
Together
with some fellow ”greeters”, voluntarily accompanying visitors to Paris (read
more about it here or click on the sidebar “Parisien d’un Jour”), I had the
pleasure to visit the interior of the Palais de Luxembourg, the site of the
French Senate. I already posted about the Luxembourg Gardens, e.g. here and
here, but not until now about the Palace itself.
A lot is to
be said and showed about this Palace, so I will split in two posts and of
course (you know me) start by trying to give some historic information.
The Palace
was originally built for Marie de Medici, wife, widow of Henri IV, mother of
Louis XIII and grandmother of Louis XIV. As from 1610 and the death of Henri
IV, until 1617, she acted as regent for the young Louis XIII. Without going
into any details, there was a lot of fighting and intriguing between her, her
son, her second son, the Cardinal Richelieu and others as well during her
regency as later.
Marie was
not happy living in the austere Louvre Palace and desired to make a building
and garden similar to what she had known from her birthplace, Florence. In 1612 she bought land and the already
existing smaller castle, still there and now referred to as the “Petit Luxembourg”,
having belonged to a Duke of Piney-Luxembourg.
Thirteen years
later, in 1625, she could move in, but the Palace was really completed only in
1631, when she had just been forced to leave the Royal court, first exiled to
Compiègne. She then escaped to Brussels,
Amsterdam, London … conspiring against Louis XIII and Richelieu… and died in Cologne
in 1642. She then still owned the Palace and bequeathed it to her favourite son,
Gaston d’Orléans, always in fight with the elder brother, Louis XIII.
With only
some short interruptions (as museum), the Palace was then occupied by the Orléans
family and later by the brother of Louis XVI, the future Louis XVIII … until
the Revolution when it became a prison, the home of the Senate (“Sénat
Conservateur”) and the first residence of Napoleon Bonaparte as First Consul.
1799-1805
the Palace was transformed into a legislative building, the grand central
staircase was demolished and replaced by a senate chamber (blue circle).
Beginning 1835 additional surface (in light blue) was constructed, keeping the
original façade alike and a new senate chamber (the still existing one) was
created as well as a library.
We can here
compare what the Palace and its gardens looked like during the 18th
century and today.
Marie de
Medici had her apartments in the west wing. Almost all the original
interior decoration is gone, but a few elements have been saved and assembled
in a room on the ground floor (“Salle du Livre d’Or”)…
… together
with some decorations of the sleeping quarters of Louis XIII’s wife, Anne d’Autriche,
from the Louvre.
Marie de
Medici had ordered 24 canvases from Peter Paul Rubens – to her glory. They were
exposed in the “Rubens gallery” (see plan above). When the Palace was rebuilt
during the 19th century, a new central staircase was built here. The
Rubens paintings can now be seen at the Louvre.
Again referring
to history, a very special event took place in this antechamber, referred to as
“la Journée des Dupes” (the Day of the Dupes), when Marie de Medici, Louis XIII
and Richelieu met in November 1630 and when Marie thought that she had got rid of Richelieu, but
a day later Richelieu was the winner and soon Marie had to leave. Richelieu
then lived in the neighbour “Petit Luxembourg”, now the residence of the President
of the Senate.
Here are
some pictures of the “Petit Luxembourg” and its still private garden.
… and here
some from the central court of the real Palace.
In a next
post, I will illustrate the magnificent rooms which were added, redecorated
during the 19th century.
20 comments:
I always love it when you take me inside places I've never been. Several years ago I enjoyed a lovely time in the gardens but this past spring we didn't get back and certainly not inside. It is simply magnificent -- what a collection and what a special opportunity to see it with your fellow guides. Thanks, Peter! Thinking of you this cold winter!
Beautiful! But I can see why Marie de Medici wanted some place that felt cozier.
Une balade historique...
Bonne journée,
Pierre
One of my favorite places in Paris...
I think the rue de Vaugirard is near by.
Love this!
Maria
That is really interesting Peter. I have some old postcards of some of the rooms, but they are in black and white. When I went there last time I was told I could assist at a séance of the Sénat by showing my French passport, but I did not think I would be able to follow it well because living in the US I rarely hear much about French politics. La Salle du Livre d’Or must be something to see – do they let you take photographs?
C'est beaucoup plus grand que je ne pensais en y reflechissant.
Les boiseries sont superbes et quelle lecon d'histoire.
Si les intrigues actuelles pouvaient nous fournir des oeuvres de telle qualite on les supporterait mieux (les intrigues!)
je ne l'ai jamais visite, et il est vraiment magnifique. A faire quand je serais remis
Fascinating and beautiful! May I please volunteer for you to volunteer to accompany me there? :)
C'est magnifique! :)
Léia
Wow, this looks marvellous! I love all the little details already, and there's more to come? Delicious!
I love the history of the old buildings and families, thank you for sharing those. Here in Las Vegas our 'old' buildings were build two decades ago, already marked to be blown up and replaced by new.
Fascinating! I love the way the royals were always fighting each other for power. It's amazing anything ever got built or accomplished during their time.
Bonne année cher Peter. J'ai l'impression que d'être "greeter" avec Parisien d'Un Jour te donne l'occasion de voir de belles choses. Comme quoi le bénévolat est récompensé et ce n'est que justice !
Les plus farouches républicains sont les premiers à vouloir s'installer dans les palais des princes.
Le président du sénat est le deuxième personnage de France, mais certainement le mieux logé.
Il est déjà beau vu de dehors, mais alors dedans, il est magnifique.
Tu es un privilégié, Peter.
glad some of that interior decor survived - it is stunning...
stunning decor!!!
http://www.myunfinishedlife.com/
Thank you for being such an excellent guide. My wife and I will be in Paris later this year, so your posts are especially appreciated.
Hi Peter. Both the interior and the gardens remind me very much of the Medici palace in Florence. Beautiful, thank you for the great post!
Oh, it's good I backtracked as I wasn't thinking about the same building. Having said that, we're going to Paris this summer and -- voila!--your post had motivated me to visit these gardens.
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