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Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace (French: palais des Tuileries, [palɛ de tɥilʁi]) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was burned by the Paris Commune in 1871 and demolished in 1883.
Construction began in 1564, originally to serve as a home for Queen Catherine de' Medici, and was gradually extended until it closed off the western end of the courtyard and displayed an immense façade of 266 metres. Since the destruction of the Tuileries, the courtyard has remained open to the west, and the site now overlooks the eastern end of the Tuileries Garden, forming an elevated terrace between the Place du Carrousel and the gardens proper.
The site of the Tuileries Palace was originally just outside the walls of the city, in an area frequently flooded by the Seine as far as the present Rue Saint-Honoré. The land was occupied by the workshops and kilns craftsmen who made 'tuiles', or roof tiles. Because of its proximity to the Louvre Castle, members of the royal family began buying plots of land there.
After the death of Henri II in 1559, his widow Catherine de' Medici moved into the Louvre Castle with her son, Francis II. She planned a new residence for herself, on a site that was close to the Louvre and had space for a large garden. She sold the medieval Hôtel des Tournelles, near the Bastille, where her husband had died, and between 1563 and 1568 acquired several pieces of land which she put together for her new residence. Construction began in 1564, with Philibert de l'Orme working as chief architect. De l'Orme died in 1570, when the work was still in its early stages. His place was taken by Jean Bullant. The 1588 Day of the Barricades between Catholics and Protestants in the city abruptly halted the work; the unprotected site was abandoned and pillaged.
Work did not resume until 1594, when Henri IV made a triumphal return to Paris and recommenced construction of the Louvre and the Tuileries. He constructed the Grande Galerie, parallel to the Seine, which connected the two palaces. At the same time, Henri commissioned the landscape gardener Claude Mollet to modify the plan of the gardens. The architects and decorators Étienne Dupérac, Louis Métezeau, and Jacques II Androuet du Cerceau contributed to the new palace. Androuet du Cerceau contributed the Pavillon des Tuileries, a tower that linked the Louvre and Tuileries palaces.
After the death of Henri IV in 1610, work on the palace halted. His son Louis XIII had no intention of continuing construction. Work did not resume until after the end of the Fronde in 1653. Between 1659 and 1661, Louis XIV and Cardinal Mazarin had Louis Le Vau enlarge the palace, extending it to the north with the addition of the Théâtre des Tuileries.
In 1662, Louis XIV celebrated the birth of his son and heir, Louis, Dauphin of France, with a spectacular 'Carrousel' held in the courtyard on the east side of the palace. The equestrian pageant, with dressage and other exercises, drew over 700 participants. It offered a variety of tournaments and competitions, including a contest in which horsemen were asked to spear the cardboard heads of 'Saracens' and 'Moors', as well as a series of mounted processions around the courtyard, complete with music. The King himself took part, dressed as a Roman emperor. The courtyard thereafter became known as the Carrousel.
From 1664 to 1666, Le Vau and his assistant François d'Orbay made other significant changes. They transformed Philibert de l'Orme's façades and central pavilion, replacing its grand central staircase with a colonnaded vestibule on the ground floor and the Salle des Cents Suisses (Hall of the Hundred Swiss Guards) on the floor above. They also added a rectangular dome. A new grand staircase was installed in the entrance of the north wing of the palace, and lavishly decorated royal apartments were installed in the south wing. The King's rooms were on the ground floor, facing the Louvre, and the Queen's on the floor above, overlooking the garden. At the same time, Louis' gardener, André Le Nôtre, redesigned the Tuileries Garden.
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Tuileries Palace AI simulator
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Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace (French: palais des Tuileries, [palɛ de tɥilʁi]) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was burned by the Paris Commune in 1871 and demolished in 1883.
Construction began in 1564, originally to serve as a home for Queen Catherine de' Medici, and was gradually extended until it closed off the western end of the courtyard and displayed an immense façade of 266 metres. Since the destruction of the Tuileries, the courtyard has remained open to the west, and the site now overlooks the eastern end of the Tuileries Garden, forming an elevated terrace between the Place du Carrousel and the gardens proper.
The site of the Tuileries Palace was originally just outside the walls of the city, in an area frequently flooded by the Seine as far as the present Rue Saint-Honoré. The land was occupied by the workshops and kilns craftsmen who made 'tuiles', or roof tiles. Because of its proximity to the Louvre Castle, members of the royal family began buying plots of land there.
After the death of Henri II in 1559, his widow Catherine de' Medici moved into the Louvre Castle with her son, Francis II. She planned a new residence for herself, on a site that was close to the Louvre and had space for a large garden. She sold the medieval Hôtel des Tournelles, near the Bastille, where her husband had died, and between 1563 and 1568 acquired several pieces of land which she put together for her new residence. Construction began in 1564, with Philibert de l'Orme working as chief architect. De l'Orme died in 1570, when the work was still in its early stages. His place was taken by Jean Bullant. The 1588 Day of the Barricades between Catholics and Protestants in the city abruptly halted the work; the unprotected site was abandoned and pillaged.
Work did not resume until 1594, when Henri IV made a triumphal return to Paris and recommenced construction of the Louvre and the Tuileries. He constructed the Grande Galerie, parallel to the Seine, which connected the two palaces. At the same time, Henri commissioned the landscape gardener Claude Mollet to modify the plan of the gardens. The architects and decorators Étienne Dupérac, Louis Métezeau, and Jacques II Androuet du Cerceau contributed to the new palace. Androuet du Cerceau contributed the Pavillon des Tuileries, a tower that linked the Louvre and Tuileries palaces.
After the death of Henri IV in 1610, work on the palace halted. His son Louis XIII had no intention of continuing construction. Work did not resume until after the end of the Fronde in 1653. Between 1659 and 1661, Louis XIV and Cardinal Mazarin had Louis Le Vau enlarge the palace, extending it to the north with the addition of the Théâtre des Tuileries.
In 1662, Louis XIV celebrated the birth of his son and heir, Louis, Dauphin of France, with a spectacular 'Carrousel' held in the courtyard on the east side of the palace. The equestrian pageant, with dressage and other exercises, drew over 700 participants. It offered a variety of tournaments and competitions, including a contest in which horsemen were asked to spear the cardboard heads of 'Saracens' and 'Moors', as well as a series of mounted processions around the courtyard, complete with music. The King himself took part, dressed as a Roman emperor. The courtyard thereafter became known as the Carrousel.
From 1664 to 1666, Le Vau and his assistant François d'Orbay made other significant changes. They transformed Philibert de l'Orme's façades and central pavilion, replacing its grand central staircase with a colonnaded vestibule on the ground floor and the Salle des Cents Suisses (Hall of the Hundred Swiss Guards) on the floor above. They also added a rectangular dome. A new grand staircase was installed in the entrance of the north wing of the palace, and lavishly decorated royal apartments were installed in the south wing. The King's rooms were on the ground floor, facing the Louvre, and the Queen's on the floor above, overlooking the garden. At the same time, Louis' gardener, André Le Nôtre, redesigned the Tuileries Garden.