Tag Archives: Tuileries

The Tuileries Palace and Gardens

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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!

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The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

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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
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Triumph in a straight line

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I’m sure you have no trouble spotting the Champs Élysées avenue on a map of Paris. It’s long, large, and straight. Its two end points are easily made out – the Place Charles de Gaulle-Étoile with the Arc de Triomphe on one end, the Place de la Concorde with the Tuileries Gardens and the Louvre on the other. But did you know there’s more to this straight line?

View of Concorde, Tuileries Gardens and Louvre from the Eiffel Tower

The axe historique (historical axis) or voie triomphale (triumphal way) has a long history that goes back to the 16th century when Catherine de’ Medici, widow of Henry II, had the Tuileries Palace built. The palace burned down during the Commune events, it would be placed between the two “open ends” of the Louvre.

In the 17th century, André Le Nôtre, architect of the Versailles palace gardens, used the royal residence of the Tuileries Palace as reference when he created an avenue running westwards, planning as far as today’s Rond-Point des Champs Élysées.

Today, the axe historique starts at the Louvre, or even at the bell tower of the Saint Germain l’Auxerrois church and ends at the Grande Arche de la Défense.

Let’s explore the axe historique step by step, east to west.

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