The Luxembourg Gardens
Luco(s) means sacred wood.
The Luxembourg garden is a man-made natural lightbox whose inception took enormous human sacrifice, as historical and archaeological evidence demonstrate.
How did it all begin? Originally Druids performed sacred rites here in the woods. Thus it's not surprising that they are called Luco, a Latin term created by students of the Latin quarter and the Sorbonne.
The Luxembourg garden rises 40-50 meters above the water level of the Seine, to the west of the Montagne Saint-Genevieve, where the Pantheon stands today and 2000 years ago stood the Forum. The deepest well discovered in the Luxembourg garden goes 28,5 meters down. Julius Caesar called the gently sloping hill mont Leucotitus, after the Leuci, a Gaulish tribe originally from Toul, near the grand duchy of Luxembourg.
Before the Parisii, a different Gaulish tribe, arrived around 300 BC, and settled on the current Ile de la Cité, Leucotitus was a strategic vantage point overlooking the Seine from a safe distance. The banks of the river and the Ile de la Cité, which later became the bastion of Paris, were still marshland. The Romans named the area Lutetia, which comes from "marshland" in Gaulish - in French, marais.
The Parisii were the first to fortify the present Ile de la Cité with pole housing, palisades and wooden bridges that they burned once the Roman legions came to conquer in 52 BC. The Parisii's resistance, however, broke down when their chief Camulogène was slain by the troops of Labiénus, who drew the Gaulish warriors into a merciless battle that most likely took place on the Luxembourg plain at sunset.
The Pax Romana introduced architects, masons, and waterworks engineers whose aqueducts fed Lutetia's baths, homes and fountains with clean running water. On Leucotitus the Romans built from local quarries of exquisite limestone the first stone housing, temples, and barracks for their centurions, and later on luxurious villas, public baths, the Forum, and a theater at the location of the Théatre de l'Odéon.
The Luxembourg garden is a man-made natural lightbox whose inception took enormous human sacrifice, as historical and archaeological evidence demonstrate.
How did it all begin? Originally Druids performed sacred rites here in the woods. Thus it's not surprising that they are called Luco, a Latin term created by students of the Latin quarter and the Sorbonne.
The Luxembourg garden rises 40-50 meters above the water level of the Seine, to the west of the Montagne Saint-Genevieve, where the Pantheon stands today and 2000 years ago stood the Forum. The deepest well discovered in the Luxembourg garden goes 28,5 meters down. Julius Caesar called the gently sloping hill mont Leucotitus, after the Leuci, a Gaulish tribe originally from Toul, near the grand duchy of Luxembourg.
Before the Parisii, a different Gaulish tribe, arrived around 300 BC, and settled on the current Ile de la Cité, Leucotitus was a strategic vantage point overlooking the Seine from a safe distance. The banks of the river and the Ile de la Cité, which later became the bastion of Paris, were still marshland. The Romans named the area Lutetia, which comes from "marshland" in Gaulish - in French, marais.
The Parisii were the first to fortify the present Ile de la Cité with pole housing, palisades and wooden bridges that they burned once the Roman legions came to conquer in 52 BC. The Parisii's resistance, however, broke down when their chief Camulogène was slain by the troops of Labiénus, who drew the Gaulish warriors into a merciless battle that most likely took place on the Luxembourg plain at sunset.
The Pax Romana introduced architects, masons, and waterworks engineers whose aqueducts fed Lutetia's baths, homes and fountains with clean running water. On Leucotitus the Romans built from local quarries of exquisite limestone the first stone housing, temples, and barracks for their centurions, and later on luxurious villas, public baths, the Forum, and a theater at the location of the Théatre de l'Odéon.
Lutetia
became a kind of French Tivoli, a replica of the exceptional classical
city built by the emperor Hadrian that combined the best cultural
elements of Egypt, Greece and Rome, and was destined to become an ideal
city.
The Romans planted vines and fig trees on Leucotitus. The main Roman highway south to Lyon--the Via Antiqua (now the boulevard Saint-Michel and rue Saint-Jacques)--ran past the luscious grounds of the Luxembourg. Another road branched off east towards Valgirard and Dreux, which later became the rue Vaugirard.
Life was peaceful and pleasant for several centuries until the vandals came from the east on a rampage, pillaging, looting, and devastating what they encountered. Applying their scorched earth tactic, they left Lutetia in ruins.
The rich buried their treasures on Leucotitus, some of which were discovered in 1838 at the Orangerie, and in 1860 by the rue de Médicis when the Médicis fountain was moved. Their owners had either been killed or died before they could recover their fortunes.
In the VI century Lutetia was named Paris by Clovis, who was the first Gaulish king to be baptized a Christian. Paris then became the capital of the kingdom of France. In 508 Clovis fulfilled his promise to build a church on Mont Leucotitus, where Sainte Genevieve, who saved the Parisians from starvation under the siege of the Huns, lay buried.
The Romans planted vines and fig trees on Leucotitus. The main Roman highway south to Lyon--the Via Antiqua (now the boulevard Saint-Michel and rue Saint-Jacques)--ran past the luscious grounds of the Luxembourg. Another road branched off east towards Valgirard and Dreux, which later became the rue Vaugirard.
Life was peaceful and pleasant for several centuries until the vandals came from the east on a rampage, pillaging, looting, and devastating what they encountered. Applying their scorched earth tactic, they left Lutetia in ruins.
The rich buried their treasures on Leucotitus, some of which were discovered in 1838 at the Orangerie, and in 1860 by the rue de Médicis when the Médicis fountain was moved. Their owners had either been killed or died before they could recover their fortunes.
In the VI century Lutetia was named Paris by Clovis, who was the first Gaulish king to be baptized a Christian. Paris then became the capital of the kingdom of France. In 508 Clovis fulfilled his promise to build a church on Mont Leucotitus, where Sainte Genevieve, who saved the Parisians from starvation under the siege of the Huns, lay buried.
During
the early Middle Ages the resilient vines spread over Leucotitus and
the Luxembourg was called vallis viridis or Valvert (from vallis -
hollow, and verdere - green). The wine was expensive but acid, turning
quickly into vinegar. Valvert was divided into vineyards--Clos
Vigneray, Clos Saint-Sulpice, Clos Bourgeois, and there was even a
trail called sentier du pressoir - winepress trail - leading to the
abbey of Saint-Germain, founded in 745. Saint-Germain-des-Prés was a
sprawling farming community to which Valvert was attached as the
faulxbourg Saint-Germain, or the suburbs.
But
then again the Normans, known as Vikings, invaded in tidal waves during
the IX century. They sailed their flat-bottomed ships up the Seine to
Paris, laying siege to the city entrenched on the island. They
discharged their fury on both banks, killing, raping, looting, burning,
and wrecking buildings and churches.
A century later the pious king Robert II (970-1031) had a pleasure castle built for his retirement in Valvert. Neglected by his successors, it was occupied by highway robbers as their lair.
From 1190 to 1220 king Philippe-Auguste raised a fortified wall around Paris that excluded Valvert, leaving it outside the city gates at the mercy of bandits and marauding armies.
The superstitious population of the middle ages identified the château Valvert with the devil's residence, coining the legendary expression le Diable Valvert (from the devil in the green). The boulevard Saint-Michel outside the city gates was called rue d'Enfer, implying that it was a road straight through hell.
Perhaps with the intention to drive the devil out, King Louis IX, known as the saint, invited the Carthusians to move into the château Valvert in 1257. They were granted permission to build a cloister and a church, which was finished in 1325.
Saint Bruno's monks prospered in quiet meditation and prayer. They labored the land, dug wells, built a windmill, and took on wealthy citizens who wished a peaceful retirement and burial on their sacred grounds. As a consequence the rest of Valvert was partitioned into smaller properties that sparked a real estate boom. Princes and the rising bourgeoisie competed to build their stately hôtel particuliers in this paradise.
In the XVI century the financial counselor to the crown, Alexandre de La Tourette, began building his hôtel particulier on rue Vaugirard. His debts, however, as well as a golden chain owed to a Monsieur de Harley worth 724 livres, were his perdition. La Tourette was condemned to two years in the Conciergerie prison, and the unfinished palace was assigned to Harlay's widow, Madame de Harlay, as compensation estimated at 6000 livres. Although La Tourette promised to redeem his debts, and even charmed Mme. de Harlay into letting him move back once he was released from prison, he was unable to fulfill his pledge. The widow sold the unfinished building in 1570 to the elegant ambassador Duc François de Luxembourg for 7500 livres tournois.
A century later the pious king Robert II (970-1031) had a pleasure castle built for his retirement in Valvert. Neglected by his successors, it was occupied by highway robbers as their lair.
From 1190 to 1220 king Philippe-Auguste raised a fortified wall around Paris that excluded Valvert, leaving it outside the city gates at the mercy of bandits and marauding armies.
The superstitious population of the middle ages identified the château Valvert with the devil's residence, coining the legendary expression le Diable Valvert (from the devil in the green). The boulevard Saint-Michel outside the city gates was called rue d'Enfer, implying that it was a road straight through hell.
Perhaps with the intention to drive the devil out, King Louis IX, known as the saint, invited the Carthusians to move into the château Valvert in 1257. They were granted permission to build a cloister and a church, which was finished in 1325.
Saint Bruno's monks prospered in quiet meditation and prayer. They labored the land, dug wells, built a windmill, and took on wealthy citizens who wished a peaceful retirement and burial on their sacred grounds. As a consequence the rest of Valvert was partitioned into smaller properties that sparked a real estate boom. Princes and the rising bourgeoisie competed to build their stately hôtel particuliers in this paradise.
In the XVI century the financial counselor to the crown, Alexandre de La Tourette, began building his hôtel particulier on rue Vaugirard. His debts, however, as well as a golden chain owed to a Monsieur de Harley worth 724 livres, were his perdition. La Tourette was condemned to two years in the Conciergerie prison, and the unfinished palace was assigned to Harlay's widow, Madame de Harlay, as compensation estimated at 6000 livres. Although La Tourette promised to redeem his debts, and even charmed Mme. de Harlay into letting him move back once he was released from prison, he was unable to fulfill his pledge. The widow sold the unfinished building in 1570 to the elegant ambassador Duc François de Luxembourg for 7500 livres tournois.
François
de Luxembourg finished the palace, decorated it sumptuously, and till
his last days avidly acquired property to expand his park, which
eventually reached to the rue d'Enfer and bordered the walls of the
Carthusians’ in the south, covering the center of Valvert.
A frequent visitor to François de Luxembourg's social events was none other than Henri IV's wife, Marie de Médicis. Her son, the future king Louis XIII, played and hunted in the Luxembourg park during his childhood. Marie was charmed by the healthy air and the lush greenery, which was the antithesis of her Paris residence, the Louvre palace, whose lugubrious architecture was an offense to her Florentine sensitivities, and the stinking moat afloat with refuse and occasional corpses cause of repeated dysentery and depression.
A frequent visitor to François de Luxembourg's social events was none other than Henri IV's wife, Marie de Médicis. Her son, the future king Louis XIII, played and hunted in the Luxembourg park during his childhood. Marie was charmed by the healthy air and the lush greenery, which was the antithesis of her Paris residence, the Louvre palace, whose lugubrious architecture was an offense to her Florentine sensitivities, and the stinking moat afloat with refuse and occasional corpses cause of repeated dysentery and depression.
Another
neighbor on rue Vaugirard was Lorenzo Storn, whose reputable Ville de
Bresce restaurant was the meeting point of the Florentine community.
Across the street at 10, rue de Tournon, lived her childhood friend,
Leonora Galagai, with her husban, Concini. At their sumptuous home
Marie attended concerts, dabbled in necromancy, concocted perfumes, and
plotted her dream project.
King Henri IV's assassination by Ravaillac on May 14, 1610 sealed the fate of the Luxembourg. The day before Marie had been consecrated queen of France, putting her in charge of the state; it was the turning point in her life. She seized the opportunity to burst into an effervescent activity to substitute for her grief and realize her dream.
Henri IV's death propelled Marie de Médicis into the center of a web of political intrigue for the successio, and she capitalized on the chaos. The Louvre's atmosphere became unbearable: hallways and backrooms were nests of conspiracy.
The queen fled to Fontainebleau, from whence she could reign quietly over her so, Louis XII, who was only 9, until his coming of age and consecration as king in 1614. Besides ruling France, Marie became the chief architect of her personal dream.
Marie must have been aware that she only had 4 years left to benefit from unfettered freedom, wielding unlimited royal power and wealth, to accomplish a project of gigantic proportions in the tradition of her ancestors, at the best location in Paris, the Luxembourg. She budgeted the cost at 200,000 écus (600000 livres), most of it from her own pension and dowry. Short of money, she borrowed from her servants if the royal treasury or bankers refused her. Her dream was grandiose, and her ambition knew no limits. She used and abused everyone with her intuitive command to attain her goal.
King Henri IV's assassination by Ravaillac on May 14, 1610 sealed the fate of the Luxembourg. The day before Marie had been consecrated queen of France, putting her in charge of the state; it was the turning point in her life. She seized the opportunity to burst into an effervescent activity to substitute for her grief and realize her dream.
Henri IV's death propelled Marie de Médicis into the center of a web of political intrigue for the successio, and she capitalized on the chaos. The Louvre's atmosphere became unbearable: hallways and backrooms were nests of conspiracy.
The queen fled to Fontainebleau, from whence she could reign quietly over her so, Louis XII, who was only 9, until his coming of age and consecration as king in 1614. Besides ruling France, Marie became the chief architect of her personal dream.
Marie must have been aware that she only had 4 years left to benefit from unfettered freedom, wielding unlimited royal power and wealth, to accomplish a project of gigantic proportions in the tradition of her ancestors, at the best location in Paris, the Luxembourg. She budgeted the cost at 200,000 écus (600000 livres), most of it from her own pension and dowry. Short of money, she borrowed from her servants if the royal treasury or bankers refused her. Her dream was grandiose, and her ambition knew no limits. She used and abused everyone with her intuitive command to attain her goal.
