The Quai d'Orsay ( , ) is a
quay
A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...
in the
7th arrondissement of Paris. It is part of the
left bank
In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water.
Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography.
In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...
of the
Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
opposite the
Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde (; ) is a public square in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
It was the s ...
. It becomes the
Quai Anatole-France east of the
Palais Bourbon, and the
Quai Branly west of the
Pont de l'Alma.
The seat of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
(the ''Hôtel du ministre des Affaires étrangères'') is located on the Quai d'Orsay, between the
Esplanade des Invalides and the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
at the Palais Bourbon; thus the ministry is often called the "Quai d'Orsay" in the press by
metonymy
Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word " suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such as sales ...
. The building housing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was built between 1844 and 1855 by Jacques Lacornée. The statues of the facade were created by the sculptor
Henri de Triqueti (1870). The
1919 Treaty of Versailles was negotiated and written at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
History
The Quai d'Orsay (originally until the
Rue du Bac in the east) has historically played an important role in
French art as a location to which many artists came to paint along the banks of the river Seine. Construction of the wharf proceeded slowly.
The
American Church in Paris, located at 65 Quai d'Orsay, was built in 1931.
American Church in Paris
accessed 1 December 2022.
Name's origin
The Quai d'Orsay is named after Charles Boucher d'Orsay, seigneur of Orsay
Orsay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris.
A fortifie ...
,Orsay
Orsay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris.
A fortifie ...
, Essonne, is a town 21 km (13 mi) southwest of the centre of Paris.
References
External links
Official web site of the Ministry building
*
{{Coord, 48, 51, 46, N, 2, 18, 36, E, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title
Orsay, Quai d'
Buildings and structures in the 7th arrondissement of Paris