Jardin des Tuileries (Paris)

Subway: Tuileries, Concorde

Open: Oct- March 7:30am- 7:00pm daily

Apr- Sept 7am- 9pm daily

 

Description of Jardin des Tuileries

Jardin des Tuileries is a beautiful garden that once surrounded Palais des Tuileries or Tuilieries Palace. It was destroyed in 1871 during the Paris Commune in 1871, but the gardens still survive. Jardin des Tuileries were first laid out here in the 17th century by royal gardener Andre le Notre for his master Louis XIV. The garden was increased over time and improved. In 1851 two tennis courts were added to Jardin des Tuileries. Some of the recent additions include modern sculptures and exhibitions of contemporary art.

 

History

At the time the Palais des Tuileries was being built (burned down in 1871), the western side of the Great Garden was laid out for the French queen of Italian origin Catherine de Medici, initially in the Italian Renaissance style and was first mentioned in 1564. It was thus the private garden of the queens and kings. Since then, his garden history has developed according to the taste of the rulers up to the revolution:

Garden of Catherine de Medici (garden manager Bernard de Carnessequi)
Henry IV Garden (Garden manager Jean Le Nôtre)
Garden of Louis XIII. and
Garden of Louis XIV (phase of André Le Nôtre)

An ideal plan by the architect of the Louvre, Philibert Delorme, who died in 1570, is illustrated by du Cerceau. Under the direction of the garden director of the Tuileries, Bernard de Carnessequi, who came from Florence, the gardeners Pierre de Villers, Bastien Tarquin and Pierre Le Nôtre created the approximately 15 hectare complex by 1578, divided into six longitudinal avenues with sycamore, elm and spruce trees and eight transverse avenues. Fruit trees, saffron and kitchen plants grew in the quarters. In 1567 the Medici fountain was built, which received its water via an aqueduct from Saint-Cloud. A labyrinth and a grotto by Bernard Palissy were created in 1570/71, which no longer exist.

Henry IV had the first remodeling done in 1594. Pierre Le Nôtre worked on the parterres according to designs by Claude Mollet, André Tarquin the orchards. In 1599, 1000 avenue trees were bought and mulberry plantations were planted. The royal monogram H was depicted on the parterres. In 1605, an almost 600 m long arcade was built on the north side. 1602-08 a pumping station was built on the Seine to irrigate the garden, which caused a sensation under the name Samaritaine. In this context, the Great Basin was created in 1607. In 1609 the parterre was modernized again by Jean Le Nôtre. It now consisted only of broderie fields.

According to the so-called Great Plan, a new garden was also laid out in 1600 on the east side of the palace, where there had already been a small garden in 1575. It consisted of eight square parterre fields around a bowl fountain and served as a royal private garden. Here Claude Mollet laid out the parterres that were published in 1600 by Olivier de Serres. This garden is also depicted on the title page of Daniel Rabel (1630).

Under Louis XIV, the garden architect André Le Nôtre carried out the next transformation on the instructions of the minister Colbert. In 1666-1672 he laid out a terrace on the west side of the palace, where there had previously been a street. He also redesigned the parterre, placing the large Grand Bassin Rond fountain with an outer diameter of 40 meters in the central axis and the two smaller fountains on the sides. According to plans by André Le Nôtre, the middle path was widened to form a wide avenue of chestnut trees. At the western end of the garden was created the large octagonal basin, Bassin Octogonal, 60 meters in diameter (70 meters in diameter over the outer corners) and the Fer à Cheval horseshoe ramps, which led up to the large terrace that encompassed the garden there.

 

During the 1900 Summer Olympics, the fencing competitions were held in the Tuileries Garden. In the course of the conversion of the Louvre initiated by François Mitterrand in 1981, the Tuileries Garden was restored and restored as far as possible to its 17th-century condition.

In its western part, the former orangery and the former Jeu de Paume ballroom from the mid-19th century have been preserved. The Orangery houses the Musée de l'Orangerie with works of Impressionism, Late Impressionism and the École de Paris, the Ballhaus houses the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume for exhibitions of contemporary photography and video art.

The garden itself also houses works of art, including Giuseppe Penone's Tree of Vowels, a bronze replica of a fallen tree.

The garden is a motif in Manet's painting Music in the Tuileries Garden (1862). Modest Mussorgsky was inspired to compose Pictures at an Exhibition in 1874 by looking at paintings. One of them showed children playing in the Tuileries garden.

 

Park Attractions

Statues
The garden houses a collection of sculptures made in marble and bronze by famous masters. Sculptures from the funds of the French National Association of Arts and various museums are exhibited. Some works are located inside sycamore groves or even among the water surface of ponds. The first sculptures were installed at the end of the 18th century, the last ones - at the end of the 20th century (including the so-called "Tree of Vowels" by Giuseppe Penone).

Trees
The garden is planted with many trees that have the French status of "remarkable tree" (they are marked with a corresponding index), as well as a wide variety of flowers in the flower beds.

Pools
The central basin has an octagonal shape, which is why it is referred to in French signs as an “octagon” (French bassin octogonal).