Jardins du Trocadéro
The Jardins du Trocadéro are two symmetrical green spaces on the hill of Chaillot in the 16th arrondissement of Paris .
location
The gardens are on the right bank of the Seine , from which they are only separated by the Avenue des Nations Unies. To the north they are bounded by the two quarter-circle wings of the Palais de Chaillot , between which a popular viewing platform offers a beautiful view over part of the Rive Gauche (left bank of the Seine).
The imposing stairs of the complex lead from the Place du Trocadéro et du 11 Novembre down to a bridge over the Seine, the Pont d'Iéna . They are the starting point for the imposing perspective that goes beyond the Seine, across the Eiffel Tower and the green space of the Champ de Mars , and which ends at the École Militaire (military school).
history
Instead of the extensive esplanade on the slope of the hill of Chaillot, the monastery of the Visitation (French: couvent de la Visitation ) stood since 1651 , which was destroyed after the revolution . Several redesign plans were drawn up for the site: Napoleon Bonaparte wanted to have a monument built in honor of his son, who was then King of Rome . The sculptor Antoine Étex suggested building a huge fountain with a lighthouse in the middle. Also Louis XVIII. wanted to build a monument called Villa Trocadéro in memory of the Battle of Trocadero in 1823 . However, none of these projects was realized. The name of the last project has shaped the place to this day.
Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann recognized the enthusiasm of the French population for gardens and used them as a political tool. In England gardens were already viewed as an instrument for social reform. They adopted this idea and wanted to turn the Paris Gardens into a symbol of social harmony that would balance urban tensions during these troubled times.
The Jardins du Trocadéro were finally laid out for the Paris World Exhibition in 1878 . The engineer Jean-Charles Alphand had the gardens laid out in harmony with the “Palais du Trocadéro” planned by the architect Gabriel Davioud , which was designed in the oriental style with 70 m high minarets. At the same time, the underground Aquarium du Trocadéro was built in the northeastern area of the gardens , the specialty of which was that it displayed river fish.
As part of the preparations for the 1937 World Exhibition, today's Palais de Chaillot with its terraces, stairs and fountain was built on the existing foundations after the oriental palace was demolished . Following the dismantling of the temporary exhibition pavilions, the gardens were restored and partially redesigned by Roger Lardat, one of the architects working for the city of Paris, and the aquarium was renovated. Despite its international fame, the latter was closed in 1985 due to its dilapidation after being in existence for over a hundred years. Since 1997, the reopening has been the language that has been delayed several times for cost reasons. Extensive renovations are currently being carried out. The new aquarium should be completed and made accessible to the public before the end of 2016.
layout
The 93,930 m² facility is divided into several terraces. On the central terrace is the Warsaw fountain (French fontaine de Varsovie , 1937), at which 20 water cannons shoot up a volume of 8,240 m³ and form 56 fountains. The water then flows over side stairs into an elongated basin that extends to the foot of the slope. The fountains are highlighted in the evening by an impressive play of light.
While the open terraces in the center of the gardens consist of wide promenades, the areas on both sides are densely planted with deciduous trees. An artificial stream runs through the irregularly laid out gardens. You can find beeches, chestnuts, linden trees, as well as a red oak, a pedunculate oak and a hundred-year-old hazelnut bush. But there is also a Caucasian wingnut , which was planted in 1891 and reached a height of 28 m. Towards the center, this lush vegetation meets a straight line of paulownias that delimit the open esplanade on both sides.
The gardens are occasionally decorated with sculptures, most of which date from the 1930s . For example, the sculptures Homme (German: man) by Traverse and Femme (German: woman) by Bacqué, which rise above the basin. Rare remains of the city's history can also be found there: an upper corner of the 16th century Hôtel de Ville and part of the facade of the Tuileries Palace .
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 51 ′ 40.6 " N , 2 ° 17 ′ 23.2" E