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Bible Encyclopedias
Paris, France
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
or The capital of France and the department of Seine, situated on both banks of the Seine, 233 m. from its mouth and 285 m. S.S.E. of London by rail and steamer via Dover and Calais, in 48° 50' 14" N., 2° 20' 14" E. (observatory). It occupies the centre of the so-called Paris basin, which is traversed by the Seine from south-east to north-west, open towards the west, and surrounded by a line of Jurassic heights. The granitic substratum is covered by Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary formations; and at several points building materials - freestone, limestone or gypsum - have been laid bare by erosion. It is partly, indeed, to the existence of such quarries in its neighbourhood, and to the vicinity of the grain-bearing regions of the Beauce and Brie that the city owes its development. Still more important is its position at the meeting-place of the great natural highways leading from the Mediterranean to the ocean by way of the Rhone valley and from Spain northwards over the lowlands of western France. The altitude of Paris varies between 80 ft. (at the Point du Jour, the exit of the Seine from the fortifications) and 420 ft. at the hill of Montmartre in the north of the city; the other chief eminence is the hill of Ste Genevieve, on the left bank. Since 1840 Paris has been completely surrounded by a wall, which since 1860 has served also as the limit for the collection of municipal customs dues (octroi). Proposals are constantly being brought forward to demolish this wall - which, with its talus, is encircled by a broad and deep ditch - either entirely or at least from the Point du Jour, where the Seine intersects the wall below the city, to Pantin, so as to extend the limits of the city as far as the Seine, which runs almost parallel with the wall for that distance. Within the wall the area of the city is 19,279 acres; the river runs through it from east to west in a broad curve for a distance of nearly 8 m.
Climate
Paris has a fairly uniform climate. The mean temperature, calculated from observations extending over fifty years (1841-1890), is 49°
8 F. The highest reading (observed in July 1874 and again in July 1881) is 101 ° F., the lowest (in December 1879) is - 14°. The monthly means for the fifty years1841-1890were: January 35°
9, February 38°
3, March 42°
3, April 49°
5, May 55°
6, June 61°. 7, July 64°
6, August 63°
5, September 58°. 2, October 49°
8, November 40°
2, December 36°. 6. The Seine freezes when the temperature falls below 18°. It was frozen in nearly its whole extent from Bercy to Auteuil in the winters of 1819-1820, 1829-1830,1879-1880and 1890-1891. Rain falls, on an average, on about 200 days, the average quantity in a year being between 22 and 23 in. The rainfall from December to April inclusive is less than the average, while the rainfall from May to November exceeds the average for the whole year. The driest month is February, the rainiest June - the rainfall for these months being respectively 1.3 in. and 2.3 in. The prevailing winds are those from the south, south-west and west. The general character of the climate, somewhat continental in winter and oceanic in summer, has been more closely observed since the three observatories at different heights on the Eiffel Tower were added in 1889 to the old-established ones of the parks of St Maur and Montsouris. 1 The observatory at the old church-tower St Jacques (16th century) in the centre of the city, and since 1896 a municipal establishment, is of special interest on account of the study made there of the transparency and purity of the air. There are barely loo days in the year when the air is very clear. Generally the city is covered by floating mists, possibly 1500 ft. in thickness. During the prevalence of north-easterly winds the sky is most obscured, since on that side lies the greatest number of factories with smoking chimneys.
Defences
Paris, described in a recent German account as the greatest fortress in the world, possesses three perfectly distinct rings of defences. The two inner, the enceinte and the circle of detached forts around it, are of the bastioned type which French engineers of the Noizet school favoured; they were built in the time of Louis Philippe, and with very few additions sustained the siege of 1870-71. The outer works, of more modern type, forming an entrenched camp which in area is rivalled only by the Antwerp system of defences, were built after the Franco-German War.
The enceinte (" the fortifications " of the guide-books) is of plain bastion trace, without ravelins but with a deep dry ditch (escarp, but not counterscarp revetted). It is nearly 22 m. in perimeter and has 93 bastions, 67 gates and 9 railway passages. The greater part of the enceinte has, however, been given up, and a larger one projected - as at Antwerp - by connecting up the old detached forts.
1 The observatories of the Tour St Jacques and of Montsouris belong to the municipality of Paris; that of St Maur depends on the Central Bureau of Meteorology, a national institution.
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48 52 These forts, which endured the siege in 1870-71, have a perimeter of about 34 m. Each is designed as a miniature fortress with ample casemates and high cavaliers, the tenailles and ravelins, however, being as a rule omitted. On the north side there are three forts (connected by a plain parapet) around St Denis, one of these being arranged to control an inundation. Next, to the right, or eastward, comes Fort Aubervillers, which commands the approaches north of the wood of Bondy. These four works lie in relatively low ground. The eastern works are situated on higher ground (300-350 ft.); they consist of four forts and various small redoubts, and command the approaches from the great wood of Bondy. In low ground again at the narrowest point of the great loop of the Marne (near St Maurles-Fosses) there are two redoubts connected by a parapet, and between the Seine and the Marne, in advance of their confluence, Fort Charenton. On the south side of the city, hardly more than a mile from the enceinte, is a row of forts, Ivry, Bicetre, Montrouge, Vanves and Issy, solidly constructed works in themselves but, as was shown in 1870, nearly useless for the defences of the city against rifled guns, as (with the exception of Bicetre) they are overlooked by the plateau of Chatillon. On the west side of Paris is the famous fortress of Mont Valerien, standing 53 6 ft. above the sea and about 450 above the river. This completes the catalogue of the inner fort-line. It is strengthened by two groups of works which were erected in " provisional " form during the siege,' and afterwards reconstructed as permanent forts - Hautes Bruyeres on the plateau of Villejuif, 1 m. south of Fort Bicetre, and the Chatillon fort and batteries which now prevent access to the celebrated plateau that overlooks Paris from a height of 600 ft., and of which the rear batteries sweep almost the whole of the ground between Bicetre and Mont Valerien.
The new works are i i m. from the Louvre and 8 from the enceinte. They form a circle of 75 m. circumference, and an army which attempted to invest Paris to-day would have to be at least 500,000 strong, irrespective of all field and covering forces. The actual. defence of the works, apart from troops temporarily collected in the fortified area, would need some 170,000 men only.
The entrenched camp falls into three sections - the north, the east and the south-west. The forts (of the general1874-1875French type, see Fortification And Siegecraft) have from 24 to 60 heavy guns and 600 to 1200 men each, the redoubts, batteries and annexe-batteries generally 200 men and 6 guns. In the northern section a ridge crosses the northern extremities of the St Germain-Argenteuil loop of the Seine after the fashion of the armature of a horse-shoe magnet; on this ridge (about 560 ft.) is a group of works, named after the village of Cormeilles, commanding the lower Seine, the Argenteuil peninsula and the lower ground towards the Oise. At an average distance of 5 m. from St Denis lie the works of the Montlignon-Domont position (about 600-670 ft.), which sweep all ground to the north, cross their fire with the Cormeilles works, and deny the plateau of Montmorency-Mery-sur-Oise to an enemy. At Ecouen, on an isolated hill, are a fort and a redoubt, and to the right near these Fort Stains and two batteries on the ceinture railway. The important eastern section consists of the Vaujours position, the salient of the whole fortress, which commands the countryside to the north as far as Dammartin and Claye, crosses its fire with Stains on the one hand and Villiers on the other, and itself lies on a steep hill at the outer edge of the forest of Bondy which allows free and concealed communication between the fort and the inner line of works. The Vaujours works are armoured. Three miles to the right of Vaujours is Fort Chelles, which bars the roads and railways of the Marne valley. On the other side of the Marne, on ground made historic by the events of 1870, are forts Villiers and Champigny, designed as a bridgehead to enable the defenders to assemble in front of the Marne. To the right of these is a fort near Boissy-St-Leger, and on the right of the whole section are the armoured works of the ' The plateau of Mont Avron on the east side, which was provisionally fortified in 1870, is not now defended.
Villeneuve-St-Georges position, which command the Seine and Yeres country as far as Brie and Corbeil. The left of the southwestern section is formed by the powerful Fort Palaiseau and its annexe-batteries, which command the Yvette valley. Behind Fort Palaiseau, midway between it and Fort Chatillon, is the Verrieres group, overlooking the valley of the Bievre. To the right of Palaiseau on the high ground towards Versailles are other works, and around Versailles itself is a semi-circle of batteries right and left of the armoured Fort St Cyr. In various positions around Marly there are some seven or eight batteries.
Topography
The development of Paris can be traced outwards in approximately concentric rings from the Gallo-Roman town on the Iie de la Cite to the fortifications which now form its boundary. A line of boulevards known as the Grands Boulevards, 2 coinciding in great part with ramparts of the 14th, 16th and 17th centuries, encloses most of old Paris, a portion of which extends southwards beyond the Boulevard St Germain. Outside the Grands Boulevards lie the faubourgs or old suburbs, round which runs another enceinte of boulevards - boulevards exterieurs - corresponding to ramparts of the 18th century. Beyond them other and more modern suburbs incorporated with the city after 1860 stretch to the boulevards which line the present fortifications. On the north, east and south these are commercial or industrial in character, inhabited by the working classes and petite bourgeoisie, while here and there there are still areas devoted to market gardening; those on the west are residential centres for the upper classes (Auteuil and Passy). Of the faubourgs of Paris those to the north and east are mainly commercial (Faubourgs St Denis, St Martin, Poissonniere) or industrial (Faubourgs du Temple and St Antoine) in character, while to the west the Faubourg St Honore, the Champs Elysees and the Faubourg St Germain are occupied by the residences of the upper classes of the population. The chief resorts of business and pleasure are concentrated within the Grands Boulevards, and more especially on the north bank of the Seine. No uniformity marks the street-plan of this or the other quarters of the city. One broad and almost straight thoroughfare bisects it under various names from Neuilly (W.N.W.) to Vincennes (E.S.E.). Within the limits of the Grands Boulevards it is known as the Rue de Rivoli (over 2 m. in length) and the Rue St Antoine and runs parallel with and close to the Seine from the Place de la Concorde to the Place de la Bastille. From the Eastern station to the observatory Paris is traversed N.N.E. and S.S.W. for 22 m. by another important thoroughfare - the Boulevard de Strasbourg continued as the Boulevard de Sebastopol, as the Boulevard du Palais on the The de la Cite, and on the south bank as the Boulevard St Michel. The line of the Grands Boulevards from the Madeleine to the Bastille, by way of the Place de l'Opera, the Porte St Denis and the Porte St Martin (two triumphal arches erected in the latter half of the 17th century in honour of Louis XIV.) and the Place de la Republique stretches for nearly 3 m. It contains most of the large cafes and several of the chief theatres, and though its gaiety and animation are concentrated at the western end - in the Boulevards des Italiens, des Capucines and de la Madeleine - it is as a whole one of the most celebrated avenues in the world. On the right side of the river may also be mentioned the Rue Royale, from the Madeleine to the Place de la Concorde; the Malesherbes and I-Iaussmann boulevards, the first stretching from the Place Madeleine north-west to the fortifications, the second from the Grands Boulevards near the Place de l'Opera nearly to the Place de l'Etoile; the Avenue de l'Opera, which unites the Place du Palais Royal, approximately the central point of Paris, with the Place de l'Opera; the Rue de la Paix, connecting the Place Vendome with the Place de l'Opera, and noted for its fashionable dress-making establishments, and the Rue Auber and Rue du Quatre Septembre, also terminating in the Place de l'Opera, in the vicinity of which are found some 2 The word boulevard means " bulwark " or fortification and thus has direct reference to the old ramparts. But since the middle of the 19th century the title has been applied to new thoroughfares not traced on the site of an old enceinte.
of the finest shops in Paris; the Rue St Honore running parallel with the Rue de Rivoli, from the Rue Royale to the Central Markets; the Rue de Lafayette, one of the longest streets of Paris, traversing the town from the Opera to the Bassin de la Villette; the Boulevard Magenta, from Montmartre to the Place de la Republique; and the Rue de Turbigo, from this place to the Halles Centrales. On the left side of the river the main thoroughfare is the Boulevard St Germain, beginning at the Pont Sully, skirting the Quartier Latin, the educational quarter on the north, and terminating at the Pont de la Concorde after traversing a quarter mainly devoted to ministries, embassies and other official buildings and to the residences of the noblesse. Squares. - Some of the chief squares have already been mentioned. The finest is the Place de la Concorde, laid out under Louis XV. by J. A. Gabriel and noted as the scene of the execution of Louis XVI., Marie Antoinette and many other victims of the Revolution. The central decoration consists of an obelisk from the great temple at Luxor in Upper Egypt, presented to Louis Philippe in 1831 by Mehemet Ali, and flanked by two monumental fountains. The formation of the Place Vendome was begun towards the end of the 17th century. In the middle there is a column surmounted by a statue of Napoleon I. and decorated with plates of bronze on which are depicted scenes from the campaign of 1805. The Place de l'Etoile is the centre of twelve avenues radiating from it in all directions. The chief of these is the fashionable Avenue des Champs Elysees which connects it with the Place de la Concorde; while on the other side the Avenue de la Grande Armee leads to the fortifications, the two forming a section of the main artery of Paris; the well-wooded Avenue du Bois de Boulogne forms the threshold of the celebrated park of that name. In the centre of the Place, the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile, the largest triumphal arch in the world (162 ft. high by 147 ft. wide), commemorates the military triumphs of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic troops. The finest of the sculptures on its façades is that representing the departure of the volunteers in 1792 by Francois Rude. The Place de la Republique, in which stands a huge statue of the Republic, did not receive its present form till 1879. The Place de la Bastille stands a little to the east of the site of the famous state prison. It contains the Colonne de Juillet erected in memory of those who fell in the revolution of July 1830. The Place du Carrousel, enclosed within the western wings of the Louvre and so named from a revel given there by Louis XIV., was enlarged about the middle of the 19th century. The triumphal arch on its west side commemorates the victories of 1805 and formed the main entrance to the Tuileries palace (see below). Facing the arch there is a stone pyramid forming the background to a statue of Gambetta. Other squares are the Place des Victoires, dating from 1685, with the equestrian statue of Louis XIV.; the Place des Vosges, formerly Place Royale, formed by Henry IV. on the site of the old Tournelles Palace and containing the equestrian statue of Louis XI I I.; the Place de l'Hotel de Ville, once the Place de Greve and the scene of many state executions from the beginning of the 14th century till 1830; the Place du Chatelet, on the site of the prison of the Grand Chatelet, pulled down in 1802, with a fountain and a column commemorative of victories of Napoleon, and the Place de la Nation decorated with a fountain and a bronze group representing the Triumph of the Republic, and with two columns of 1788 surmounted by statues of St Louis and Philip, Augustus, corresponding at the east of the city to the Place de l'Etoile at the west.
South of the Seine are the Place St Michel, adorned with a monumental fountain, and one of the great centres of traffic in Paris; the Carrefour de l'Observatoire, with the monument to Francis Jarnier, the explorer, and the statue of General Ney standing on the spot where he was shot; the Place du Pantheon; the Place Denfert Rochereau, adorned with a colossal lion symbolizing the defence of Belfort in 1871; the Place St Sulpice, with a modern fountain embellished with the statues of the preachers Bossuet, Fenelon, Massillon and Flechier; the Place Vauban, behind the Invalides; and the Place du Palais Bourbon, in front of the Chamber of Deputies. On the Ile de la Cite in front of the cathedral is the Place du Parvis-Notre-Dame, with the equestrian statue of Charlemagne.
Besides those already mentioned, Paris possesses other monumental fountains of artistic value. The Fontaine des Innocents in the Square des Innocents belonged to the church of that name demolished in 1786. It is a graceful work of the Renaissance designed by Pierre Lescot and retains sculptures by Jean Goujon. On its reconstruction on the present site other carvings were added by Augustin Pajou. A fountain of the first half of the 18th century in the Rue de Grenelle is remarkable for its rich decoration, while another in the Avenue de l'Observatoire is an elaborate modern work, the central group of which by J. B. Carpeaux represents the four quarters of the globe supporting the terrestrial sphere. The Fontaine de Medicis (17th century) in the Luxembourg garden is a work of Salomon Debrosse in the Doric style; the fountain in the Place Louvois (1844) representing the rivers of France is by Louis Visconti. In 1872 Sir Richard Wallace gave the municipality fifty drinking-fountains which are placed in different parts of the city.
The Seine
The Seine flows for nearly 8 m. through Paris. As it enters and as it leaves the city it is crossed by a viaduct used by the circular railway and for ordinary traffic; that of Point du Jour has two storeys of arches. Three bridges - the Passerelle de 1'Estacade, between the Ile St Louis and the right bank, the Pont des Arts and the Passerelle Debilly (close to the Trocadero) - are for foot passengers only; all the others are for carriages as well. The most famous, and in its actual state the oldest, is the Pont Neuf, begun in 1578, the two portions of which rest on the extremity of the island called La Cite, the point at which the river is at its widest (863 ft.). On the embankment below the Pont Neuf stands the equestrian statue of Henry IV. Between La Cite and the left bank the width of the lesser channel is reduced to 95 ft. The river has a width of 540 ft. as it enters Paris and of 446 ft. as it leaves it. After its entrance to the city it passes under the bridges of Tolbiac, Bercy and Austerlitz, that of Sully, those of Marie and Louis Philippe between the Ile St Louis and the right bank; that of La Tournelle between the Ile St Louis and the left bank; that of St Louis between the Ile St Louis and La Cite. The Cite communicates with the right bank by the Pont d'Arcole, the Pont Notre-Dame, built on foundations of the 15th century, and the Pont au Change, owing its name to the shops of the money-changers and goldsmiths which bordered its medieval predecessor; with the left bank by that of the Archeveche, the so-called Pont au Double, the Petit Pont and the Pont St Michel, the original of which was built towards the end of the 14th century. Below the Pont Neuf come the Pont des Arts, Pont du Carrousel, Pont Royal (a fine stone structure leading to the Tuileries), and those of Solferino, La Concorde, Alexandre III. (the finest and most modern bridge in Paris, its foundation-stone having been laid by the czar Nicholas II. in 1896), Invalides, Alma, Iena (opposite the Champ de Mars), Passy, Grenelle and Mirabeau. The Seine has at times caused disastrous floods in the city, as in January 1910. (See Seine.) The houses of Paris nowhere abut directly on the river banks, which in their whole extent from the bridge of Austerlitz to Passy are protected by broad embankments or " quais." At the foot of these lie several ports for the unloading and loading of goods, &c. - on the right side Bercy for wines, La Rapee for timber, Port Mazas, the Port de l'Arsenal at the mouth of the St Martin can 4 al, 1 the Port Henry IV., des Celestins, St Paul, des Ormes, de 1'Hotel de Ville (the two latter for fruit) and the Port St Nicolas (foreign vessels); on the left bank the Port de la Gare for petroleum, St Bernard for wines and the embarcation of sewage, and the ports of La Tournelle (old iron), Orsay (building material), the Invalides, Gros Caillou, the Cygnes, Grenelle and Javel (refuse). Besides the river ports, the port of Paris also includes the canals of St Martin and the portions of the canals of St Denis and the Ourcq within the walls. All three debouch in the busy and extensive basin of La Villette in the north-east of the city. The traffic of the port is chiefly in coal, building materials and stone, manure and fertilizers, agricultural produce and food-stuffs.
Promenades and Parks
In the heart of Paris are situated the gardens of the Tuileries 2 (56 acres), designed by Andre Le Notre under Louis XIV. Though added to and altered afterwards they retain the main outlines of the original plan. They are laid out in parterres and bosquets, planted with chestnut trees, lindens and plane trees, and adorned with playing fountains and basins, and numerous statues mostly antique in subject. From the terrace along the river-side a fine view is to be had over the Seine to the park and palace of the Trocadero; and 1 This canal (3 m. long) leaving the Seine below Austerlitz bridge, passes by a tunnel under the Place de la Bastille and Boulevard Richard Lenoir, and rises by sluices to the 'La Villette basin, from which the St Denis canal (4 m. long) descends to the Seine at St Denis. In this way boats going up or down the river can avoid passing through Paris. The canal de l'Ourcq, which supplies the two canals mentioned, contributes to the water-supply of Paris as well as to its transport facilities.
These gardens are the property of the state, the other areas mentioned being the property of the town.
from the terraces along the Place de la Concorde the eye takes in the Place and the Avenue of the Champs Elysees. The gardens of the Luxembourg,' planned by S. Debrosse (17th century) and situated in front of the palace occupied by the senate, are about the same size as those of the Tuileries; with less regularity of form they present greater variety of appearance. In the line of the main entrance extends the beautiful Observatory Walk, terminating in the monumental fountain mentioned above. Besides these gardens laid out in the French taste, with straight walks and regular beds, there are several in what the French designate the English style. The finest and most extensive of these, the Buttes-Chaumont Gardens, in the north-east of the city, occupy 57 acres of very irregular ground, which up to 1866 was occupied by plaster-quarries, limekilns and brickworks. The " buttes " or knolls are now covered with turf, flowers and shrubbery. Advantage has been taken of the varying relief of the site to form a fine lake and a cascade with picturesque rocks. The Montsouris Park, in the south of the city, 38 acres in extent, also consists of broken ground; in the middle stands the meteorological observatory, built after the model of the Tunisian palace of Bardo, and it also contains a monument in memory of the Flatters expedition to the Sahara in 1881. The small Monceau Park, in the aristocratic quarter to the north of the Boulevard Haussmann, is a portion of the old park belonging to King Louis Philippe, and contains monuments to Chopin, Gounod, Guy de Maupassant and others.
The Jardin des Plantes (founded in the first half of the 17th century), about 58 acres in extent, combines both styles. Its museum of natural history (1793), with its zoological gardens, its hothouses and greenhouses, its nursery and naturalization gardens, its museums of zoology, anatomy, anthropology, botany, mineralogy and geology, its laboratories, and its courses of lectures by the most distinguished professors in all branches of natural science, make it an institution of universally acknowledged eminence.
Other open spaces worthy of mention are the Champs Elysees (west of the Place de la -Concorde), begun at the end of the 17th century but only established in their present form since 1858; the Trocadero Park, laid out for the exhibition of 1878, with its lakes, cascade and aquarium; the Champ de Mars (laid out about 1770 as a manoeuvring ground for the Champ_ Militaire), containing the Eiffel Tower (q.v.); the gardens of the Palais Royal; surrounded by galleries; and the Ranelagh in Passy.
The Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes situated outside the fortifications are on a far larger scale than the parks within them. The Bois de Boulogne, commonly called the " Bois," is reached by the wide avenue of the Champs Elysees as far as the Arc de Triomphe and thence by the avenue of the Bois de Boulogne or that of the Grande Armee. The first of these, with its side walks for foot passengers and equestrians, grass-plots, flower-beds and elegant buildings, affords a wide prospect over the Bois and the hills of St Cloud and Mont Valerien. The Bois de Boulogne covers an area of 2100 acres, is occupied by turf, clumps of trees, sheets of water or running streams. Here are the two race-courses of Longchamp (flat races) and Auteuil (steeplechases), the park of the small château of Bagatelle, 1777, the grounds of the Polo Club and the Racing Club and the gardens of the Acclimatization Society, which, with their menageries, conservatories and aquarium, are largely visited by pleasure-seekers. Trees for the public parks and squares are grown in the municipal nurseries situated on the south border of the Bois. On the east it is adjoined by the Park of La Muette, with the old royal château. The Bois de Vincennes (see Vincennes) is 2300 acres in area and is similarly adorned with streams, lakes and cascades.
Churches
The most important church in Paris is the cathedral of Notre-Dame, founded in 1163, completed about 1240. Measuring 139 yds. in length and 52 yds. in breadth, the church consists of a choir and apse, a short transept, and a nave with double aisles which are continued round the choir and are flanked by square chapels added after the completion of the rest of the church. The central spire, 148 ft. in height, was erected in the course of a restoration carried out between 1846 and 1879 under the direction of Viollet le Duc. Two massive square towers crown the principal facade. Its three doors are decorated with fine early Gothic carving and surmounted by a row of figures representing twenty-eight kings of Israel and Judah. Above the central door is a rose. window, above which is a third storey consisting of a graceful gallery of pointed arches supported These 'gardens are the property of the state, the other areas mentioned being the property of the town.
on slender columns. The transept has two facades, also richly decorated with chiselled work and containing rose windows. Of the elaborate decoration of the interior all that is medieval is a part of the screen of the choir (the first half of the 14th century), with sculptures representing scenes from the life of Christ, and the stained glass of the rose windows (13th century). The woodwork in the choir (early 18th century), and a marble group called the " Vow of Louis XIII." (17th century) by Couston and Coysevox, are other noticeable works of art. The church possesses the Crown of Thorns and a fragment of the Cross, which attract numerous pilgrims.
Paris is poor in Romanesque architecture, which is represented chiefly in the nave and transept of St Germain-des-Pres, the choir of which is Gothic in tendency. The church, which once belonged to the celebrated abbey of St Germain founded in the 6th century, contains fine modern frescoes by Hippolyte Flandrin. The Transition style is also exemplified in St Pierre-de-Montmartre (12th century). Besides the cathedral there are several churches of the Gothic period, the most important being St Julien-le-Pauvre, now serving as a Greek church, which is contemporary with NotreDame; St Germain-l'Auxerrois (13th to 16th centuries), whose projecting porch is a graceful work of 1435; St Severin (mainly of the 13th and 16th centuries); St Gervais, largely in the Flamboyant Gothic style with an interesting facade by S. Debrosse in the classical manner; and St Merry (1520-1612), almost wholly Gothic in architecture. St Gervais, St Merry and St Germain all contain valuable works of art, the stained glass of the two former being especially noteworthy.
St Etienne-du-Mont combines the Gothic and Renaissance styles in its nave and transept, while its choir is of Gothic, its facade of pure Renaissance architecture. In the interior, one of the most beautiful in the city, there is a fine rood-loft (1600-1609) by Pierre Biard and a splendid collection of stained windows of the 16th and early 17th centuries; a chapel contains part of the sarcophagus of Ste Genevieve, which is the object of a pilgrimage. St Eustache (1532-c. 1650), though its construction displays many Gothic characteristics, belongs wholly, with the exception of a Classical facade of the 18th century, to the Renaissance period, being unique in this respect among the more important of French churches. The church contains the sarcophagus and statue (by A. Coysevox) of Colbert and the tombs of other eminent men.
Of churches in the Classical style the principal are St Sulpice (1655-1777), almost equalling Notre-Dame in dimensions and possessing a facade by J. N. Servandoni ranking among the finest of its period; St Roch (1653-1740), which contains numerous works of art of the 17th and 18th centuries; St Paul-St Louis (1627-1641); and the church (1645-1665) of the former nunnery of Val-de-Grace (now a military hospital and medical school), which has a dome built after the model of St Peter's at Rome. All these churches are in the old city.
Of the churches of the 19th century, the most remarkable is that of the Sacre Coeur, an important resort of pilgrims, begun in 1876 and overlooking Paris from the heights of Montmartre. The Sacre Coeur is in the Romanesque style, but is surmounted by a Byzantine dome behind which rises a lofty belfry. The bell presented by the dioceses of Savoy and known as " la Savoyarde " weighs between 17 and 18 tons. Of the other modern churches the oldest is the Madeleine, built under Napoleon I. by Pierre Vignon on the foundations of a church of the 18th century and finished in 1842. It was intended by the emperor as a " temple of glory " and is built on the lines of a Roman temple with a fine colonnade surrounding it. The interior, consisting of a single nave bordered by chapels and roofed with cupolas, is decorated with sculptures and painting by eminent modern artists. Notre-Dame-de-Lorette (1823-1836) and St Vincent-de-Paul (1824-1844) are in the style of early Christian basilicas. Both contain good frescoes, the frieze of the nave in St Vincent-de-Paul being an elaborate work by Hippolyte Flandrin. Ste Clotilde, the most important representation of modern Gothic in Paris, dates from the middle of the century. St Augustin and La Trinite in the Renaissance style were both built between 1860 and 1870. With the exception of Ste Clotilde in the St Germain quarter and the Madeleine, the modern churches above mentioned are all in the northern quarters of Paris.
Civil Buildings
The most important of the civil buildings of Paris is the palace of the Louvre (Lupara ), the south front of which extends along the Seine for about half a mile. It owes its origin to Philip Augustus, who erected a huge keep defended by a rectangle of fortifications in what is now the south-west corner of the quadrangle, where its plan is traced on the pavement. The fortress was demolished by Francis I. and under that monarch and his successors Pierre Lescot built the portions of the wings to the south and west of the courtyard, which rank among the finest examples of Renaissance architecture. The rest of the buildings surrounding the courtyard date from the reigns of Louis XIII. and XIV., the most noteworthy feature being the colonnade (1666-1670) of the east façade designed by Claude Perrault. The two wings projecting westwards from the corners of the quadrangle, each consisting of two parallel galleries with pavilions at intervals, were built under Napoleon III., with the exception of the Grande Galerie and at right angles to it the Pavillon Henry IV., containing the Apollo gallery, which were erected on the river front by Catherine de Medici and Henry IV. Of these two wings that on the north is occupied by the ministry of finance. The history of the palace of the Tuileries (so called in allusion to the tile kilns which occupied its site) is intimately connected with that of the Louvre, its origin being due to Catherine de Medici and Henry IV. The latter built the wing, rebuilt under Napoleon III., which united it with the Grande Galerie, the corresponding wing on the north side dating from various periods of the 10th century. The palace itself was burnt by the Communists in 1871, with the exception of the terminal pavilion on the south (Pavillon de Flore); only the northern terminal pavilion (Pavillon de Marsan, now occupied by the museum of decorative arts) was rebuilt.
Next in importance to the Louvre is the Palais de Justice (law courts), a huge assemblage of buildings covering the greater part of the Ile de la Cite to the west of the Boulevard du Palais. During the Gallo-Roman period the site was occupied by a citadel which became the palace of the Merovingian kings and afterwards of the Capetian kings. In the 12th and 13th centuries it was altered and enlarged by the latter, and, during part of that period was also occupied by the parlement of Paris, to which it was entirely made over under Charles V. In 1618, 1737 and 1776 the building was ravaged by fire, and in its present state is in great part the outcome of a systematic reconstruction begun in 1840. In the interior the only medieval remains are the Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, an old prison where Marie Antoinette and other illustrious victims of the Revolution were confined, and some halls and kitchens of the 13th century. All these are on the ground floor, a portion of which is assigned to the police. The courts, which include the Cour de Cassation, the supreme tribunal in France, the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance, are on the first floor, the chief feature of which is the fine Salle des Pas Perdus, the successor of the Grand' Salle, a hall originally built by Philip the Fair and rebuilt after fires in 1618 and 1871. The Sainte-Chapelle, one of the most perfect specimens of Gothic art, was erected from 1245 to 1248 by St Louis as a shrine for the crown of thorns and other relics now at Notre-Dame, and was restored in the 19th century. It comprises a lower portion for the use of the servants and retainers and the upper portion or royal chapel, the latter richly decorated and lighted by lofty windows set close together and filled with beautiful stained glass. The Palais de Justice presents towards the west a Greek facade by J. L. Duc (d. 1879), which is reckoned among the finest achievements of modern art. The facade towards the Seine embodies four towers which date in parts from the reconstruction under the Capetian dynasty. That at the east angle (the Tour de l'Horloge) contains a clock of 1370, said to be the oldest public clock in France. A handsome iron railing of 1787 separates the courtyard on the east side from the Boulevard du Palais.
About a quarter of a mile south of the Palais de Justice adjoining the Jardin de Cluny lies the Hotel de Cluny, acquired in 1833 by the antiquarian A. du Sommerard as a repository for his collections and now belonging to the state. It is a graceful and well-preserved building in late Gothic style distinguished for the beautiful carving of the doors, dormer windows and open-work parapet. The mansion, which contains a rich Gothic chapel, was erected at the end of the 15th century by Jacques d'Amboise, abbot of Cluny. It stands on the site of a Roman palace said to have been built by the emperor Constantius Chlorus (d. 306), and ruins of the baths are still to be seen adjoining it.
The other civil buildings of Paris are inferior in interest and attraction. The Hotel des Invalides on the left bank of the Seine opposite the Champs Elysees dates from the reign of Louis XIV.; by whom it was founded as a retreat for wounded and infirm soldiers, its inmates are few in number, and the building also serves as headquarters of the military governor of Paris. A garden and a spacious esplanade stretching to the Quai d'Orsay precede the north facade; the entrance to this opens into the Cour d'Honneur, a courtyard enclosed by a moat above which is a battery of cannon used for salutes on important occasions. On either side of the Cour d'Honneur lie the museums of military history and of artillery (weapons and armour). The parish church of St Louis, decorated with flags captured in the wars of the Second Empire, closes the south side of the Cour d'Honneur, while behind all rises a magnificent gilded dome sheltering another church, the Eglise royale, built by J. H. Mansart from 1693 to 1706. The central crypt of this church contains a fine sarcophagus of red porphyry in which lie the remains of Napoleon I., brought from St Helena in 1840, while close by are the tombs of his friends Duroc and Bertrand.
The Pantheon, on the left bank near the Luxembourg garden, was built to the plans of J. G. Soufflot in the last half of the 18th century under the name of Ste Genevieve, whose previous sanctuary it replaced. In 1791 the Constituent Assembly decreed that it should be no longer a church but a sepulchre for great Frenchmen. Voltaire and Mirabeau were the first to be entombed in the Pantheon as it then came to be called. Reconsecrated and resecularized more than once during the 19th century, the building finally regained its present name in 1885, when Victor Hugo was buried there. The Pantheon is an imposing domed building in the form of a Greek cross. The tympanum above the portico by David d'Angers and, in the interior, paintings of the life of Ste Genevieve by Puvis de Chavannes are features of its artistic decoration.
Various public bodies occupy mansions and palaces built under the ancient regime. The Palais Royal, built by Richelieu about 1630 and afterwards inhabited by Anne of Austria, the regent Philip II. of Orleans and Philippe Egalite, is now occupied by the Council of State and the Theatre Francais. The Palace of the Luxembourg stands on the site of a mansion belonging to Duke Francis of Luxembourg, which was rebuilt by Marie de Medici, wife of Henry IV. The architect, Salomon Debrosse, was ordered to take the Pitti Palace at Florence as his model, but notwithstanding the general plan of the building is French. The south facade facing the Luxembourg garden was rebuilt in the original style under Louis Philippe. The residence of various royal personages during the 17th and 18th centuries, the Luxembourg became during the revolutionary period the palace of the Directory and later of the Consulate. In the 19th century it was occupied by the senate of Napoleon I., by the chamber of peers under. Louis Philippe, by the senate under Napoleon III., and since 1879 by the republican senate. The chamber of deputies meets in the Palais Bourbon, built in the 18th century for members of the Bourbon-Conde family. The facade, which faces the Pont de la Concorde, is in the style of an ancient temple and dates from the early years of the 19th century, when the corps legislatif held their sittings in the building. The Palais de l'Elysee, the residence of the president of the republic, was built in 1718 for Louis d'Auvergne, count of Evreux, and was afterwards acquired by Madame de Pompadour; during the 19th century Napoleon I., Napoleon III., and other illustrious persons resided there. The building has been often altered and enlarged. The hotel-de-ville (1873-1882), on the right bank of the Seine opposite the Ile de la Cite, stands on the site of a town hall built from 1535 to 1628, much enlarged towards 1840, and destroyed by the Communists in 1871. It is an isolated building in the French Renaissance style, the west facade with its statuary, pilasters, high-pitched roofs and dormer windows being specially elaborate. The interior has been decorated by many prominent artists.
Certain of the schools and museums of Paris occupy buildings of architectural interest. The Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, a technical school and museum of machinery, &c., founded by the engineer Vaucanson in 1775, is established in the old Cluniac priory of St Martin-des-Champs, enlarged in the 19th century. The refectory is a fine hall of the 13th century; the church with an interesting choir in the Transition style dates from the 11th to the 13th centuries. The Musee Carnavalet was built in the 16th century for Francois de Kernevenoy, whence its present name, and enlarged in 1660; Mme de Sevigne afterwards resided there. The national archives are stored in the Hotel Soubise, a mansion of the early 18th century with 19th-century additions, standing on the site of a house built by Olivier de Clisson in 1370. It was afterwards added to by the family of Guise and rebuilt by Francois de Rohan, duke of Soubise. The palace of Cardinal Mazarin, augmented in modern times, contains the Bibliotheque Nationale. The Palais de l'Institut, formerly the College Mazarin, dates from the last half of the 17th century; it is the seat of the academies (except the Academy of Medicine, which occupies a modern building close to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts) and of the Bureau des Longitudes, the great national astronomical council. The Military School overlooking the Champ de Mars is a fine building of the 18th century. The huge Sorbonne buildings date from the latter years of the 19th century with the exception of the church, which belonged to the college as reconstructed by Richelieu. The astronomical observatory, through the centre of which runs the meridian of Paris, is a splendidly equipped building erected under Louis XIV., according to the designs of Claude Perrault. The Ecole des Beaux-Arts (facing the Louvre on the left bank of the Seine), with its interesting collections, partly occupies the site of an Augustine convent and comprises the old Hotel Chimay. It was erected from 1820 to 1838 and added to later. The most striking feature is the facade of the principal building designed by F. L. J. Duban. The courtyard contains part of the facade of the Norman chateau of Gaillon (16th century), which was destroyed at the Revolution, and the portal of the chateau of Anet (erected by Philibert Delorme in 1548) has been adapted as one of the entrances. The Grand Palais des Beaux-Arts, where horse-shows, &c., as well as annual exhibitions of paintings and sculptures are held, and the Petit Palais des Beaux-Arts, which contains art collections belonging to the city, date from 1897 - 1900. Both buildings stand close to the north end of the Pont Alexandre III.
The Bourse, built in imitation of an ancient temple, dates from the first half of the 19th century; the Tribunal of Commerce and the Palais du Trocadero, built for the exhibition of 1878, are both imposing buildings of the latter half of that period, to which also belongs the Hotel des Postes et Telegraphes.
Among the numerous historic mansions of Paris a few demand special mention. The so-called Maison de Francois I. (on the Cours la Reine overlooking the Seine) is a small but beautifully decorated building erected at Moret in 1527 and re-erected in Paris in 1826. In the St Gervais quarter are the Hotel de Beauvais of the latter half of the 17th century and the HOtel Lamoignon, built after 1580 for Diane de France, duchess of Angouleme, both of which have handsome courtyards; in the same quarter is the HOtel de Sens, of the 15th century, residence of the archbishops of Sens, whose province then included the diocese of Paris. The HOtel Lambert on the Ile St Louis, built by L. Levau in the 17th century for Nicholas Lambert and afterwards inhabited by Mme du Chatelet and Voltaire and George Sand, has a magnificent staircase and many works of art. The HOtel de Sully, built for the duke of Sully from 1624 to 1630, is in the Rue St Antoine and has an interesting courtyard. Of the fine mansion of the dukes of Burgundy the only relic is a tower of the early 15th century built by Jean Sans Peur.
Theatres, eec. - Of the theatres of Paris four - the Opera, the Opera-Comique, the Theatre Francais and the Odeon - receive state subventions, amounting in all to 51,000 per annum. The Opera (entitled the National Academy of Music) was originally founded in 1671 by Pierre Perrin, from whom the management was taken over by J. B. Lully. After several changes of locale, it was eventually transferred from the Rue Le Peletier to the present operahouse. The building, which covers 24 acres, is one of the finest theatres in the world. The process of erection, directed by Charles Garnier, lasted from 1861 to 1875 and cost nearly 12 million sterling. The front is decorated on the ground storey with allegorical groups (Music by Guillaume; Lyrical Poetry by Jouffroy; Lyrical Drama by Perraud; and Dancing by Carpeaux) and allegorical statues. Surmounting its angles are huge gilded groups representing music and poetry, and above it appears the dome which covers the auditorium. Behind that rises the vast pediment above the stage decorated at the corners with Pegasi by Lequesne. On the summit of the pediment an Apollo, raising aloft his lyre, is seen against the sky. The interior is decorated throughout with massive gilding, flamboyant scroll-work, statues, paintings, &c. The grand vestibule, with statues of Lulli, Rameau, Gluck and Handel, the grand staircase, the avant foyer or corridor leading to the foyer, and the foyer or crush-room itself are especially noteworthy. The last is a majestic apartment with a ceiling decorated with fine painting by Paul Baudry. The auditorium is seated for 2156; its ceiling is painted by J. E. Lenepveu. Behind the stage is the foyer de la danse or green-room for the ballet, adorned with large allegorical panels and portraits of the most eminent danseuses.
The Theatre Francois or Comedie Francaise was formed in 1681 under the latter name by the union of Moliere's company with two other theatrical companies of the time. The name Theatre Francais dates from 1791, when part of the company headed by the tragedian Talma migrated to the south-west wing of the Palais Royal, which the company, reunified in 1799, has since occupied. Both the Theatre Francais and the less important Odeon, a building of 1782 twice rebuilt, close to the Luxembourg garden, represent the works of the classical dramatists and modern dramas both tragic and comic. The Opera-Comique, founded in the early 18th century, occupies a building in the Boulevard des Italiens reconstructed after a fire in 1887. Serious as well as light opera is performed there.
Other theatres well known and long established are the Gymnase (chiefly comedy), the Vaudeville and the Porte St Martin (serious drama and comedy), the Varietes and the Palais Royal (farce and vaudeville); and the theatres named after and managed by Sarah Bernhardt and Rejane, the Theatre Antoine, the Gaite and the Ambigu may also be mentioned. The finest concerts in Paris are those of the Conservatoire de Musique et de Declamation (Rue du Faubourg Poissonniere), while the Concerts Lamoureux and the Concerts Colonne are also of a high order. Musical and local performances of a more popular kind are given at the music halls, cafes concerts and cabarets artistiques, with which the city abounds.
Paris is the chief centre for sport in France, and the principal societies for the encouragement of sport have their headquarters in the city. Among these may be mentioned the Societe d'encouragement pour l'amelioration des races de chevaux en France (associated with the Jockey Club), which is the chief authority in the country as regards racing, and the Union des societes francaises de sports athletiques, which comprises committees for the organization of athletics, football, lawn tennis and amateur sport generally. The Racing Club de France, the Stade francais and the Union athletique du premier arrondissement are the chief Parisian athletic clubs. Race meetings are held at Longchamp and Auteuil in the Bois de Boulogne, and at Chantilly, Vincennes, St Cloud, St Ouen, MaisonsLaffitte and other places in the vicinity.
Museums
Some of the more important museums of Paris require notice. The richest and most celebrated occupies the Louvre. On the ground floor are museums (I) of ancient sculpture, containing such treasures as the Venus of Milo, the Pallas of Velletri (the most beautiful of all statues of Minerva), the colossal group of the Tiber, discovered at Rome in the 14th century, &c.; (2) of Medieval and Renaissance sculpture, comprising works of Michelangelo, Jean Goujon, Germain Pilon, &c., and rooms devoted to early Christian antiquities and works by the Della Robbia and their school; (3) of modern French sculpture, with works by Puget, the brothers Coustou Coysevox, Chaude, Houdin, Rude, David of Angers, Carpeaux,; (4) of Egyptian sculpture and inscriptions; (5) of antiquities from Assyria, Palestine, Phoenicia and other parts of Asia; (6) of engravings.
On the first floor are (I) the picture galleries, rich in works of the Italian painters, especially of Leonardo da Vinci (including his Mona Lisa), Raphael, Titian and Paolo Veronese; of the Spanish masters Murillo is best represented; and there are numerous works by Rubens, Van Dyck and Teniers, and by Rembrandt and Holbein. The examples of French art form about one-third of the collection, and include (I) the collection bequeathed in 1869 by Dr La Caze (chiefly works of the 18th century); (2) a collection of ancient bronzes; (3) a collection of furniture of the 17th and 18th centuries; (4) a rich museum of drawings by great masters; (5) a museum of Medieval, Renaissance and modern art pottery, objects in bronze, glass and ivory, &c.; (6) the Rothschild collection of objects of art; (7) smaller antiquities from Susiana, Chaldaea and Egypt; (8) a collection of ancient pottery embodying the Campana collection purchased from the Papal government in 1861; (9) the royal jewels and a splendid collection of enamels in the spacious Apollo gallery designed by Charles Lebrun. On the second floor are French pictures of the 19th century, the Thomy-Thiery art-collection bequeathed in 1903, and the marine, ethnographical and Chinese museums. The Pavillon de La Tremoille contains a continuation of the Egyptian museum and antiquities brought from Susiana by Augustus De Morgan between 1897 and 1905. A museum of decorative art occupies the Pavillon de Marsan.
The museum of the Luxembourg, installed in a; building near the palace occupied by the senate, is devoted to works of living painters and sculptors acquired by the state. They remain there for ten years after the death of the artists, that the finest may be selected for the Louvre.
The Cluny museum occupies the old mansion of the abbots of that order (see above). It contains about II,000 examples of Medieval and Renaissance art-sculptures in marble, wood and stone, ivories, enamels and mosaics, pottery and porcelain, tapestries, bronzes, specimens of goldsmith's work, both religious and civil, including nine gold crowns of the 7th century found near Toledo, Venetian glass, furniture, iron-work, state carriages, ancient boots and shoes and pictures.
The Carnavalet museum comprises a collection illustrating the history of Paris. The Petit Palais des Beaux-Arts contains artcollections belonging to the city (especially the Dutuit collection). The house of Gustave Moreau, Rue Rochefoucauld, is now a museum of his paintings, and that of Victor Hugo, Place des Vosges, contains a collection of objects relating to the poet.
The Trocadero Palace contains a museum of casts illustrating the progress of sculpture, chiefly that of France, from the I ith to the 18th century, it also possesses a collection of Khmer antiquities from Cambodia and an ethnographical museum. In the same neighbourhood are the Guimet museum, containing the collections of Oriental pottery, of objects relating to the Oriental religions and of antiquities presented to the state in 1885 by Emile Guimet of Lyons; and the Galliera museum, erected by the duchess of Galliera and containing a collection of tapestries and other works of art belonging to the city. The Cernuschi Oriental museum, close to the Monceau Park, was bequeathed to the city in 1895 by M. Cernuschi.
The collection of MSS., engravings, medals and antiques in the Bibliotheque Nationale are important, as also are the industrial and machinery exhibits of the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers. For libraries see Libraries.
Population
Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements. Only the first twelve belonged to it previous to 1860; the others correspond to the old suburban communes then annexed. The first four arrondissements occupy the space on the right of the river, extending from the Place de la Concorde to the Bastille, and from the Seine to the line of the Grands Boulevards; the 5th, 6th and 7th arrondissements lie opposite them on the left side; the 8th, 9th, Toth, nth and 12th surround the first four arrondissements on the north; the 13th, Toth and 15th are formed out of the old suburban communes of the left side; and the 16th, 17th, 18th, T9th and 10th out of the old suburban communes of the right side.
The growth of the population during the T9th century is shown in the following table, which gives the population present on the census day, including the population comptee a part, i.e. troops, inmates of hospitals, prisons, schools, &c.
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