Tuileries Garden

After the accidental death of her husband Henry II in July 1559, Queen Catherine de' Medici moved with her family and court to the Louvre Palace. However, five years later, she decided to build a new residence with a spacious garden just outside the city wall of Charles V. The location, formerly occupied by tile-making factories, was called Tuileries, and the new palace was named the Tuileries Palace. Catherine hired landscape architect Bernard de Carnesse from Florence to create an Italian Renaissance garden. The enclosed garden was divided into rectangular compartments by six alleys, featuring lawns, flower beds, small clusters of trees, kitchen gardens, vineyards, fountains, a labyrinth, and faience images of plants and animals.

However, the garden's development was interrupted by a civil war in 1588, during which the gardens were pillaged. King Henry IV restored and embellished the gardens upon his return in 1595 with his chief landscape gardener Claude Mollet. He built a covered arbor, a mulberry tree alley, and a rectangular ornamental lake with a fountain supplied by the new pump called La Samaritaine. The area between the palace and the former moat of Charles V was turned into the “New Garden” with a large fountain in the center. Despite the Tuileries Palace's continual reconstruction, Henry IV used the gardens for relaxation and exercise.

Louis XIII inherited the Tuileries Gardens as a child, and he used it for hunting and to keep exotic animals. The garden was initially exclusively used by the royal family, but it was opened to the nobility when the king and court were away. However, when Louis XIV came to power, he quickly imposed order and hired the landscape architect André Le Nôtre to redesign the garden. Le Nôtre transformed the Tuileries into a formal jardin à la française based on symmetry, order, and long perspectives. He eliminated the street separating the palace and the garden, and replaced it with a terrace overlooking flowerbeds and ornamental lakes with fountains. Le Nôtre also built two terraces, a horseshoe-shaped ramp, and an octagonal lake on the west side of the garden. His grand perspective continued outside the garden with an avenue of trees. Le Nôtre's work on the garden took six years, and it was opened to the public, with some exceptions, in 1667. The Tuileries Garden was the first royal garden to be open to the public.

The Tuileries Garden remained virtually unchanged for 150 years. Minor changes were made under Louis XV, for example, the pattern of the park's alleys was altered, and statues were transferred from the Marly park (most of them are now in the Louvre) — all this changed the external aspect of the park but left the structure planned by Le Nôtre unchanged. Certain holidays, such as the feast day of Saint Louis, were celebrated with concerts and fireworks in the park, while small food stands and rented chairs were made available to the public.

The garden's association with the monarchy ended with the onset of the French Revolution, when the royal family was imprisoned in the Tuileries Palace. The garden was open to the public in the afternoon, with Queen Marie Antoinette and the Dauphin given a separate part for private use. The palace was later stormed by a mob in 1792, and the new revolutionary government, the National Convention, met in the garden's former riding academy. The Tuileries Garden became the National Garden of the French Republic, with statues from the former royal gardens installed in the park.

The Tuileries garden served as a venue for revolutionary festivities, including the Cult of the Supreme Being celebration in June 1794. The garden was damaged during the storming, and Jacques-Louis David and August Cheval de Saint-Hubert were tasked with its renovation. They planned to decorate the garden with classical elements such as porticos and columns, but the project was never completed. Today, only the two exedres with statues remain.

In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte took up residence in the Tuileries Palace and made improvements to transform it into an imperial residence. One of his significant additions to the palace-garden complex was the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which was modeled after the triumphal arch in Rome and served as the ceremonial entrance to his palace.

Napoleon commissioned the construction of a new street, along the northern edge of the Tuileries garden in 1801.The rue de Rivoli, named after Napoleon's victory in 1797, featured arcades on the north side. Napoleon used the garden for military parades and celebrations during his reign, including his wedding procession in 1810 when he married the Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria.

After Napoleon's fall, the Tuileries Palace was occupied by Russian and Prussian troops, and the restored monarchs made it their home. During the July Revolution of 1830, the garden became a battleground as opponents of the monarchy stormed it. King Charles X was replaced by a constitutional King, Louis Philippe, who created a large flower garden protected by a moat to isolate his residence from popular footpaths. This move made him unpopular among Parisians and contributed to his downfall in 1848.

In 1852, Emperor Napoleon III took over the garden after a revolution and made significant modifications, expanding the royal reserve and adding exotic plants, flowers, and statues. He transformed the Terrasse du bord-de-l'eau into a playground for his son, built twin pavilions, an indoor handball court, and an Orangerie, among other enhancements. The garden was open to the public, including the Emperor's private garden and playground, when he was not in Paris.

However, in 1870, the palace was burned down during the Paris Commune uprising. The empty site of the palace became part of the garden, and dozens of statues were added to it. The garden was a venue for large civic events and major commercial events, such as the first Paris automobile salon in 1898. It was also a place for public entertainment, with acrobats, puppet theaters, lemonade stands, small boats on the lakes, donkey rides, and stands selling toys. In 1900, the garden hosted the fencing events of the Summer Olympics.

The garden of the Carrousel, located between the Louvre Museum and the Tuileries Gardens in Paris, has a rich history. During World War I, garden maintenance was minimal as the gardeners were drafted into the army and the statues were protected by sandbags. During World War II, the Germans used the Jeu de paume tennis court as a warehouse for stolen art.

In the 1960s, Minister of Culture André Malraux removed 19th-century statues from the Place du Carrousel and replaced them with contemporary sculptures by Aristide Maillol. In the 1990s, landscape architect Jacques Wirtz redesigned the garden, adding labyrinths and low hedges. Under President Jacques Chirac, works of modern sculpture by several artists were added to the garden.

Despite the challenges faced by the garden throughout its history, it has remained a cultural hub in Paris, showcasing both historic and contemporary art and providing a peaceful escape from the busy city streets. The ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance the garden ensure that it will continue to be a cherished landmark for years to come.