One of the outstanding sights of France is the Palais Royal in Paris, a luxurious palace and park complex, which was once the residence of the most influential people in the state. Directly opposite the Palais-Royal-Musee-du-Louvre metro station and the northern side of the Louvre, there is a majestic palace with a square and a garden hidden behind the old buildings surrounding it. The history of the Palais-Royal complex began in the 17th century, when the palace was named Cardinal and belonged to the first royal minister, the Duke de Richelieu. Since then, the building and the space surrounding it have undergone many changes and reconstructions. But the Palais-Royal can still be considered the "capital of Paris", as Karamzin wrote about it, traveling through France in 1790.
The Cardinal's Legacy
When in 1624 Cardinal de Richelieu assumed the post of first minister and head of the government of Louis XIII, he was looking for a dwelling worthy of his position in the immediateproximity to the Louvre. They became a large estate Anzhen with several buildings, a garden and defensive structures. For the reconstruction of the palace, Richelieu attracted one of the best Parisian architects, Jacques Lemercier, who skillfully combined elements of classicism and baroque.
The work was carried out from 1633 to 1639, and when the construction was completed, the palace, called the Palais Cardinal, competed with the home of the French kings. The area of the Louvre in those days was four times smaller, and the appearance is much more modest than today. Louis XIII was very unhappy with this circumstance, but the cardinal diplomatically resolved the incident by making a will, according to which his palace passed in favor of the king.
After the death of Richelieu in December 1642, Louis XIII owned the sumptuous residence of the cardinal for half a year, living until May 1643. The widow of the king, Anne of Austria, regent of the five-year-old Louis XIV, moves with the young king and his three-year-old brother to the Palais Cardinal. The queen, the eternal opponent of Richelieu, renames the Palais Cardinal to the Palais Royal. The palace also becomes the home of Cardinal Mazarin, French minister and Anne's protégé.
The future Sun King spent all his childhood in this apartment, but after leaving the palace, he never returned to it. However, the monarch made one of the outbuildings at the disposal of his official favorite, the Duchess Louise de La Vallière. And in 1680, according to the decree of the monarch, the theater "Comédie Française" was founded at the Palais Royal.
Residence of the Dukes of Orleans
Since 1661, Louis XIV focused on the construction of Versailles, and the Palais Royal in Paris passed into the possession of his younger brother Philip I of Orleans. The palace complex underwent global changes at the end of the 18th century under Duke Louis Philippe of Orleans (Egalite). Constantly short of money for his luxurious lifestyle, he figured out how to make a regular income through his real estate. The architect Victor Louis built identical houses on three sides around the perimeter of the garden with arched galleries on the ground floors, which housed the first Parisian coffee houses, fashionable clubs and countless shops.
Paris Entertainment Center
The arcade around the palace has become an expensive and prestigious place. A very figurative description of the Palais Royal in Paris at the end of the 18th century can be found in the Letters of a Russian Traveler by Nikolai Karamzin. The galleries traded in jewelry, precious stones, works of art, goods brought from all over the world, books and manuscripts, magnificent fabrics and many different curiosities. The palace park, where the circus tent unfolded, the Comedie Francaise theater, the galleries with their coffee houses and brightly lit shop windows were always full of people, they became a fashionable place for the entertainment of Parisians. Quite quickly, gambling houses and entertainment establishments appeared here. The police did not appear in the Palais Royal area, having received a ban on patrolling this area.
During the French Republic
After the revolutionary events in 1793, Egalite was executed and the palace was nationalized. In 1814, with the restoration of the monarchy, Louis XVIII returned their property to the Orleans family. The palace interior was completely renovated by the architect Pierre Francois Fontaine, the shopping and entertainment establishments in the galleries were closed, and the Palais Royal in Paris became a brilliant center of high society social life. In 1848, during the next revolution, the palace was plundered, and under the Paris Commune, as a symbol of monarchical power, it was burned. Some parts of the building and the interior were completely burned down. The Palais Royal became the property of the state, in 1873 it was restored by the city authorities, after which it housed government offices.
The last reconstruction took place in the 1980s. Since the building is now occupied by the Ministry of Culture, State and Constitutional Councils, the palace, except for the western wing, is practically not accessible to tourists.
Buren Columns
During the last restoration, the Ministry of Culture decided to renovate the square in front of the palace entrance. Since 1980, as part of the Two Squares program, the sculptural design has been designed by the popular French conceptual artist Daniel Buren. His creative strategy, depicting the alternation of colored and white stripes, was embodied in a colossal spatial installation: 260 multi-level columns lined up in geometric order on the square. Their black and white marble cladding creates a contrasting patternvertical stripes.
When the Ministry of Culture unveiled the project, its implementation caused violent public protests. Rallies against such embellishment of historical architecture in Paris did not stop even after the installation of the sculptural composition in 1986. Nevertheless, over time, the columns of Buren turned into an extravagant landmark of the city, appear in some films and fell in love with the Parisians.
Buri Fountains
A year before the striped columns of Buren, two fountains were installed in front of the entrance to the palace by the sculptor and painter Paul Bury, who worked in the direction of kinetic art. These are metal balls laid out on a plane from which water flows. By reflecting moving objects on the spherical surface of the balls, which, in turn, are reflected in the water, Paul Bury embodied the idea of dynamic plasticity. Separated by a colonnade, Bury's fountains and Buren's sculptural installation became complementary elements of a single composition.
Comedy Francaise
The theater was arranged in the Palais Royal by order of Cardinal Richelieu. For this, the architect Jacques Lemercier used the eastern wing of the palace. Opened in 1641, the theater was called the Great Hall of the Palais Cardinal. Here in 1660-1673, alternating with Italian actors, Moliere's troupe played and his comedies were staged. After the death of the great comedian in 1763, the Paris Opera, under the direction of Lully, supplanted the Molière theater. After the fire of 1781, the opera house was builtanother building, and the palace wing was rebuilt for the Comedie Francaise theater founded by Louis XIV.
At that time, there were two competing theaters in Paris: the Hotel Genego, a Moliere troupe representing comedies, and the Burgundy Hotel, where tragedies were staged. By decree of Louis XIV, both troupes were united into a single theater, which opened in 1680. Today only French classical repertoire is presented here.
Park
Quiet cozy garden is located behind the Palais Royal. It is surrounded by four-story buildings with arcades, which once housed the famous galleries of the Duke of Orleans. The center of the park is occupied by a large round fountain. Not far from it, on the imaginary line of the Parisian meridian, a small bronze cannon was installed. From 1786 to 1998, its prototype was located here, equipped with the ingenious mechanism of the watchmaker Rousseau. In the summer months, the rays of the sun, passing through the optical device, ignited the cannon charge, and the gun fired at exactly noon.
Not every guide in Paris will lead a tour of the garden alleys - there are few attractions. But Parisians love this picturesque city corner with its lovely flower beds and linden alleys, magnolias and daffodils blooming in spring. It is not crowded and quiet here, and only on Sundays the peace is disturbed by wedding groups who prefer to be photographed against the backdrop of this metropolitan oasis.
