the most notable ones are the transfer of Napoléon Ier’s ashes in 1840, the vigil of Victor Hugo prior to his funeral in the Panthéon, and sadly the yellow-vest riots’s third protest on December 1st, 2018, during which the Arc de Triomphe was smeared, damaged and graffitied.

In September 2021, the Arc de Triomphe was wrapped up by Christo and Jeanne Claude.

Share this:

The Luxor Obelisk

Posted on by
Reply

Following an equestrian statue of Louis XV, a statue of liberty and a statue of Louis XVI, the Luxor obelisk has stood at the center of the Place de la Concorde since the 1830s.

Actually, there were two obelisks given to France by Egypt. Jean-François Champollion, the French scholar who deciphered the hieroglyphs, chose which would be transported to France first.

A ship had to be built specifically for its transport as it had to be able to navigate the Nile, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Channel and the Seine, all with the 23m-long 230 ton obelisk aboard. The journey ended up taking almost two years.

Details of the complex machinery needed to transport and erect it were added to the pedestal in 1839.

Today’s gold-leaf pyramid cap was added in 1998.

In 1981, President François Mitterrand officially renounced possession of the second obelisk, restoring it to Egypt, where it can still be seen at the Luxor Temple.

I said Obelisk, not Obelix!
Share this:

Place de la Concorde

Posted on by
Reply

The Place de la Concorde is the biggest public square in Paris and one of the five places royales.

It was created in 1763 and has changed names several times, reflecting political regimes and historic events. Its first name was place Louis XV, until 1792 when it became Place de la Révolution. During the Directory, the Consulate and the First Empire (of Napoléon Ier), it was called Place de la Concorde. It became place Louis XV again, then place Louis XVI during the Restauration (when the monarchy was restored after Napoléon and his empire fell), place de la Charte in 1830 and finally Place de la Concorde under the July Monarchy.

During the Revolution, the guillotine was placed here several times. King Louis XVI was among those decapitated there.

Since the 1830s, the Luxor Obelisk dominates the Place de la Concorde, a monument older than the city of Paris itself.

Share this:

The Tuileries Palace and Gardens

Posted on by
Reply

The Jardin des Tuileries is a 55 acres parc located between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde. Its name derives from the tuileries (brickyards) that were in its place in the 13th century. Catherine de’ Medici, widow of king Henry II and mother of king François II, bought the lands which lay west of the Louvre and outside the Charles V city wall to have a new palace built with more space for gardens. Construction of the Palais des Tuileries began in 1564, and the Italian Gardens were set up on the lands between the new palace and what is today the Place de la Concorde.

The Palais des Tuileries burnt down during the events of the Commune and its remains were demolished in 1883.

This is where the Tulieries Palace stood

The historic axis has a slight kink at the Tuileries Palace site as you will notice if you stand at the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. The straight line that runs from Concorde along the Champs Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile and beyond it to the Grande Arche de La Défense, was originally centered on the façade of the Tuileries Palace. The line east of the Tuileries Palace was centered on the façade of the Louvre, and since the two façades are at slightly different angles, the line in its continuation is not straight.

Look closely at these two images, and you will see the line is not straight!

Share this:

The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

Posted on by
Reply

An Arc de Triomphe is a Triumphal Arch, a concept dating back to Roman times. This particular arch was built by Napoléon Ier in the style of the Arch of Septimius Severus on the Forum Romanum.
In the same way at that Roman arch, it commemorates an army and, obviously, a triumph, namely that of the Grande Armée in the years prior to its construction which began in 1806.

But what is a carrousel? In this case, the term refers to a type of military dressage. The Place du Carrousel where the arch is located takes its name from the Grand Carrousel, which took place there on June 5-6, 1662, on the orders of Louis XIV to celebrate the birth of his firstborn son Louis (who despite being the Dauphin, did not become king after his father).

The arch was not yet part of a special axis, even though planning and construction of the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile began the same year. In fact, it was built right in front of the Tuileries Palace that closed off the Louvre on its western end and became its gate of honor.

Instead of the destroyed Tuileries Palace, you see elements of the axe historique
Share this:

Five fun facts about the Louvre

Posted on by
Reply
Louvre – east façade

The main entrance
When the Louvre was a royal palace, its main entrance was on the east side, the majestic gate facing the church Saint Germain l’Auxerrois. The triangular bas-relief on the pediment consists of two stone slaps each 17.5 meters long and weighing several tons.

Louvre – east gate

Napoléon transformed into Louis XIV
Napoléon Ier was represented at the center, with one of the Muses writing “Napoleon completed the Louvre”. This didn’t please King Louis XVIII, and the inscription was changed to “Ludovico Magno”, in reference to the Sun King Louis XIV. The crown was removed from Napoléon’s head and replaced with the curly wig of the Sun King. However, Napoléon’s face remained, along with a shield featuring his imperial eagle and his bees.

Napoléon transformed into Louis XIV

From castle to palace
King François Ier (1494-1547) began the transformation of the Château du Louvre to the Palais du Louvre by knocking down the keep. His son and successor Henri II continued his project.

“1541 – François I starts the Louvre”

The Pyramids
The Louvre Pyramid was a subject of controversy when its project was presented. It was at the center of a project improving access to the museum, which couldn’t handle the growing visitor influx.
As confirmed by the Louvre, it consists of 673 panes, not 666 as myths will have it. (Count them if you want.)

The Louvre pyramid


The inverted pyramid is an upside-down version that you can see from the Carrousel du Louvre shopping mall.


If you want to see the pyramid, don’t get off the métro at the stop Pyramides, however. This metro station is located on Avenue de l’Opéra [link], and the name is a reference to the Battle of the Pyramids of the French army under Napoléon Ier in 1798. Nothing to do with the Louvre pyramid, inaugurated in 1989.

Free Entry
Did you know children have free entry to the Louvre Museum? In fact, up to the age of 18, entry is free, and if your country of residence belongs to the European Economic Area (EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein), it’s even up to 26 years.

The pyramid is also the main entrance to the Louvre museum
Share this: