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The Trocadéro (), site of the
Palais de Chaillot The Palais de Chaillot () is a building at the top of the in the Trocadéro area in the 16th ''arrondissement'' of Paris, France. For the Exposition Internationale of 1937, the old 1878 Palais du Trocadéro was partly demolished and partly ...
, is an area of Paris, France, in the
16th arrondissement The 16th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''seizième''. The arrondissement includes part of the Arc de T ...
, across the Seine from the
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "' ...
. It is also the name of the 1878 palace which was demolished in 1937 to make way for the Palais de Chaillot. The hill of the Trocadéro is the hill of Chaillot, a former village.


Origin of the name

The place was named in honour of the
Battle of Trocadero The Battle of Trocadero, fought on 31 August 1823, was the only significant battle in the French invasion of Spain in support of King Ferdinand VII. French forces defeated the Spanish liberal forces and restored the absolute rule of Ferdinand. P ...
, in which the fortified
Isla del Trocadero Isla del Trocadero (tr. "trader's island") is an island in the Bay of Cádiz, in Andalusia, Spain. Situation The island has an area of 5.25 km² and lies in the southern part of the Bay of Cádiz, southwest of Puerto Real village. The nor ...
, in southern Spain, was captured by French forces led by the Duc d'Angoulême, son of the future King of France,
Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...
, on 31 August 1823. France had intervened on behalf of King Ferdinand VII of Spain, whose rule was contested by a liberal rebellion. After the battle, the autocratic Spanish Bourbon Ferdinand VII was restored to the throne of Spain.
François-René de Chateaubriand François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who had a notable influence on French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocrati ...
said "To stride across the lands of Spain at one go, to succeed there, where Bonaparte had failed, to triumph on that same soil where the arms of the fantastic man suffered reverses, to do in six months what he couldn't do in seven years, that was truly prodigious!" Nowadays the square is officially named Place du Trocadéro et (and) du 11 Novembre (for the WWI armistice), although it is usually simply called the Place du Trocadéro.


Palais du Trocadéro

The hill of Chaillot was first arranged for the 1867 World's Fair. For the 1878 World's Fair, the (old) ''Palais du Trocadéro'' (1878–1936) was built here (where meetings of international organizations could be held during the fair). The palace's form was that of a large concert hall with two wings and two towers; its style was a mixture of exotic and historical references, generally called "
Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...
" but with some
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
elements. The architect was Gabriel Davioud. The concert hall contained a large organ built by
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (; 4 February 1811 – 13 October 1899) was a French organ builder. He has the reputation of being the most distinguished organ builder of the 19th century. He pioneered innovations in the art and science of organ build ...
; the first large organ to be installed in a concert hall in France (it has since been modified twice, and eventually moved in 1977 to the Auditorium Maurice Ravel in
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...
, where it is still in use today). The organ was inaugurated during the 1878 World Fair with a concert in which Charles Marie Widor played the premiere of his Symphony for Organ No. 6. The building proved unpopular, but the cost expended in its construction delayed its replacement for nearly fifty years. Below the building in the space left by former underground quarries, a large aquarium was built to contain fish of French rivers. It was renovated in 1937 but closed again for renovation from 1985 until 22 May 2006. The space between the palais and the Seine is set with gardens, designed by
Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand (; 26 October 1817 – 6 December 1891) was a French engineer of the Corps of Bridges and Roads. As a close associate of Baron Haussmann and later as Director of Public Works at Paris City Hall from 1871, he was inst ...
, and an array of fountains. Within its garden, the old palace contained two large animal statues, of a rhinoceros and an elephant, which were removed and stored during the demolition of the old Trocadero palace, and have been located next to the entrance of the Musée d'Orsay since 1986.


Palais de Chaillot

For the Exposition Internationale of 1937, the old Palais du Trocadéro was partly demolished and partly rebuilt and the Palais de Chaillot now tops the hill. It was designed in classicizing " moderne" style by architects
Louis-Hippolyte Boileau Louis-Hippolyte Boileau (; 1878–1948) was a French architect. Grandson of Louis-Auguste Boileau (1812–1896) and son of Louis-Charles Boileau (1837–1914, architect of the Hôtel Lutetia), Louis-Hippolyte studied at the École nationale supé ...
,
Jacques Carlu Jacques Carlu (7 April 1890 Bonnières-sur-Seine – 3 December 1976 Paris) was a French architect and designer, working mostly in Art Deco style, active in France, Canada, and in the United States. Biography Through the 1910s Carlu studied on ...
and
Léon Azéma Léon Azéma (20 January 1888 – 1 March 1978) was a French architect. He is responsible for many public works in France, especially in and around Paris. His most famous work is 1937 Palais de Chaillot, facing the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Early ...
. Like the old palais, the Palais de Chaillot features two wings shaped to form a wide arc; reclad and expanded, these wings and the pair of central pavilions are the only remaining portion of the former building. However, unlike the old palais, the wings are independent buildings and there is no central element to connect them: instead, a wide esplanade leaves an open view from the place du Trocadéro to the Eiffel Tower and beyond.Esprits des lieux. Du Trocadéro au palais de Chaillot, La Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine / le Musée des monuments français / les Archives nationales, 2011, 140 p. (), p. 22 The buildings are decorated with quotations by Paul Valéry, and sculptural groups at the attic level by Raymond Delamarre,
Carlo Sarrabezolles Charles Marie Louis Joseph Sarrabezolles (27 December 1888 – 11 February 1971), also known as ''Carlo Sarrabezolles'' (or Charles or Charles-Marie), was a French sculptor. Life Sarrabezolles was born in Toulouse, studied at that city's École d ...
and
Alfred Bottiau Alfred-Alphonse Bottiau (6 February 1889 – 25 February 1951) was a French sculptor. He was born in Valenciennes and after early studies in his home town he studied in Paris under Jean Antoine Injalbert and was runner-up for the Prix de Rome f ...
. The eight gilded figures on the terrace of the Rights of Man are attributed to the sculptors
Alexandre Descatoire Alexandre Descatoire (22 August 1874 – 7 March 1949) was a French sculptor. Biography Descatoire was born in Douai and was a pupil of André-Louis-Adolphe Laoust. Educated at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Descatoir ...
,
Marcel Gimond Marcel Antoine Gimond (1894–1961) was a French sculptor known for his busts, statues, and portraits in bronze. Biography Gimond was born in the Ardèche region of France. He first studied at the ''Beaux-Arts'' Academy in Lyon and was the stud ...
, Jean Paris dit Pryas, Paul Cornet, Lucien Brasseur, Robert Couturier, Paul Niclausse, and
Félix-Alexandre Desruelles Félix-Alexandre Desruelles was a French sculptor who was born in Valenciennes in 1865. He was runner up for the Prix de Rome in 1891, won the Prix national des Salons in 1897 and a Gold Medal at l' Exposition Universelle in 1900. He died in La F ...
. The buildings now house a number of museums: * the ''
Musée national de la Marine The Musée national de la Marine (National Navy Museum) is a maritime museum located in the Palais de Chaillot, Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. It has annexes at Brest, Port-Louis, Rochefort ( Musée National de la Marine de ...
'' (naval museum) and the ''
Musée de l'Homme The Musée de l'Homme ( French, "Museum of Mankind" or "Museum of Humanity") is an anthropology museum in Paris, France. It was established in 1937 by Paul Rivet for the 1937 ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moder ...
'' (ethnology) in the southern (Passy) wing. * the ''
Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine The Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine (Architecture and Heritage City) is a museum of architecture and monumental sculpture located in the Palais de Chaillot (Trocadéro), in Paris, France. Its permanent collection is also known as Musée ...
'', including the ''
Musée national des Monuments Français The Musée national des Monuments Français ( en, National Museum of French Monuments) is today a museum of plaster casts of French monuments located in the Palais de Chaillot, 1, place du Trocadéro et du 11 Novembre, Paris, France. It now for ...
'', in the eastern (Paris) wing, from which one also enters the '' Théâtre national de Chaillot'', a theater below the esplanade. It was on the front terrace of the palace that
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
was pictured during his short tour of the city in 1940, with the Eiffel Tower in the background. This became an iconic image of the Second World War. It is in the Palais de Chaillot that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948. This event is now commemorated by a stone, and the esplanade is known as the ''esplanade des droits de l'homme'' (English: "Esplanade of Human Rights"). The Palais de Chaillot was also the initial headquarters of NATO, while the "Palais de l'OTAN" (now Université Paris Dauphine) was being built.


Jardins du Trocadéro

The Jardins du Trocadéro occupy the open space bounded to the northwest by the wings of the Palais de Chaillot and to the southeast by the Seine and the
Pont d'Iéna Pont d'Iéna ("Jena Bridge") is a bridge spanning the River Seine in Paris. It links the Eiffel Tower on the Left Bank to the district of Trocadéro on the Right Bank. History In 1807, by an imperial decree issued in Warsaw, Napoleon I order ...
. The present garden has an area of and was created for the
Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937) The ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne'' (International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life) was held from 25 May to 25 November 1937 in Paris, France. Both the Palais de Chaillot, housing the M ...
, on the design of architect
Roger-Henri Expert Roger-Henri Expert (18 April 1882 – 13 April 1955) was a French architect. Life The son of a merchant, Expert first studied painting at the École des beaux-arts in Bordeaux, then from 1906 attended the École nationale supérieure des Bea ...
. The entire site was formerly the garden of the old Palais du Trocadéro, laid out by
Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand (; 26 October 1817 – 6 December 1891) was a French engineer of the Corps of Bridges and Roads. As a close associate of Baron Haussmann and later as Director of Public Works at Paris City Hall from 1871, he was inst ...
.


Others

Five avenues originate in the Trocadéro: the Avenue Henri-Martin, which links the Trocadéro with the Porte de la Muette and passes in front of the Lycée Janson de Sailly (Janson de Sailly secondary school); the Avenue
Paul Doumer Joseph Athanase Doumer, commonly known as Paul Doumer (; 22 March 18577 May 1932), was the President of France from 13 June 1931 until his assassination on 7 May 1932. Biography Joseph Athanase Doumer was born in Aurillac, in the Cantal ''dépar ...
, which also approaches the Muette; the
Avenue d'Eylau Avenue d'Eylau is a two-way street in Paris' 16th arrondissement. It connects the Place du Trocadéro-et-du-11-Novembre and the Place de Mexico, 300 meters to the north-west. It is named after Napoleon's victory at the Battle of Eylau Th ...
, which goes to the Mexico Plaza; the Avenue Kléber, which goes to the
Place Charles de Gaulle Place Charles de Gaulle (), historically known as the Place de l'Étoile (), is a large road junction in Paris, France, the meeting point of twelve straight avenues (hence its historic name, which translates as "Square of the Star") including ...
; and the Avenue du Président
Wilson Wilson may refer to: People *Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson R ...
, which goes to the Pont de l'Alma and the Seine. There is a large municipal library (the Germaine Tillion Library,
named after A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...
the resistance member and ethnologist) near (to the west of) the Trocadéro's square. The high retaining walls of the Trocadero cemetery (
Cimetière de Passy Passy Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Passy) is a small cemetery in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The current cemetery replaced the old cemetery (''l'ancien cimetière communal de Passy'', located on Rue Lekain), ...
) were constructed by the French industrialist, François Coignet.


Education

The
Institut Culturel Franco-Japonais – École Japonaise de Paris The Institut Culturel Franco-Japonais – École Japonaise de Paris ("French-Japanese Cultural Institute - Japanese School of Paris" - Japanese: 日仏文化学院パリ日本人学校 ''Nichifutsu Bunka Gakuin Pari Nihonjin Gakkō'') is a Japanes ...
opened at the Trocadéro in 1973. It moved to its current location at
Montigny-le-Bretonneux Montigny-le-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Saint-Quentin-en-Yveline ...
in 1990.Conte-Helm, Marie. '' The Japanese and Europe: Economic and Cultural Encounters'' (Bloomsbury Academic Collections).
A&C Black A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing ''Who's Who'' since 1849. It also published popular travel guides and novels. History The firm was founded in 180 ...
, December 17, 2013. , , p
84


Access


Trocadéro today

Trocadéro is a popular tourist destination to take pictures of the
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "' ...
. The Place du Trocadéro et du 11 Novembre is also where the
Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As F ...
celebrates its French championships victories and where sometimes reporters from the US come to show the evidence of their presence in the French territory.Manny Di Branson aka Gilles Poitou


See also

*
Antoine Sartorio Antoine Sartorio (27 January 1885, Menton – 19 February 1988, Jouques) was a French sculptor. Brief biography Antoine Sartorio was born in Menton on 27 January 1885 and died in Jouques on 19 February 1988. He studied at the École des Beaux ...


References


External links


Photos of Trocadero in Paris







The Palais de Chaillot while it was being renovated


* ttp://www.visitonweb.com/wikipedia/paris/flash/vue24-eiffel-tour-trocadero-paris-uk.html Virtual tour 360 degrees in fullscreen. Use your mouse to turn around !
France, Paris, Trocadéro
Virtual tour with map and compass effect by Tolomeus {{DEFAULTSORT:Trocadero Districts of Paris 16th arrondissement of Paris Modernist architecture in France Art Deco architecture in France World's fair architecture in Paris Terminating vistas in Paris Buildings and structures in the 16th arrondissement of Paris