The Rue Radziwill is a street in the

1st arrondissement of Paris The 1st arrondissement of Paris (''Ier arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le premier'' (the first). It is governed locally toge ...

. It starts at 1 rue des Petits-Champs and ends in a dead end. It was named after

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

Prince, politician and one of the wealthiest men in Europe Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł.

History

The street was originally called the rue Neuve des Bons Enfants. It was created in 1640 on land that

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

had purchased in 1634. It ended on the rue Baillif, which has since been removed. The musician

François Couperin François Couperin (; 10 November 1668 – 11 September 1733) was a French Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as ''Couperin le Grand'' ("Couperin the Great") to distinguish him from other members of the musically talented ...

moved to the rue Neuve des Bons Enfants in 1724, where he stayed the rest of his life. The area was popular with musicians, particularly those who worked at the nearby

Académie Royale de Musique The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

. The passage Radziwill, which crossed a house owned by the Polish Prince

Karol Stanisław "Panie Kochanku" Radziwiłł Karol may refer to: Places * Karol, Gujarat, a village on Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat, west India * Karol State, a former Rajput petty princely state with seat in the above town Film/TV *'' Karol: A Man Who Became Pope'', a 2005 miniseries *' ...

(1734-1790), ended on the street. It no longer exists. The street was given its present name on 26 February 1867. The

Banque de France The Bank of France ( French: ''Banque de France''), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the F ...

expropriated several buildings on the street in the 1880s. It was downgraded by a decree of 23 November 1912 to allow for expansions to the Bank of France.

Buildings

Number 22 is the entrance to the headquarters of the Banque de France. The original building was built by

Jules Hardouin Mansart Jules Hardouin-Mansart (; 16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708) was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Grand T ...

for

Louis Phélypeaux, marquis de La Vrillière Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

, and was occupied in 1713 by the son of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

and

Madame de Montespan Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

. The bank was set up in the house on Napoleon's initiative. Of the original building only the ''Galerie Dorée'' (Golden Gallery) remains. Number 33 was an old hotel from the 1780s called the Hôtel de Hollande or de Radziwill. It had another entrance at 48

rue de Valois Rue de Valois is a street in the Palais-Royal quarter in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Description The 377-meter-long-street starts at 202, Rue Saint-Honoré and ends at 1, Rue de Beaujolais. It has a north-south orientation and is a ...

. In 1791 the hotel contained a dangerous gambling hall. It had seven rooms on the rue de Valois side, eight on the other side and four on the mezzanine. The building had a double staircase. This was useful when it contained a brothel, so the customers would not meet each other.

References

Citations Sources * * * * * {{refend Radziwill