and the walls of the Sorbonne, on 26 hectares of land, on the left bank of the calmly flowing Seine, lies the luxurious Luxembourg Garden. At one time, many great sons of the French Republic admired him, immortalizing him in paintings and serenades. I can’t help but remember the lyrical lines of Joe Dassin’s “The Garden of Luxembourg”:
Luxembourg Garden...
I haven't come here for a long time...
Here children run and leaves fall,
Here students dream of the time when their studies will end,
And teachers dream of returning to the days when it began...
The lovers slowly raise
The red carpet that autumn spread before them...
This park still remains a favorite vacation spot for Parisians, who feel comfortable and calm there. Here they prepare for exams, sitting comfortably on benches, chairs or just on the grass, and enjoy warm sunny days, walking in couples along the shady alleys that Catherine de Medici herself once walked along.
The Luxembourg Garden in Paris owes its origin to the queen, who left a bright mark on the history of France. Her name was associated with witchcraft, terror and conspiracies. The death of her husband, Henry IV, at the hands of Revallac, who unexpectedly turned from a school teacher into an ardent religious fanatic, looks very suspicious. The situation is aggravated by the fact that just the day before, Henry succumbed to Mary’s persuasion and agreed to crown her.
Having become a widow and regent of her minor son, Louis XIII, she firmly held the reins of government of the country. But it was not only power and political intrigue that interested the monarch. Thanks to her, the Cours la Reine boulevard (Queen's Boulevard), an excellent water supply system, a collection of Rubens paintings, now on display, and the Luxembourg Gardens around the Medici Palace appeared.
Having given the order to begin work in 1611, Maria thereby showed nostalgic tossing of her soul. The palace and park ensemble had many similarities with Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Garden in Florence, where she spent her best years, and also got married to Henry IV, although the groom sent a confidant to the ceremony instead of himself.
Deciding to build her own little Italy in the heart of France, the queen chose the place where the estate of the Duke of Pinay, who belonged to the Luxemburg family, who had long since left the world of the living, once stood. As planned, large wooded areas were interspersed with many flower beds, lakes and fountains, and to provide access to water, the large Arquey aqueduct was built.
Although the garden has been rebuilt more than once since the 17th century, we can still admire much of what was built in its time under great woman, for example, a horseshoe-shaped ramp and high terraces that wrap around a luxurious central fountain.
When Marie de' Medici was exposed to her adored, but mature enough for his own intrigues, son Louis from the palace, her brainchild was not left to the mercy of fate. The Luxembourg Garden was too beautiful to stop caring for. At the expense of the lands of the Carthusian monastery, its territory was increased, and later the Avenue de l’Observatoire ran from the ramp to the Paris Observatory, which marked the beginning of the popularity of the magnificent park.
In the 18th century, philosophers, playwrights, thinkers and writers – Denis Dudro and Jean-Jacques Rousseau – loved to come here for inspiration, drawn by invisible secrets, clothed in green, geometrically regular landscapes.
In 1615, construction of a castle began in the garden, which lasted until 1631, and the project was carried out by Salomon de Brosses, a Mannerist, hereditary architect who had great influence in France in the 17th century. But for interior design Maria invited her favorite painter, Peter Paul Rubens.
She was fascinated by the master’s brush - how inimitably realistic the Fleming conveyed movement on his canvases, created tender and sensual female images. With equal skill he succeeded in portraits, landscapes, and large-scale works on religious and mythological themes.
At the request of the queen, Rubens painted 24 paintings for the gallery of the Luxembourg Palace, located on the second floor (now the Senate sits here). This large cycle took place from 1622 to 1625, and it depicts all the main milestones in the life of his crowned patroness, from the blessing of the gods of her parents for the birth of the desired child, to the reconciliation of Mary with Louis after several years of misunderstanding.
At that time, no one knew that the monarch, vested with unlimited power, after many years of wandering, would be forced to live out her life in poverty and loneliness, finding her final refuge in Rubens’ house on Flower Lane in Cologne.
Now the paintings of the brilliant artist are exhibited on the 2nd floor of the Louvre in room No. 18 in the Richelieu Gallery.
Time passed, the characters changed. In 1782, Louis XVIII decided to expand the Luxembourg Palace, sacrificing six hectares of land, but when the revolution broke out, the seizure of the adjacent church properties allowed the garden to be restored to its former expanses.
The castle retained its status as a royal residence until 1789, but already in 1791 it was declared the State Palace, where the revolutionary government, the Directory, soon settled. In 1794, the palazzo also became a prison, which housed 800 prisoners. Among them was Georges Danton, one of the founders of the First French Republic.
In 1815, the House of Peers settled here, and in 1879 the Senate occupied the building, remaining there to this day.
With the arrival of Napoleon III in 1865, further changes occurred - the integrity of the territory was violated by the appearance of buildings in the southern and eastern parts green oasis, as well as Auguste Comte Street. In the process, the tree nursery that once inspired Guy de Maupassant and the botanical garden were damaged. Although Parisians tried to protest against the vandalism in a petition signed by over 12,000 people, it did not bring a positive result.
Walking along the winding paths, you want to turn into a secluded corner to dream about the past from the shade of branchy trees. In fantasies, romantic summer evenings come to life, when the queen admired the beautiful fountains and inhaled the aroma of blooming linden trees. Or I watched the fading nature in the fall, while simultaneously thinking about the next royal decree.
Today in the garden we are surrounded by many marble sculptures and monuments, but this is a relatively new decoration - they appeared in the 19th century under King Louis Philippe. There are scenes from mythology and sculptures of crowned women, and their characters are clearly and unmistakably read in stone.
Although Marie de Medici was the first to inhabit the chambers of the Luxembourg Palace, among the crowned statues we will see the first wife of King Henry IV, whom he was forced to divorce due to the lack of heirs. Marguerite de Valois, known as Queen Margot, is thinking about something and looks a bit like an ancient Greek goddess.
But the second one, she is Henry’s last wife, is the complete opposite of her. Being a very serious lady, even now Maria looks solid, without the slightest hint of affectation - a stern look from top to bottom, in her hand a rod, as a symbol of power.
You will also meet Mary Stuart, recognizing her by her proud posture and confident gaze. Although she did not remain queen for long, being the wife of the sickly King Francis II (1559-1560), and after his death she returned to Scotland, she was also honored to be in the company of the other 20 statues of famous ladies of France.
Other French queens: Bertrade of Laon, Anne of Austria, Saint Bathilde, Margaret of Provence, Anne of Brittany, Blanche of Castile, Clotilde of Burgundy.
The sleep of the proud queens is diluted by the statues of the Luxembourg Gardens, depicting scenes of the “everyday life” of ancient maidens and gods, as well as sculptures and monuments from classics to surrealism.
Next to the palace building there is a nude “Woman with Apples” created by Jean Terzieff. There is also a miniature copy of the Statue of Liberty (“Liberty Enlightening the World”) by Auguste Bartholdi. Unlike its 46-meter and 30-ton sister, presented to America for its hundredth year of independence, this one does not exceed 2 meters.
In 2011, someone damaged it at night by knocking off the hand holding the torch, and therefore, after two years of restoration, the statue was moved to a more secure area.
There are four Little Liberties left in Paris, and the remaining three are on Swan Island in the middle of the Seine, on a barge moored nearby and in the Museum of Arts and Crafts.
The Luxembourg Gardens are also decorated with monuments to such famous people, like: singer and critic Charles Baudelaire, poet and literary impressionist Paul Verlaine, founder of the psychological novel - Stendhal, realist prose writer Gustave Flaubert.
Pay attention to the creator of the biographical method in literature - Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve, the Rococo painter - Antoine Watteau, the romantic painter - Engen Delacroix and the composer, author of numerous operas - Jules Massenet. The monument to the surrealist poet Paul Eluard, made in the appropriate manner by the avant-garde sculptor Ossip Zadkine, has an unusual appearance.
You will be pleased to meet Chopin and Beethoven, Paul Verlaine, Henri Murget and the writer George Sand. There are also monuments here politicians: Pierre Guillaume and Mendes-France, as well as the engineer-inventor and physicist Edouard Branly.
Walking through the azure fields, you get the impression that you are constantly moving from one era to another, as if you are traveling through worlds. This feeling appears partly thanks to sculptures from ancient Greek mythologies.
This is Theseus at the time of the battle with the minotaur, and the satyr Silenus. Suddenly, Hercules appears before the audience, trying to turn the course of the river Alpheus and Ario with a dolphin. There are also many sculptures of animals in the park, frozen in graceful poses, created by the sculptor Auguste Cain.
Numerous tourists and local residents are attracted to such an exquisite place with open spaces and secluded nooks and crannies by the opportunity to sit by one of the fountains with ponds.
To the west of the palace you can find one of them, dedicated to the graphic artist and painter Eugene Delacroix with his bust in the middle of a composition with allegorical statues. It was sculpted in bronze by Jules Dalot in 1890.
Going south, you will see the Observatory garden with a fountain, where the main composition is the Earth, held by four female figures symbolizing America, Africa, Asia and Europe. The work is called: “Four Directions of the World.” Our planet is located inside a hollow air sphere surrounded by a ring on which the signs of the zodiac are located one after another.
Under each girl, a pair of Neptune's sea horses burst out of the water element, and next to them are fish, releasing jets of water in response to those sent in their direction by turtles located at the opposite end of the pool.
Four sculptors worked on the fountain: Louis Villemot, Pierre Legrain, Emmanuel Fremy and Jean-Baptis Carpeaux.
In the center of the park, the large octagonal pond Grand Bassin attracts visitors. It is especially interesting for children who love to sail boats on the water.
By the way, if you don’t have your own, there is a selection of models nearby that you can rent.
Joe Dassin did not forget to mention this entertainment in his song, continuing to suffer from love:
Where this child goes, I once passed...
He follows almost the tracks left by me...
My boats are still swaying on the waves of the pool...
Although the years have died,
The memories are alive...
Another day without love
Another day of life...
A rainy day that's fading away
Rainy day away from you...
But the most famous is the Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens. It became the way we see it in 1862. Moreover, it had to be moved 30 m to extend Medici Avenue.
An adjoining pond appeared, 50 m long, into which several species of fish were released, and now there are even catfish there. The water surface, like a mirror, reflects the hanging garlands of ivy.
It is here that visitors come, wanting to escape the summer heat in the coolness of the chestnut alleys, and at the same time admire the sculptural sketch that captures the touching moment of the meeting of the nymph Galatea with her beloved shepherd Atys, over whom the jealous cyclops Polyphemus looms. This architectonics also appeared later, and the authorship belongs to the sculptor Otten.
Once demolished, the statues of the Seine and Rhone returned to their places, and the coats of arms of France and the Medici family were restored. And if you go around this fountain, you can see another one - “Leda and the Swan”, where the central part is occupied by a beautiful bas-relief.
On the side of the orangery in the wing of the Luxembourg Palace, the first public museum was opened in 1750, where everyone could see an exhibition of royal paintings. And in 1818, it became the first European museum of modern art, where artists submitted their works to the public.
In 1871, Andre Gilles was appointed its manager, the same illustrator who became famous for his cartoons, often published in Parisian newspapers, as well as for the poster for the tavern in Montmartre, “The Agile Rabbit.” Under his leadership, the most talented artists and sculptors began to exhibit their own works here, which was the reason for awarding the institution the title of State Museum of Contemporary Art in 1937.
Ernest Hemingway, who lived nearby in the 1920s, was unable to pass by the opening day. In his book “A Holiday that is Always with You,” he mentions that he tried to choose the road in such a way as to walk through the Luxembourg Gardens and turn into the museum for the paintings of the impressionists Monet and Manet, as well as the post-impressionist Cézanne.
In 1986, most of the collections were transferred to, freeing up space for thematic exhibitions, which change periodically. You can see them every day, except December 25, on Monday and Friday: 10:00-21:30, and on other days until 19:00.
In addition to launching boats in this paradise There are also other entertainments. For example, you can ride on an old carousel, play on a children's playground with lots of slides and swings, or ride on a pony or carriage. There are even courts for playing basketball, bocce, tennis and its predecessor, jeu de paume. Those who prefer to have a more relaxed time can arrange a chess competition with local grandmasters.
Visit the music pavilion, where live music often plays. External wall buildings are used to house the works of photographers, so that in one place you can enjoy both beautiful musical works, and receive contemplative and aesthetic pleasure.
Be sure to visit the Guignol puppet theater with Petrushka in leading role. It is open from 11 to 15:30, although not every day, so check the schedule of performances in advance. Entrance costs 6 euros.
Photo gallery Luxembourg Gardens in Paris
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The left bank of the Seine, across the road is the Latin Quarter, the buildings of universities and lyceums of the Sorbonne. Here students finish their homework, here older people relax on iron chairs during their lunch break, here mothers, grandmothers and nannies walk young citizens of the French Republic in the green alleys.
This is the Luxembourg Garden (le Jardin du Luxembourg), 26 hectares of peace and quiet in the middle of kilometers of the eternal bustle of Paris. How can one not recall here the beginning of a twelve-minute composition performed by Joe Dassin:
"Luxembourg Garden...
It's been so long since I came here!
Here are the children running, here are the leaves falling,
Students dream about the end of classes,
And the teachers talk about their beginnings...”
Marie de Médicis ordered the creation of the Luxembourg Gardens in 1611. This happened shortly after a simple schoolteacher from Angoulême, François Ravaillac, who suddenly turned into a religious fanatic, stabbed to death her husband, King Henry IV, who exchanged his Protestant faith for the Catholic one for the sake of the French throne. Mary, crowned at her urgent request the day before the death of her husband, overnight became not only a crowned widow, but also regent for her son, the eight-year-old King Louis XIII. In short, there was enough authority. And she was a powerful woman - just look at her portrait by Frans Pourbus the Younger.
Growing up in Florence, one of the centers of the Italian Renaissance, Maria, even in Paris, which was wild for her, strived for beauty. When will she became a full-fledged manager of the state treasury, ordered not only to reconstruct the castle outside the city limits, but also to arrange a garden around it. And so that the trees would not wither, she ordered an aqueduct to be built to it. The builders, inspired by the Queen’s beloved Florentine Pitti Palazzo and her personal wishes, completed the castle. It must be said that he appeared on the site of the estate of the Duke of Pinet from the Luxembourg family, who had long since left the world. If the name of the duke's family had not passed on to the palace and garden, it is unlikely that anyone would now remember his lordship.
The Luxembourg Garden has preserved to this day much of what was conceived and done at the beginning of the 17th century. For example, a ramp with terraces around a large fountain, creating the feeling of moving from one dimension of the garden to another.
The Luxembourg Gardens are not very far from - you just have to cross the Seine on the Saint-Michel Bridge and walk along the Saint-Michel Boulevard to the Rue Vaugirard, and then turn right.
You can get to the Luxembourg Gardens by buses: No. 58, 84, 89, stop “Luxembourg” and No. 63, 70, 87, 86, “Saint Sulpice”.
To the north of the Luxembourg Gardens, although not exactly nearby, there are the Saint-Sulpice (named after the nearby Church of St. Sulpice) and Mabillon (named after the scientist and Benedictine monk Jean) metro stations Mabillon).
And the nearest metro station, Luxembourg, is located on Boulevard Saint-Michel, diagonally from one of the entrances to the garden. Near the southern end of the garden, bordered on both sides by the Observatory Avenue (avenue de l`Observatiore), there is the Port-Royal station.
Near the Port Royal station (translated as Royal Gate), our compatriot will find two virtual attractions at once. The first is the Paris meridian (it was considered zero before the transfer of this honorary title to Greenwich). The meridian coincides with Observatory Avenue, and it is also marked by a fountain with the sculpture “Four Sides of the World.”
The second is the real restaurant “Closerie des Lilas” (“Lilac front garden”), in which the now virtual Lenin and Trotsky loved to play chess. However, many other famous personalities have been here, from Arthur Rimbaud to Mick Jagger, who is still alive today. Does it make sense to visit a restaurant? It's not cheap, to put it mildly. But if you decide to go to Lenin's or Jagger's places and completely despise money (especially when you have it), then you, of course, will not be afraid of a saddle of lamb stuffed with herbs with black truffles for 50 euros or, say, oysters - from 20 to 30 euros for half a dozen. What can we say about the signature rum baba for 12.50!
The Luxembourg Palace (Palais du Luxembourg) was rebuilt, let me remind you, for Marie de Medici in 1615-1631 according to the design of a prominent representative of Mannerism in architecture, Salomon de Brosse.
Restless in her cultural and political desires, Maria ordered for the new palace not just anyone, but Peter Paul himself Rubens has 21 canvases with scenes from his own life and three portraits in addition. They are now stored in .
But the dowager queen did not enjoy the garden and palace for long: soon after construction was completed, her son Louis XIII, tired of enduring his mother’s intrigues, expelled her from Paris. By that time, he trusted more to another intriguer - his prime minister, Cardinal Richelieu. For more than ten years, the French-Italian queen wandered around European capitals until she ended her days alone in Cologne - in the house of her beloved painter Rubens, who had then been gone for two years in this world.
And in the Luxembourg Palace life went on as usual. Another son of Marie de Medici, Gaston d'Orléans, and his daughter Anna Marie Louise d'Orléans, by the way, Duchess of Montpensier, settled here. This princess of royal blood could not get married for an indecently long time and therefore received the nickname Grand Mademoiselle. Father and daughter also did not escape intrigues and conspiracies, but they saved their heads, and at the same time the palace for their descendants. And the park was looked after.
Until the French Revolution of 1789, the Luxembourg Palace remained a royal residence. In 1791 it was declared the State Palace, where members of the Directory immediately settled - this, if anyone has forgotten history, is what the revolutionary government was called. After the fall of Napoleon, from 1815, the palace housed the House of Peers, and from 1879, the Senate.
Yes, imagine - right here in park palace, 348 senators sit, whose work is supported by 2 thousand Senate employees. And while you and I are walking along the paths of the Luxembourg Gardens, the senators, looking through the windows of the palace at us and their very few sentries, decide the fate of France. And maybe even peace! Currently, the Senate of the French Republic is headed by Gérard Larcher. Here he is, in the photo above, receiving a delegation from Azerbaijan.
Of course, you won’t get into the Luxembourg Palace itself - even French deputies don’t like it when their work is interfered with. But to the palace museum, please. I'll tell you more about it later.
Let's walk through the park. Standing facing the Senate, let's move clockwise from the green dial of the Luxembourg Gardens. You won't have to go far. Right next to the Luxembourg Palace we will see the sculpture “Woman with Apples”. Its author is Jean Terzieff. Actually, he comes from Russia, more precisely from Kabarda, and his name is Avenir Chemerzin. And his son Laurent Terzieff became a famous French actor.
A couple more steps, and we come out to one of the most beautiful fountains in the world - the Medici Fountain, built in the Baroque style by the same architect Salomon de Brosses for the same Marie de Medici.
In the central niche we see the beautiful Galatea with the shepherd Atys just at the moment when they were caught by the jealous Cyclops Polyphemus (the work of the sculptor Otten).
And on the reverse side we will find the bas-relief “Leda and the Swan” by de Valois. 
We follow our arrow further and begin to admire the marble statues of famous French queens that appeared here in the 19th century: from Margot - Margaret of Navarre (by the way, the first wife of Henry IV, whom he divorced due to her childlessness),
to Maria de Medici, his second and, as you already know, last wife.
Nearby, under the chestnut trees, there are sculptures of Clotilde of Burgundy, Matilda of Flanders, Margaret of Anjou... True, our Anna Yaroslavna (known in France as Agnes of Russia), the wife of King Henry I, is not here.
But there is, of course, Mary Stuart. Just imagine, she was also the queen of France, the wife of King Francis II, although not for long - in 1559-1560. And when her sickly husband died, she returned to Scotland. You know what happened next from Schiller's play.
Walking through the Luxembourg Gardens, Joseph Brodsky, as if enchanted, stopped at the statue of the Scots Queen. And later he wrote a whole cycle of poems “Twenty Sonnets to Mary Stuart”:
Having passed his earthly path to the middle,
I, having entered the Luxembourg Gardens,
I look at the hardened gray hairs
thinkers, writers; and back-
ladies and gentlemen walk forward...
And you, Marie, tirelessly,
you stand in a garland of stone friends -
French queens during it -
silently, with a sparrow on his head.
The garden looks like a cross between the Pantheon
with the famous "Breakfast on the Grass".
We go further to pay tribute to those whose monuments decorated the garden: poets Paul Verlaine and Charles Baudelaire (pictured below), novelists Gustave Flaubert and Stendhal, critic and literary scholar Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve, composer Massenet, artists Antoine Watteau and Eugene Delacroix.
Let's not forget the surrealist poet Paul Eluard - a very original monument to him by Ossip Zadkine is also here.
Liked? Nearby, on 100 bis rue d'Assas, is the Zadkine Museum, visible from the garden. If you have time and desire, come see other works of our compatriot (he is originally from Vitebsk), the great French sculptor. Moreover, entry to it is free and it is open every day, except Monday, from 10.00 to 18.00.
And here is the statue “Liberty Enlightening the World” by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. It is only two meters high. The French sent her 30-ton, 46-meter “sister” as a gift to the Americans for the 100th anniversary of the United States (you can read more about the American Lady Liberty here) . But just in case, they left as many as four copies in Paris: here in the Luxembourg Gardens, and also on Swan Island in the middle of the Seine, in the Museum of Arts and Crafts and, finally, on a barge moored next to the right bank of the Seine.
A little further in the circle is the small Guignol Theater or the Puppet Theater of the Luxembourg Gardens. Guignol is a folk character, akin to Parsley. Entrance – 6 euros. Performances are given here at 11.00 and 15.30, but not every day. Therefore, if you would like to visit the Parisian brother of our Petrushka, first go to the theater’s website and compare your plans with its program.
Who among our compatriots has not walked through the Luxembourg Gardens before you and me! Poet Osip Mandelstam, who lived in Paris in 1907-1908, Marina Tsvetaeva, who wrote the poem “In the Luxembourg Garden” a year later. In the spring of 1911, Anna Akhmatova loved to be here with her friend - the poor, unknown artist Amedeo Modigliani, whose works are now sold for hundreds of millions of euros.
So we made a circle. It will close for us near the Luxembourg Gardens Museum.
The Luxembourg Garden Museum (Musée du Luxembourg) is located in the wing of the Luxembourg Palace that is closer to the greenhouse.
In 1750, an exhibition of “Royal Paintings” was held here. Thus, the building became the first public art museum. It was after the revolution, in 1793, that it was opened to the public! In 1818, Europe's first museum of modern art appeared in the Luxembourg Palace, where artists could exhibit their works during their lifetime.
In 1871, illustrator Andre Gilles was appointed curator of the museum. , widely known to Parisians for his newspaper cartoons, and also for the sign he painted for the “Nimble Rabbit” tavern on. Monsieur Gilles managed to bring disparate collections of works of art under one roof and recreate a sculpture museum. In 1937 it became known as the State Museum of Contemporary Art.
In the 1920s, future Nobel laureate in literature Ernest Hemingway lived nearby, on Rue Cardinal Lemoine. “I tried to go out along some street to the Luxembourg Gardens and, passing through the garden, went into the Luxembourg Museum, where at that time there were magnificent paintings by the Impressionists...” Hemingway recalled in the book "A holiday that is always with you".“I went there almost every day because of Cezanne and to see paintings by Manet and Monet.”
And in 1986, the main part of the collection of the Luxembourg Museum was transferred to the Orsay Museum. This is “optimization”! Nowadays, thematic exhibitions are mainly held here. Among the latest - “Fragonard in Love”, “The Tudors”, “Renaissance and Dream: Bosch, Veronese, El Greco”, “Chagall. Between war and peace."
The museum is open daily from 10.00 to 19.00, and on Mondays and Fridays until 21.30. The Christmas holiday is December 25th.
If you still have energy after our walk through the Luxembourg Gardens, take a short hike to the places of military glory of d'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers. According to the novel by Alexandre Dumas, they all lived very close: Aramis - on the rue Vaugirard between the rue des Cassettes and Servandoni, Porthos (and, by the way, Monsieur de Treville too) - on the rue du Vieux Colombier (Old Dovecote), Athos - on Ferou Street. And D'Artagnan himself is on Rue Servandoni. True, Dumas, with his characteristic humor, left her the old name in his novel - Gravediggers.
Good luck with your literary and geographical research. Wander until the morning. You don’t have to leave the vicinity of the Luxembourg Gardens at all, because tomorrow you and I will go to get acquainted with the Latin Quarter. And he's right across the street. More precisely, across the Boulevard Saint-Michel. Look at the photo: Pan was shot against the backdrop of the Pantheon. And the Pantheon is already the Latin Quarter!
Diana Norgaard / flickr.com Jim Linwood / flickr.com Joe deSousa / flickr.com Son of Groucho / flickr.com Kosala Bandara / flickr.com Kathleen Conklin / flickr.com Andrew Crump / flickr.com Jon / flickr.com Francisco Anzola /flickr.com
It often happens that guests of Paris, having walked along the noisy streets of this modern European city, they want to relax in some romantic place, where time seems to have stopped and the breath of the past can be felt. One of these places is the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens.
The road to it lies through the 6th Parisian quarter (in fact, this is the center of Paris). Nearby is the ancient University of Sarbonne and Notre Dame, glorified by Victor Hugo (also known as Notre Dame Cathedral).
Elegant and numerous sculptures, beautiful fountains, well-groomed alleys and lawns await guests of the Luxembourg Gardens.
After Henry IV was assassinated in 1610, his wife, Marie de Medici, became queen of France. The widow missed her native Italy and decided that the Luxembourg Palace should be erected in Paris in the style of Florence's Palazzo Pitti, where Mary spent her childhood. A garden should be built around the palace. The site for future construction was purchased from one of the dukes of the Luxembourg family - hence its further name.
While some craftsmen worked on the slender forms of the palace, others devoted their energy to laying out the garden. They built an aqueduct in the form of a bridge on its territory. The water flows through it into a beautiful fountain, which still pleases the eyes of tourists. Couples in love and simply romantic people especially appreciate that part of the garden in which another famous fountain named after Marie de Medici is located. Gradually the garden area expanded. Nearby there was a monastery belonging to the Carthusian order. But in 1617, by imperial command, part of the monastery lands was transferred to the management of the garden. After the death of Marie de Medici, the landscaping of the garden was managed by her heirs. So Louis XIV ordered that the Avenue de l'Obsevatoire be included within its boundaries.
The second half of the 18th century was marked by the French Revolution. Now ordinary townspeople walked along the shady alleys of the garden, and in the Luxembourg Palace itself a prison was set up, in which until recently noble Parisians languished. However, after some time everything returned to normal and the freed nobility again enjoyed the well-kept garden.
In 1865, French intellectuals, including the then young Guy de Maupassant (in the future - famous writer) actively protested against the work that took place in the garden. The fact is that the ruler of France, Napoleon III, ordered the construction of a new street, which later received the name Auguste Comte. According to the design, this street cut the Luxembourg Gardens in two. A tree nursery and a botanical garden were on her way. In total, 12 thousand signatures were collected, but construction was not stopped. But numerous marble statues, which are one of the main decorations of the garden, were placed there by order of the same Napoleon III.
The Luxembourg Garden covers an area of about 26 hectares. Here guests can see 106 sculptures, as well as fountains. The most famous of them is Central, located near the Luxembourg Palace. There, near a large body of water, they rent out models of sailboats. Executed in Italian style The Medici fountain is a frequent meeting place for couples in love. And also in the garden there are well-groomed flower beds, terraces and a music pavilion, where concerts are regularly held.
Jon / flickr.com Chris Waits / flickr.com Hugh Millward / flickr.com Alison and Fil / flickr.com Andrew Crump / flickr.com David Stanley / flickr.com Cristian Bortes / flickr.com Randy Connolly / flickr.com Joe deSousa / flickr.com Mark Fugarino / flickr.com
During the revolution of the 18th century, the Luxembourg Palace was a prison for representatives of the overthrown government; today the French Senate sits here. However, ordinary guests They are happy there - there is a museum there. In order to get inside you need to go through a fenced courtyard, the landmark is the dome rising above the central part of the Luxembourg Palace.
The Luxembourg Palace does not leave tourists indifferent with its grace. Here they see the features of Tuscan architecture - the same one that Maria de Medici yearned for when remembering her native Florence. But, in addition, the architect Solomon de Brosses left the details of the classical French school in the outlines of the palace. When asked what style the Luxembourg Palace belongs to, experts cannot answer unequivocally. There are elements of both Renaissance and Baroque in it. Be that as it may, judging by the memoirs of contemporaries, Maria de Medici was pleased with the appearance and decoration of the palace. And she even ordered 24 canvases with scenes from her life from the famous artist Rubens. These paintings became one of the decorations of the halls.
Kathleen Conklin / flickr.com Diana Norgaard / flickr.com Ken & Nyetta / flickr.com Kosala Bandara / flickr.com Dirk Haun / flickr.com Mark Fugarino / flickr.com
The Luxembourg Gardens in Paris are also famous for their flower beds. The fact is that having been there once, after three years you can return there for new impressions. It is with this frequency that gardeners change plants. And in closed greenhouses, decorative plantings are carefully grown, which, after becoming stronger, are transferred to the Luxembourg Garden itself, being one of its best decorations. In addition, temporary exhibitions are held in the greenhouses. Visitors can see rare plants, including tropical ones.
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In the center of the Medici fountain stands a centaur. He is tense and preparing for a lightning-fast jump on Acis and Galatea. Somewhat pretentious, but still beautiful forms are inherent in the Baroque style and reflect one of the myths of antiquity. If you go around the fountain, you can see a bas-relief depicting a swan and Leda. There is also a pond with clear water near the fountain, in which you can see a variety of fish.
When the Luxembourg Gardens opens your eyes to a fountain, in the center of which there are four girls holding the earth’s sphere on their fragile shoulders, it means that you have reached the Observatory fountain, on which several talented architects and sculptors worked. Each woman’s face is individual, reflecting the features of women from Eurasia, Africa, North and South America– these are the continents they symbolize.
In the center of the rectangular pool is a bust of a man with six water jets. This is the Delacroix fountain, named after the famous French artist.
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The statues located in the Luxembourg Gardens are divided into several groups.
Paris is an amazing city filled with beautiful buildings and parks. The famous Tuileries Park can be called the most famous in the city. But the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens are perhaps the most favorite place not only for Parisians themselves, but also for guests of the city. It’s not for nothing that Hugo and Balzac even mentioned him in their works.
The Luxembourg Gardens are located on the left bank of the Seine. The Sorbonne University and the Latin Quarter are located nearby. There are always a lot of students on its lawns finishing their assignments, and mothers and grandmothers stroll along the alleys of the park with their kids. The park always has a calm and peaceful atmosphere; there are always a lot of people here. The garden is an oasis of peace and quiet amid the bustle of Paris. Joe Dassin very accurately conveyed the atmosphere of the park in his song. Since its foundation, the Luxembourg Garden has become a favorite place for Parisians of all ages. Years and centuries pass, and the alleys of the park are still crowded with people.
Like any famous landmark, the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris has its own history. The beautiful park appeared thanks to the whim of Marie de Medici. It was she who gave the order to lay out the garden in 1611. This event occurred shortly after the death of her husband Henry IV, who was stabbed to death by a religious fanatic. Maria de Medici was crowned, at her enormous request, literally the day before the unfortunate event. As a result, she changed her faith for the sake of the French throne. Overnight, she became regent under her son, gaining unlimited power.
Marie de Medici grew up in beautiful Florence, so Paris seemed incredibly gloomy and cold to her. Having received power, she immediately gave orders for the arrangement of a beautiful park and palace that would remind her of what she was used to in Florence. For this purpose, Marie de Medici acquired the former estate of the then deceased Duke of Pinay, who was a representative of the Luxembourg family. It is for this reason that the castle and park got their name. Thus, the duke's surname was immortalized and gained worldwide fame. If the Luxmeboug Garden had not been laid out on the territory of his estate, it is unlikely that anyone would have remembered his name even after a hundred years.
Initially, the park was planned to be planted big amount trees, arrange many ponds and create numerous flower beds. For all this it was necessary to have water, so an aqueduct was built. Much that was conceived and brought to life in that era has survived even to this day.
The palace was built within fifteen years. To this day it appears before us in the form of an openwork Tuscan castle. During construction work all the wishes of Maria Medici were fulfilled, who wanted to get a palace that reminded her of her native Florence.
It is worth noting that the main objects of the garden are numerous bodies of water. And at one time a large central fountain was planned as the center of the park composition; it remains the main place in the park to this day. The pond is surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped ramp with terraces of flowers.
The most famous and romantic fountain of the garden, called the Medici, has even survived to this day. The reservoir was built by Salomon Debros (architect of the palace) in 1624. On the other side of the complex there is a bas-relief - Leda and the Swan. And the front part of the fountain itself looks more like a pond in which fish live.
In addition, there is an observatory fountain in the garden, which was created by several architects at once. The center of the entire composition is four girls, on whose shoulders the earthly sphere rests. The figures of women represent the four continents on Earth. But Australia was deliberately not included in the composition, because, in the opinion of the authors, it would have violated all the harmony.
The park, which had not yet been fully developed, was already very popular among the residents of Paris in the seventeenth century. In general, the garden has experienced the most different times. After the Great French Revolution, noble prisoners walked around it, and the palace itself became an elite prison. It was during this period that the park area acquired its current size, since the revolutionaries annexed the lands of the neighboring monastery. Currently, the Luxembourg Gardens cover an area of about 26 hectares.
The park was opened to the public only in the eighteenth century. Celebrities such as Denis Diderot and Jean-Jacques Rousseau loved to stroll along its alleys.
It is worth noting that the park has seen many celebrities on its territory throughout its history. And its landscapes are depicted in the works of poets and artists. This is what Joe Dassin sings about in one of his songs. The Luxembourg Gardens in general was a place of inspiration for many creative people, among whom were not only the French, but also Russian writers and poets: Joseph Brodsky, Anna Akhmatova, Maria Tsvetaeva.
The garden remained forever captured in the works of David and Delacroix, George Sand, Hugo, Balzac, Hemingway.
And now on the Russian stage you can see a lyrical comedy based on the play by Lev and Alexander Shargorodsky “The Garden of Luxembourg”. BDT - Bolshoi Drama Theater named after G. A. Tovstonogov - timed the performance to coincide with the 85th anniversary of G. A. Shtil, People's Artist of Russia.
Speaking about the park, it is impossible not to mention the famous palace of the same name, built by Maria de Medici. True, its building was rebuilt several times, but still it has retained its lightness and airiness to this day. At one time, Maria de Medici commissioned the famous artist Rubens for 21 canvases for the new palace, which reflected scenes from her life, as well as three of her own portraits. Currently, the paintings are kept in the Louvre.
Maria de Medici was not able to enjoy her creation for long. Soon after the completion of construction, she was expelled from Paris by her own son, Louis XIII, tired of his mother’s intrigues. At that time, he had great confidence in an equally intriguing prime minister known as Cardinal Richelieu. Maria de Medici wandered around Europe for more than ten years, after which she settled completely alone in Cologne, in the house of her beloved artist Rubens, who had already died by that time.
Meanwhile, life was in full swing at the Luxembourg Palace. Another son of the queen, Gaston d'Orleans, and his daughter (Duchess de Montpensier) settled within its walls. Until the revolution of 1789, the palace remained royal. And in 1791 the building was declared state. It housed the Directory, then the House of Peers and the Senate.
The Luxembourg Garden (photo given in the article) is decorated with numerous sculptures. Near the palace building there is “Woman with Apples”. And very close by you can see marble statues of the most famous French queens, which appeared here in the nineteenth century.
The garden was also decorated with sculptures by Paul Varlain, Charles Baudelaire, Gustave Flaubert, Stendhal, Massenet, Eugene Delacroix and Antoine Watteau. In general, throughout the park there are a lot of stone and bronze sculptures that appeared here in different periods. There are 106 of them in total.
In addition, the garden is famous beautiful flower beds and green terraces.
On the territory of the garden there are a number of buildings, which include greenhouses and a greenhouse. Their presence is simply necessary, since gardeners change the plants in each flowerbed three times a year. The seedlings are cultivated in a greenhouse, and the flowers then fall into flower beds. In total, 180 varieties of plants are propagated in the greenhouse and greenhouses, including tropical forms. IN summer time they feature temporary exhibitions for tourists.
According to tourists, this is one of those places that are definitely worth visiting in Paris. Numerous mentions of the park in Dumas’ book about the Three Musketeers and Joe Dassin’s song will intrigue anyone, so you need to see the legendary garden with your own eyes. This extraordinary place amazingly brings together representatives of all generations on its territory: students, mothers with children, elderly people, athletes on a jog.
The park can safely be called amazing beautiful place. Only the French could create such splendor and skillfully maintain it for many years. When you get to its alleys, you simply don’t have time to admire the beauty of the architectural complexes, fountains, flower beds and palm trees. The Luxembourg Garden amazes not only with its beauty, but also with its cleanliness, despite the large number of visitors every day. It's truly impossible not to love this amazing place. Beautiful garden puts you in a lyrical mood. It’s not for nothing that poets’ poems were born while walking along its alleys.
The Luxembourg Gardens are open to the public; entry to its territory is completely free, as is visiting all the sights. The only place that is currently impossible to get to is the Luxembourg Palace. The Senate is located in its building, and therefore entry to tourists and other visitors is closed. Once a month, excursions are organized, which can only be attended by appointment, which is done for safety reasons.
The Luxembourg Gardens can be called one of the most romantic places in Paris. Shady alleys, ponds and fountains, stunning sculptures and a beautiful palace - all this is worth spending the whole day walking around, enjoying the beauty of the park.
With its appearance, the famous palace and park complex, located on 26 hectares in the area Latin Quarter, obliged to Marie de' Medici, widow of the French king Henry IV. Italian by birth, she ordered the construction of a country palace, like two peas in a pod, where the queen was born and raised.
In 1611 around the palace, in architectural solution which combines Renaissance and Baroque, the park was laid out in a strictly geometric order, with terraces and flower beds in french style, and later a park area in the English style was laid out. The decoration of the Luxembourg Gardens, in addition to the palace, in which the French Senate now meets and the National Museum operates, are three fountains, including the Marie de Medici fountain in the Baroque style, numerous marble sculptures, skillfully trimmed trees, manicured lawns and incredibly beautiful flower beds. Palm trees are lined up everywhere right in huge tubs - these heat-loving plants are transferred to the Greenhouse for the winter.
Surrounded by a high wrought-iron fence, the Luxembourg Gardens - perfect place for walks. And it is good at any time of the year or day - quiet, spacious, romantic. Here you can wander for hours, admiring the views, looking at the monument to Marie de Medici or the 2-meter Statue of Liberty, the fourth in a row, and other equally magnificent creations of famous sculptors. Or you can take a chair from the large octagonal fountain and go with it to any corner of the garden - to relax or read a book. Bright green lawns seem designed for lying on the grass on a hot summer day or having a modest, quiet picnic - this is par for the course for Paris.
However, in the garden all conditions have been created for active rest: many sports and playgrounds, tennis courts, carousels for children. Ponies and donkeys run along the alleys and carriages ride. The music pavilion regularly hosts concerts and exhibitions. The Theater of Miniatures is open. And along the water surface of the large fountain you can launch models of sailboats. There are cafes nearby where you can enjoy a cup of coffee or a glass of wine in the open air.
The address of the Luxembourg Gardens (original name - Jardin du Luxembourg) is as follows: Rue de Vaugirard, Boulevard St. Michel, Rue Auguste-Comte and Rue Guynemer, Paris, France.
You can walk to the Luxembourg Gardens at the end of Boulevard San Michel. Or take the metro to the station and Odeon, or take the RER train to the Luxembourg station. City buses No. 21, 27, 38, 58, 82, 83, 84, 85 and 89 also run here.
From November to March, the Garden receives visitors from 8:15 to 16:45. From April to October - from 7:30 to 21:45. And only on Mondays - until 17:00. Opening hours also depend on the season and the work of the Senate.
Entry to the Luxembourg Gardens is free.
After relaxing in the silence of the Luxembourg Park, you can go for other vivid impressions and emotions - for example, to the Louvre, which the garden abuts. It's not far from here to others famous places Paris - the Invalides' Home, the Eiffel Tower or the Zadkine Museum.
