March 12, 2008

Place des Vosges


We are now in the area called “le Marais” and will start with a look at the central place, Place des Vosges. Here used to be a royal residence (Hôtel des Tournelles) with a garden where the king Henry II was killed in a tourney in 1559, after which his widow, Catherine de Medicis, got the building destroyed.

Henry IV decided to build a square, which was finished in 1612 (after his death) and then became a very fashionable place, originally called Place Royale. It got its present name, Place des Vosges, in 1799 to honor the first French provincial department to pay taxes to support the Revolutionary army.The place looks a bit empty and dull on the pictures I took last week; as a comparison you can see a photo I took last summer.

It’s a true square, 140 x 140 meters (460 x 460 ft), all the buildings are in the same style with the same design and measures, except two pavilions with slightly higher roofs, designated as the King’s and the Queen’s pavilions. No king or queen ever lived here, but a lot of aristocracy and other prominent people. Among those, you can mention Sully, Cardinal Richelieu, Madame de Sevigné, Victor Hugo, Théophile Gautier, Alphonse Daudet...

Under the arcades you find today a number of art galleries, shops and a few cafés and in the middle of the place you can find a statue of Louis XIII - the original one was melted down during the Revolution and replaced in 1825.Behind no. 9, where you find the top restaurant “l’Ambroisie”, you will find another open garden or square (the gate is normally open). It’s surrounded by the Hôtel de Chaulnes and the Hôtel Sully, today housing respectively the Academy of Architecture and the “Caisse nationale des Monuments Historiques”. As usual, some of these pictures can be found on my photo blog.

I made an extra post today - see below!!

29 comments:

Shionge said...

Although I am not very artistic but I love to appreciate art pieces in my very own way..thank you Peter!

Azer Mantessa said...

peter,

thanks for the photo blog which provides the bigger pictures. the art galerries are nice.

looking forward to watching any paintings and abtracts a lot closer ... should there are captures on them.

hope i'm not too demanding ... ooppss ... yikes ... i am!

at your own convenient of course

:-)

lyliane six said...

Voilà une place que j'aime beaucoup et je ne manque jamais d'y aller m'y promener quand je vais chez Boffinger qui n'est pas loin, sauf la dernière fois, je n'y suis pas allée. Beaucoup d'hôtels particuliers ont été détruits,le massacre a été arrêté, mais le mal est fait.

hpy said...

Elle est belle cette Place des Vosges. Je suppose qu'il y a toujours des galeries d'art (d'après tes photos, oui). Je crois que c'était par là que j'avais failli acheter une aquarelle un jour, failli car elle avait déjà été vendue et pourtant elle était encore exposée. Elle me plaisait beaucoup.

Nathalie H.D. said...

Peter, both your posts are beautiful. I love Place des Vosges, and your spring flowers are a delight.

Peter, may I use your blog to relay an important message ?

24 HOURS AGAINST INTERNET CENSORSHIP - PLEASE TAKE ACTION

This morning I heard on the radio that Reporters Sans Frontières (Reporters Without Borders http://www.rsf.org/ ) is lauching today the first International Online Free Expression Day, a worldwide cyber demonstration against government censorship on the Internet.

Why is it important? A total of 63 cyber-dissidents are currently in jail worldwide for using their right to free expression on the Internet. China continues to be the world’s biggest prison for online journalists and bloggers.


You can help! To denounce government censorship of the Internet and to demand more online freedom, please come and protest: TODAY AND TODAY ONLY (from 12th March 11 am to 13th March 11 am Paris time) you can take part in the 24-hour online demonstration that will take place on Tien An Men square in Beijing and in one of the nine countries that have been identified as "enemies of the internet": China, Burma, Vietnam, North Korea, Egypt, Cuba, Erythrea, Tunisia and Turkmenistan .

Just click on http://www.rsf.org/ and follow the prompts: you will chose an alias (your virtual character), a slogan for your banner and the city where you wish to demonstrate. We need huge numbers! The blogging community can make a difference. Please relay this appeal and take action.

(please note you cannot action before 11 a.m. this morning)

Nathalie H.D. said...

Peter j'adore tes deux posts. La place des Vosges (mélange de photos hivernales et estivales) est magnifiques et tes fleurs nous font croire au printemps.

Peter, puis-je me permettre d'utiliser ton blog pour relayer un message important ? Il va peut-être d'ailleur falloir que tu rajoutes un troisième post aujourd'hui !!!



APPEL URGENT
24 HEURES CONTRE LA CYBER CENSURE : AGISSEZ !

ce matin j'ai entendu à la radio que Reporters Sans Frontières http://www.rsf.org/ organise aujourd'hui sa première journée d'action pour la liberté d'expression sur internet. Aujourd'hui et aujourd'hui seulement, du 12 mars à 11h au 13 mars à 11h (heure de Paris) participez à l'immense cyber manifestation organisée par RSF contre la censure gouvernementle exercée dans certains pays.


Pourquoi est-ce important ? Actuellement 63 cyberdissidents sont en prison pour avoir usé de leur droit à la liberté d'expression sur le Web. La Chine reste la plus grande prison pour les journalistes en ligne et les bloggeurs.
Pour dénoncer la censure exercée par les gouvernements et réclamer plus de libertés sur Internet, Reporters sans frontières appelle à manifester dans neuf pays ennemis du Net.

Pour participer, cliquez sur le site http://www.rsf.org/ et suivez les indications : on vous proposera de choisir un avatar (votre personnage virtuel) puis un slogan pour votre banderole ainsi que le lieu où vous irez manifester : la place Tien An Men à Pékin ou encore en Birmanie, au Vietnam, en Birmanie, en Corée du Nord, à Cuba, en Egypte, en Erythrée, en Tunisie ou au Turkménistan. La communauté des bloggeurs peut faire la différence. Relayez ce message et participez !

(à noter: vous ne pourrez pas manifester avant 11h ce matin)

Cergie said...

Au fond, photographier les places lorsqu'il n'y a pas de feuilles surtout lorsqu'elles ont la magnificence de la place des Vosges est une bonne chose pour en saisir l'ensemble
Place des Vosges avec sapins aurait fait plus véridique pourtant
;o)
Il y une place des Vosges aussi à Epinal avec un café du commerce, pas loin de ma maison de famille

Tu as donc visité la maison de VHugo (un peu sombre, non ? Et en enfilade) ?

Saura-t-on si tu es allé chez Mariage Frère cette fois, ou était ce juste boulot-boulot ?

Anonymous said...

Art and art galleries and arty people have been part of my 73 years. It began when I could crawl. Mom gave me a sharp pencil and cut apart a kraft paper sack to draw on and gave me an old Sears and Roebuck catalog to use to draw from. Those were the days.

alice said...

Je note ce bel endroit plus caché, derrière le n°9...Je note, je note!
Leena m'a aussi demandé des nouvelles des jonquilles et crocus de mon jardin mais je me réserve pour la semaine prochaine...J'adore les muscaris!

krystyna said...

Place des Vosges in your photos looks like dignified place; many like to walk here, but it seems as a quiet place.
Very beautiful!!!
It remind me Place Royale and Royal Castle in Warsaw.

Thank you Peter for the historical facts and your great photos.

Have a good day!

Ming the Merciless said...

I love Place des Vosges. I finally got to visit Le Marais and the castle during my last trip in 2006.

It is such a beautiful park and the place buildings are magnificient. It reminded me, culturally, of the Village and SoHo in NYC and I was hoping to bump into a few celebrities there. But no such luck. :-)

Zhang Chunhong said...

Un quartier très sympathique, que j'adore bp. A Paris,on n'est pas obligé de toujours visiter les sites connus, tels la Tour Effeil, Notre Dame. j'aimerais gouter le charme de Paris en m'y promenant. Paris, Place de Vosges, attends-moi! Je vais revenir, une fois, deux fois...jusqu'à n+1 fois.

Anonymous said...

Place des Vosges is my favorite spot, in Paris anyway, I'm not sure about anywhere, because I love our farm. And every time I sit there the Joni Mitchell song comes to mind, "Sittin in a park in Paris, France, . . .more about the war . . . " etc. Even though it's more of a "place" or square than a park. I always have to stay somewhere near enough to this place to be a short walk.

noushy syah said...

Did you snapped the pic during peak time of the day of vice versa?

Should visit the art galleries, they really nice.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Peter said...

shionge:
What is good and bad art?

azer:
I did not put the art gallery pictures on the photo blog... thought they are too temporary. If you "insist", I can do so!

lyliane:
Bofinger.... yam, yam! Quelques huitres?

Peter said...

hpy:
Il faut que tu retournes!

nathalie:
J'accepte ton message avec plaisir et j'ai manifesté, comme tu le proposes.
Une bonne cause!!

cergie:
Il faut aller vite maintenant pour les photos sans feuilles!
J'ai vu la maison Victor H il y a longtemps, mais pas cette fois ci!
Pour Mariage Frères, j'attends qu'on aille ensemble!

Peter said...

oldmanlincoln:
I love to hear your stories about the past (and present)!

alice:
Une petite dose de fleurs par semaine pour Leena!

krystyna:
I have been to Poland, but never to Warsaw! Another place on the list!

Peter said...

ming:
Are you a paparazzi?

zhang:
Tu as bien raison! Une ville, c'est surtout l'ambiance!

ruth:
So now I know where to find you next time you are in Paris!

Peter said...

noushy:
Early afternoon - and rain!

deleted:
Publicity / spam...?

Anonymous said...

Oui, oui!

Peter said...

ruth:
D'accord!

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Jeanie said...

It's fun to see the shops and all -- I didn't get into any of those. I knew I had Carnavalet to look forward to and it was already afternoon (the day I decided to bail on going up in the Eiffel after the never-moving lines!). So, it was a late start. But I loved just sitting there, knowing the history of Place de Voges (my spelling is terrible; sorry) and feeding the birds (which were so friendly, you probably fed, want to or not!) Nice thoughts going back -- thanks for such beautiful images to take me there!

puntahermosaperuhotels said...

A great place where people can appreciate art in different forms and enjoy viewing it.

santateresaperu said...

The place is for arts lovers around the world who would like to visit this place and admire the the works there.

sushilima said...

The park is enjoyed by everybody who wants to relax and enjoy the scenery as seen in the picture.

theincatrail said...

The buildings are magnificent well made to last a long time.

incatrail said...

You have plenty of places to choose from to satisfy your art desire.