The Palace of the Tuileries
In 1871 Parisians watched the burning of one of their most ancient palaces; and, Philip Mansel writes, twelve years later, its ruins were sold and demolished.
While other palaces have survived to dominate the centres of every European capital, the palace of the Tuileries, from 1789 to 1871 the residence of the rulers of France, has disappeared. Its only remains are two pavilions of the Louvre, some pillars in a Corsican villa, and the railings of a Czechoslovakian castle.
The disappearance of the palace, the transformation of the district around it, and the curious inadequacy of contemporary accounts, make it very difficult to describe. But an outline of the palace’s geography will help to explain its role in French history.
What are now the ends of the two westward-protruding wings of the Louvre, the Pavilions de Marsan and de Flore, formed the north and south ends, respectively, of the palace of the Tuileries. Between them, 985 feet long (nearly three times as long as the Mall façade of Buckingham Palace), and very narrow, lay the palace itself.
Begun under Catherine de Medici, it was completed under Henri IV and Louis XIV. To the east of the palace was the main court-yard, the Cour Royal, at the entrance to which Napoleon put up the Arc de triomphe in 1806.
To continue reading this article you need to purchase a subscription, available from only £5.
Start my trial subscription now
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.
