The Palais Longchamp is a monument in the

4th arrondissement of Marseille The 4th arrondissement of Marseille is one of the 16 arrondissements of Marseille This list of arrondissements of Marseille, France, include their INSEE code, postal code, sectors and neighbourhoods. List Prevolutionary parishes Before the ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It houses the Musée des beaux-arts and

Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Marseille The Muséum d’histoire naturel de Marseille, also known in English as the Natural History Museum of Marseille, is one of the most visited natural history museums in France. It was founded in 1819 by Jean-Baptiste, marquis de Montgrand and Christo ...

. The surrounding Longchamp Park (French: ''Parc Longchamp'') is listed by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...

as one of the

Notable Gardens of France The Remarkable Gardens of France is intended to be a list and description, by region, of the more than three hundred gardens classified as ''"Jardins remarquables"'' by the Ministry of Culture (France), Ministry of Culture and the Comi ...

History

The Palais Longchamp was created to celebrate the construction of the

Canal de Marseille The Canal de Marseille is a major source of drinking water for all of Marseille, the largest city in Provence, France. The canal along its main artery is long but has additional of minor arteries. Its construction lasted 15 years and was directed ...

, which was built to bring water from the river

Durance The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

. Although the foundation stone was laid by the Duke of Orleans on 15 November 1839, the building took 30 years to complete, partly because of the enormous expense and partly because of difficulties with local regulations. Designed by the architect

Henri-Jacques Espérandieu Henri-Jacques Espérandieu (22 February 1829 – 11 November 1874) was an architect who made his career in Marseille, France. He was responsible for some of the most famous buildings of the city, including the "Bonne mère", Notre-Dame de la Garde. ...

, the building was centered on the structure and elaborate fountain known as the ''château d'eau'' ("water castle").

Description

Marseille Palais Longchamp At Night JD 22052007

The Palais Longchamp has three main parts: * The ''château d'eau'' * The east wing, which houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts * The west wing, which houses the

Museum d'Histoire Naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

Park

Longchamp Park was opened in 1869, at the same time as the palace; in addition, the art and natural-history collections, which had been housed elsewhere, moved into the palace at this time. The park also contained a zoo, which was run by the city from 1898 until 1987, when, because of public disaffection with traditional zoos, it was closed. At the summit of the fountain are sculptures of four large bulls and three women—a central figure representing the Durance flanked by one who represents grapes and one who represents wheat and fertility. Behind the women, within the central structure of the palace, is a manmade stone grotto decorated with carved

stalactites A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...

and

nymphs A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typ ...

. From beneath the three women and from the bulls, water flows into a secondary basin, and then into an artificial pond. The water drains out of the pond into underground pipes, from which it emerges in a waterfall-like structure, and in twelve ornate bronze fountains lined alongside it, flowing into a second, larger pond. The central feature of the garden behind the palace is a classic garden ''à la française'', which is known as the ''Jardin du plateau''. The garden also includes an

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

, with winding alleys and many notable trees, including a 150-year-old

plane tree ''Platanus'' is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae. All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. All except f ...

and an

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

and a

Siberian elm ''Ulmus pumila'', the Siberian elm, is a tree native to Asia. It is also known as the Asiatic elm and dwarf elm, but sometimes miscalled the 'Chinese Elm' (''Ulmus parvifolia''). ''U. pumila'' has been widely cultivated throughout Asia, Nor ...

that are both 120 years old. The area that was occupied by the 19th-century zoo still contains many of its picturesque buildings in fantastic styles, including oriental pavilions for the

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...

and

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

, cages ornamented with Turkish tiles, and bear cages and seal dens decorated with ''rocaille'', or rock-work.

In popular culture

The music video of

Soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

's single, "Ils Nous Connaissent Pas" was filmed at Palais Longchamp in 2014.

Gallery

File:Marseille Palais Longchamp 16 20061231.jpg, ''Jardin du plateau'', Longchamp Park File:Feançois Gilbert - Griffon - Palais longchamp.jpg, François Gilbert sculpture File:Marseille Palais Longchamp 18 20061231.jpg, Former giraffe pavilion in the Parc Longchamp File:Marseille Palais Longchamp Wasserfall JD25032007.jpg, The fountain's secondary basin and middle balcony above the first pond File:Marseille - Palais Lonchamps 1890-1900.jpg, Longchamp around 1900 File:Marseille Palais Longchamp schraeg JD25032007.jpg, The ''château d'eau'' viewed from the middle balconies, looking toward the first pond and secondary basin

Sources and citations