During
this previous travel break, I took a short flight to Paris and spent some time
exploring France. Unfortunately I was unable to visit Versailles, but I did
have the opportunity to examine a few of the public gardens in Paris. One of
the parks that caught my attention was Luxembourg Gardens, or Jardin du Luxembourg,
which is the second largest public park in Paris. The park is about 22.45 hectares, which is the equivalent to
about 55 acres.[1] It is a very
popular park, and when walking around, it appeared that people use the garden
for lots of different activities. There were little kids racing boats in the
octagonal, central fountain Grand Bassin, people on runs, kids playing on the
playground, people in workout classes, and people just wandering around the
park. There were even tennis courts, marry-go-rounds, and other such
activities!
This was slightly different than what we had learned in class about
the function of parks, or even gardens. Typically, there tends to be an over
arching use or function for the park or garden, such as a hunting park, an
orchard, or a garden for otium and relaxation. Even though there are multiple
purposes of Luxembourg Garden, the majority of them fell into the category of
leisure activities.
The duke of Luxembourg originally owned the garden, and it was purchased by Marie de’ Medici in 1612. She spent much of her youth in Florence and used the Bobli garden at the Pitti Palace as inspiration for the Luxembourg Garden.[2] There are numerous flowerbeds throughout the park, which are formal, geometric, and enclosed.
There are a number of impressive water features, and also a
handful of statues spread throughout. Some of these statues come from Greek
mythology, and there are a number that depict and honor French
politicians, musicians, scientists, and other such people. However, there is
also a smaller scaled version of The Statue of Liberty created by
Auguste-Bartholdi himself.[3] Overall, I found this park very intriguing because it used a number of the elements we have learned about so far and applied them in a slightly different way, and also because we have not studied as many parks so far.
Sources:
Perhaps this slight lack of 'focus' on the over-arching function of the park is due to the shift in role from a private garden (albeit a big one!), which is also now a historic monument and part of France's garden heritage, to public urban greenspace. A role for which it was not designed but has had to be adapted to.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great point to consider! This transition with urban greenspaces has definitely created very different views and functions of gardens here in modern times.
DeletePublic urban green space seems very similar to the landscape design we were learning about in class. Why is it that people have caught on to landscape design so much that old formal gardens are transformed into public green space and the old baroque and rococo styles have gone out of fashion?
ReplyDeleteI think that so many of the old formal gardens have been transformed into urban greenspace for the incessant demand for them. It is far easier to find yourself wandering through transformed, open gardens than through old baroque and rococo styles. I thought Luxembourg was interesting because it still has modern uses, such as the playgrounds and cafes. However, I feel like old baroque and rococo gardens could not be as easily transformed into modern green spaces due to their rigid form, style, and structure.
DeleteWhen I was in France I also noticed that there were a lot of green spaces where you were not actually allowed to go on the grass. What do you think are the purposes of those gardens? Do you think it loses some of the benefits/ the appeal when people are not actually allowed to sit out on the grass or even walk on it?
ReplyDeleteI definitely think the gardens loose some of their appeals and benefits when visitors are not able to fully experience the gardens. Particularly, when we have large parks and informal gardens, where people assume they can walk on the grass and use the space as they would like. However, I do think having more parks and gardens available to the public, however regulated and strict they are, is better than none at all.
DeleteI really enjoyed learning about Luxembourg Gardens from your post! I like that you pointed out different unusual aspects - the merry-go-round, tennis courts, and replica of the Statue of Liberty - to show its diversity of features. It's interesting to think about the transformation of old gardens into modern day use; I agree that it would be difficult to change some of the rigidly formal baroque gardens for contemporary times. I feel like gardens such as those are still meant primarily for display and historical significance. Did you find this park similar to ones in the US or did it still feel very European?
ReplyDelete