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Hôtel de Ville, Paris

Coordinates: 48°51′23″N 2°21′09″E / 48.8564°N 2.3525°E / 48.8564; 2.3525
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Hôtel de Ville
Main frontage of the Hôtel de Ville in April 2017
Map
General information
TypeCity hall
Architectural styleRenaissance Revival
LocationParis, France
Coordinates48°51′23″N 2°21′09″E / 48.8564°N 2.3525°E / 48.8564; 2.3525
Completed1357
1533 (expansion)
1892 (reconstruction)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Théodore Ballu, Édouard Deperthes

The Hôtel de Ville (French pronunciation: [otɛl də vil], City Hall) is the city hall of Paris, France, standing on the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville – Esplanade de la Libération in the 4th arrondissement. The south wing was originally constructed by Francis I beginning in 1535 until 1551. The north wing was built by Henry IV and Louis XIII between 1605 and 1628.[1] It was burned by the Paris Commune, along with all the city archives that it contained, during the Semaine Sanglante, the Commune's final days, in May 1871.[2] The outside was rebuilt following the original design, but larger, between 1874 and 1882, while the inside was considerably modified.[3] It has been the headquarters of the municipality of Paris since 1357. It serves multiple functions, housing the local government council, since 1977 the Mayors of Paris and their cabinets, and also serves as a venue for large receptions. It was designated a monument historique by the French government in 1975.[4]

History

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The original building

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In July 1357, Étienne Marcel, provost of the merchants (i.e. mayor) of Paris, bought the so-called maison aux piliers ("House of Pillars") in the name of the municipality on the gently sloping shingle beach which served as a river port for unloading wheat and wood and later merged into a square, the Place de Grève ("Strand Square"), a place where Parisians often gathered, particularly for public executions. Ever since 1357, the City of Paris's administration has been located on the same location where the Hôtel de Ville stands today. Before 1357, the city administration was located in the so-called parloir aux bourgeois ("Parlour of Burgesses") near the Châtelet.[5]

In 1533, King Francis I decided to endow Paris with a city hall which would be worthy of his capital, then the largest city of Europe and Christendom. He appointed two architects: Italian Dominique de Cortone, nicknamed Boccador because of his red beard, and Frenchman Pierre Chambiges. The House of Pillars was torn down and Boccador, steeped in the spirit of the Renaissance, drew up the plans of a building which was at the same time tall, spacious, full of light and refined. Building work was not finished until 1628 during the reign of Louis XIII.[6]

During the next two centuries, no changes were made to the edifice which was the stage for several famous events during the French Revolution. On 14 July 1789, the last provost of the merchants Jacques de Flesselles was murdered by an angry crowd. On 27 July 1794, Maximilien Robespierre attempted to commit suicide following a coup and was arrested along with his followers.[7]

In 1835, on the initiative of Claude-Philibert Barthelot, comte de Rambuteau, préfet of the Seine département, two wings were added to the main building and were linked to the facade by a gallery, to provide more space for the expanded city government. The architects were Étienne-Hippolyte Godde and Jean-Baptiste Lesueur.[8]

  • Former Hôtel de Ville, begun in 1533 (plan by Braun and Hogenberg, c. 1530)
    Former Hôtel de Ville, begun in 1533 (plan by Braun and Hogenberg, c. 1530)
  • Engraving by Theodor Josef Hubert Hoffbauer (1885) showing how he envisioned the Hôtel de Ville in 1583
    Engraving by Theodor Josef Hubert Hoffbauer (1885) showing how he envisioned the Hôtel de Ville in 1583
  • The Hôtel de Ville and the Place de Grève, Nicolas-Jean-Baptiste Raguenet, c. 1753
    The Hôtel de Ville and the Place de Grève, Nicolas-Jean-Baptiste Raguenet, c. 1753
  • The Hôtel de Ville on the Verniquet atlas, 1780s
    The Hôtel de Ville on the Verniquet atlas, 1780s
  • Events at the Hôtel de Ville (left) during the July Revolution, by Joseph Beaume. Two wings were built a few years later.
    Events at the Hôtel de Ville (left) during the July Revolution, by Joseph Beaume. Two wings were built a few years later.

The Paris Commune

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During the Franco-Prussian War, the building played a key role in several political events. On 30 October 1870, revolutionaries broke into the building and captured some of the members of the Government of National Defence, while making repeated demands for the establishment of a communard government. The existing government escaped via a tunnel built in 1807, which still connects the Hôtel de Ville with a nearby barracks.[9]: Kindle 2416  On 23 January 1871, crowds gathered outside the building to protest against speculated surrender to the Prussians, and were dispersed by soldiers firing from the building, who inflicted several casualties.[9]: Kindle 4699 

The Hôtel de Ville had been the headquarters of the French Revolution, and likewise, it was the headquarters of the Paris Commune. On 23 and 24 May 1871, when defeat became increasingly imminent and the French army approached the building, the Communards set fire to the Hôtel de Ville, along with other government buildings, destroying it and almost all of the city archives prior to 1860.

Already, early that morning, the Commune added to the flames one of the finest and most historic buildings of all Paris – the Hôtel de Ville itself. At 8 a.m. some fifteen members met there to discuss its immediate evacuation, and only Delescluze and one other had protested. In its despair, a scorched-earth policy had now become the retreating Communard's automatic response, and by 11 a.m. the Hôtel de Ville was a sea of flames.[10]

  • Uprising of 22 January 1871 at the Hôtel de Ville
    Uprising of 22 January 1871 at the Hôtel de Ville
  • National Guards in the Louis XIV courtyard, engraving from L'Illustration, 1871
    National Guards in the Louis XIV courtyard, engraving from L'Illustration, 1871
  • Burning of the Hôtel de Ville by Paris Commune, 23–24 May 1871
    Burning of the Hôtel de Ville by Paris Commune, 23–24 May 1871
  • Hôtel de Ville after the Paris Commune, photograph by Auguste Hippolyte Collard, 1871
    Hôtel de Ville after the Paris Commune, photograph by Auguste Hippolyte Collard, 1871
  • Hôtel de Ville with Commune damage, photograph by Alphonse Liebert, 1871
    Hôtel de Ville with Commune damage, photograph by Alphonse Liebert, 1871

Reconstruction

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Reconstruction of City Hall lasted from 1873 through 1892 (19 years) and was directed by architects Théodore Ballu and Édouard Deperthes, who had won the public competition for the building's reconstruction. The plan entailed the removal of the ruins, and the construction of a completely new building, with a central facade replicating the original 16th-century French Renaissance building. The side wings replicated those of the 1830-40s, but wider. The building was 50 metres (160 ft) high at its highest point.[11]

Behind the facades, the interior was based on an entirely new design, with ceremonial rooms lavishly decorated in the 1880s style. Ballu also designed the Church of La Trinité in the 9th arrondissement and the belfry of the town hall of the 1st arrondissement, opposite the Louvre's east façade. He also restored the Saint-Jacques Tower, a Gothic church tower in a square 150 metres (490 ft) to the west of the Hôtel de Ville.[12]

  • At turn of the century, rebuilt in the 1870s in its original French Renaissance style inspired by the Châteaux of the Loire Valley
    At turn of the century, rebuilt in the 1870s in its original French Renaissance style inspired by the Châteaux of the Loire Valley
  • Colored postcard of the rebuilt Hôtel de Ville, late 19th century
    Colored postcard of the rebuilt Hôtel de Ville, late 19th century
  • Cross section of the building, c. 1900
    Cross section of the building, c. 1900

Later events

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Since the French Revolution, the building has been the scene of a number of historical events, notably the proclamation of the French Third Republic in 1870.[13]

On 20 August 1944, fighters from the Paris Liberation Committee took refuge in the Hôtel de Ville. On 25 August during the Liberation of Paris, Charles de Gaulle gave a speech there, when he greeted a crowd from a front window, in which he declared in particular: "Paris! Paris outraged! Paris broken! Paris martyred! But Paris liberated! ".[14][15][16]

In 2002 the mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, a socialist and the city's first openly gay leader, was stabbed during the first all-night, citywide Nuit Blanche (literally, White Night) festival when the doors of the long-inaccessible building were thrown open to the public. But Delanoë recovered and did not lose his zeal for access, later converting the mayor's sumptuous private apartments into a crèche (day nursery) for the children of municipal workers.[17][18]

During the 2024 Summer Olympics, the men's and women's marathons started at the Hôtel de Ville.[19]

Hôtel de Ville of Paris, featuring a portrait of Charles de Gaulle

Architecture

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The main façade, 143 metres (469 ft) long and 18.8 metres (62 ft) high (26.8 metres (88 ft) for the corner pavilions and 50 metres (160 ft) for the bell tower), includes a central avant-corps corresponding to the old monument built during the Renaissance. It rises at its ends in two pavilions, each flanked by a square corbelled turret, through which two gates leading to the courtyards are pierced, closed by wrought iron gates, bearing the coat of arms of the City of Paris.[20]

This central body and its two pavilions are enlarged on either side by a small wing set back six metres, ending with a corner pavilion. On the ground and first floors, each bay features semi-circular and rectangular windows topped by mezzanines, framed by pilasters and columns.[20]

The next floor of the intermediate façade features an attic pierced with stone dormers that enclose a rectangular bay. The pavilion floor is different, with a central bay comprising a semicircular bay preceded by a balustraded balcony, and two side bays adorned with niches and statues. This floor is surmounted by a Mansard roof crowned by an open gallery with corner pedestals supporting flame vases.[20]

  • West (main) façade
    West (main) façade
  • West façade (detail)
    West façade (detail)
  • South façade
    South façade
  • East façade (detail)
    East façade (detail)
  • Courtyard with spiraled staircase
    Courtyard with spiraled staircase

Statuary of the façade

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The central ceremonial doors under the clock are flanked by allegorical figures of Art, by Laurent Marqueste, and Science, by Jules Blanchard. Some 230 other sculptors were commissioned to produce 338 individual figures of famous Parisians on each façade, along with lions and other sculptural features. The sculptors included prominent academicians like Ernest-Eugène Hiolle and Henri Chapu, but the most famous was Auguste Rodin. Rodin produced the figure of the 18th-century mathematician Jean le Rond d'Alembert, finished in 1882.[21]

The statue on the garden wall on the south side is of Étienne Marcel, the most famous holder of the post of prévôt des marchands (provost of the merchants) which predated the office of mayor. Marcel was lynched in 1358 by an angry mob after trying to assert the city's powers too energetically.[22]

Interior statuary and paintings

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The decor features murals by the leading painters of the day, including Puvis de Chavannes and others.[23]

Salon d'entrée Nord

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The Salon d'entrée Nord included murals by Henri-Camille Danger.[24]

  • Henri-Camille Danger, North entrance lounge: L'Aurore boréale, 1892 (ceiling)
    Henri-Camille Danger, North entrance lounge: L'Aurore boréale, 1892 (ceiling)
  • Henri-Camille Danger, Sketch for the North entrance lounge. The night. The Dragon.
    Henri-Camille Danger, Sketch for the North entrance lounge. The night. The Dragon.

Salle des fêtes

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The salle des fêtes (ballroom) was designed as a "republican" replica of the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, built two centuries earlier. The frescoes on the arches represent sixteen historical provinces of France. They are the work of four painters: Jean-Joseph Weerts, François-Émile Ehrmann, Paul Milliet and Ferdinand Humbert.[25]

  • Max Berthelin, The salle des fêtes of the Hôtel de Ville of Paris for the visit of Queen Victoria on 23 August 1855
    Max Berthelin, The salle des fêtes of the Hôtel de Ville of Paris for the visit of Queen Victoria on 23 August 1855
  • Ceiling of the new salle des fêtes
    Ceiling of the new salle des fêtes

Salle à manger d'honneur

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The Salle à manger d'honneur (dining room) features extensive use of carved oak.[26] It also includes a series of statues.[27]

Salon des Arcades

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The Salon des Arcades is in three separate parts: the Salon des Sciences, Salon des Arts and Salon des Lettres.[28]

  • Léon Bonnat, Le Triomphe de l'Art (1894), salon des Arts
    Léon Bonnat, Le Triomphe de l'Art (1894), salon des Arts
  • Albert Besnard, La Vérité, entraînant les Sciences à sa suite, c. 1890, salon des Sciences
    Albert Besnard, La Vérité, entraînant les Sciences à sa suite, c. 1890, salon des Sciences


Nearby places

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The northern (left) side of the building is located on the Rue de Rivoli. The nearby Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville (BHV) is a department store named after the Hôtel de Ville. The closest church to the Hôtel de Ville is the St-Gervais-et-St-Protais Church.[29]

Hôtel de ville at night

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Texier 2012, pp. 26–27.
  2. ^ Milza, 2009a, pp. 397–398
  3. ^ "Hotel de Ville, the Paris City Hall". Paris Digest. 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  4. ^ Base Mérimée: PA00086319, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  5. ^ Fierro, Alfred (1999). Dictionnaire du Paris disparu. Parigramme. p. 216. ISBN 2-84096-099-0.
  6. ^ The new Hôtel de Ville of the City of Paris. Scientific American. 26 August 1882. p. 5527.
  7. ^ Scurr, Ruth (2007). Fatal Purity: Robespierre and the French Revolution. Henry Holt and Company. p. 253. ISBN 978-1-4668-0578-1.
  8. ^ Ayers, Andrew (2004). The Architecture of Paris An Architectural Guide. Edition Axel Menges. p. 91. ISBN 978-3930698967.
  9. ^ a b Horne, Alistair (2015). The Fall of Paris: The Siege and the Commune 1870-71. Picador. OCLC 922079975.
  10. ^ Horne, Alistair (1965). "Chapter 25: 'La Semaine Sanglante'--II". The Fall of Paris: The Siege and the Commune 1870–1. St. Martin's Press, New York. pp. 389–390.
  11. ^ "Hôtel de Ville". 9Confidentiel hotel. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  12. ^ Mead, Christopher Curtis (1991). Charles Garnier's Paris Opéra Architectural Empathy and the Renaissance of French Classicism. Architectural History Foundation. p. 261. ISBN 978-0262132756.
  13. ^ Unger, Gérard (2022). Gambetta (in French). Paris: Perrin. pp. 71–76. ISBN 978-2-262-07991-8.
  14. ^ "Paris: la place de l'Hôtel de Ville devient l'Esplanade de la Libération". LExpress.fr (in French). 22 April 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  15. ^ "La Libération de Paris, victoire militaire et politique des Français" [The Liberation of Paris, French military and political victory]. Gouvernement.fr (in French). French Republic. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  16. ^ "25 août 1944, "Paris outragé! Paris brisé!...Mais Paris libéré!"" [August 25, 1944: "Paris outraged! Paris broken!...But Paris liberated!"]. Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (in French). 23 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  17. ^ Rapp, Linda (13 August 2007). "Delanoë, Bertrand". glbtq.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007.
  18. ^ Steyn, Mark (2006). America Alone. Regnery Pub. pp. 120–121. ISBN 9780895260789.
  19. ^ Grace Goulding (10 August 2024). "Everything you need to know about the Paris 2024 Marathon Pour Tous". Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  20. ^ a b c Marius Vachon, L'Hôtel de ville de Paris, 1535-1905 (in French), Plon-Nourrit, 1905, p. 85.
  21. ^ "In Rodin's Parisian Footsteps". Paris Muse. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  22. ^ Viard, Jules (1911). "Marcel, Étienne" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 684.
  23. ^ Summer. Life Magazine. 20 September 1943.
  24. ^ "Esquisse pour la salon d'entrée Nord de l'Hôtel de Ville de Paris : L'Ourse. La Nuit. Le Dragon". Paris Musées, les musées de la Ville de Paris. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  25. ^ Lucien Lambeau, L'Hôtel de ville de Paris (in French), Renouard, collection "Les Richesses d'art de la ville de Paris", 1908, p. 129.
  26. ^ "Salle à manger d'honneur de l'Hôtel de Ville de Paris, en chêne sculpté". Musée d'Orsay. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  27. ^ "Three models of statues for the dining room in the Hôtel de Ville in Paris". Petit Palais. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  28. ^ "Nagel's Paris And Its Environs Travel Guide". Les Editions Nagel. 1953. p. 122.
  29. ^ Dumoulin, Aline (2010). Églises de Paris. Éditions Massin. p. 60. ISBN 978-2-7072-0683-1.

Bibliography

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Books cited in the text

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  • Fierro, Alfred (1996). Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris. Robert Laffont. ISBN 2-221-07862-4.}
  • Milza, Pierre (2009a). L'année terrible: La Commune (mars–juin 1871). Paris: Perrin. ISBN 978-2-262-03073-5.
  • Poisson, Michel (2009). 1000 Immeubles et monuments de Paris. Parigramme. ISBN 978-2-84096-539-8.
  • Texier, Simon (2012). Paris- Panorama de l'architecture. Parigramme. ISBN 978-2-84096-667-8.
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