Formerly known as the "Place Royale" or "Palais Cardina", the Palais Royal is a palatial construction in Paris built for Cardinal de Richelieu in 1629. The massive Palais Royal is encircled by twin art galleries, namely the Valois and the Montpensier. At a later stage, this historical Parisian monument earned considerable fame as a site of revelry of Philippe d'Orleans, brother of the French King Louis XIV. The 18th century witnessed the Palais Royal to be the meeting spot of the famous thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment. Today, after ages of gradual evolution, its surroundings have totally transformed into a garden full of serenity and natural beauty, housing the Paris Council of State and the Ministry for Arts.
History of Palais Royal
In its nascent stage, the Palais Royal in Paris was a private theater, located in Cardinal Richelieu's
|
residence. For some times after the demise of Richelieu, the Palais Royal was included in the royal property and became a place for courtly recreational activities. However, its designer Jacques Lemercier made sure that this historical building became the first French theater, equipped with a proscenium arch and mobile scenery wings.
As a full-fledged theater, Palais Royal hosted its first production "Jean Desmeret's Mirame" in the year 1641. The famous French playwright Molière gave several performances on the stage of Palais Royal along with his troupe from 1660 to 1673. Following a complete destruction of this palatial structure in fire in 1763, the monument was re-built and is now extensively used for public entertainment purposes.
The building currently houses the Ministry of Culture and Conseil d'État or the Constitutional Council. The rear portion of the garden has the old buildings of the National Library of Deposit, Bibliothèque Nationale that has a collection of around 6,000,000 treatise, prints and maps.
|
