Tuileries Garden in Paris -so much lost

The Tuileries Garden in Paris is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Most tourists don't realise that in the nineteenth century it was the site of a magnificent royal palace that had been used by monarchs from  Henri IV, Louis XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, Napoleon, Louis XVIII, Louis-Philippe, Napoleon III.

Built in the 16th century by Catherine de Medici, it became the primary royal residence for three hundred years, housing numerous monarchs and emperors. Over time the building was modernised and reorganised. However, it was burned down by the Paris Commune in 1871 and subsequently demolished in 1883.

I am always saddened when I remember how mobs during one of the revolutions
set fire to it and its contents, thus destroying many wonderful works of art, furniture and better gardens. 

As late as 2006 there were serious thoughts on reconstructing
the palace as some furniture and paintings had been kept safe elsewhere from the Franco-Prussian war 1870 but a key player decided not to go ahead. Remnants exist in gardens in other countries such as Italy and Germany. There are also a couple of remnants in the current garden but I never found them

Originally designed in 1564 as an Italian Renaissance garden by Bernard de Carnesse, the Tuileries Garden was redesigned in 1664 by famous gardener Le Nôtre as a jardin a la française which emphasised symmetry, order, and long perspectives. With all the above in mind I decided to take a more detailed inspection of this former palace site on a stinkingly hot day in Paris.

Just along from the Louvre, near the entrance to the Tuileries Garden, I saw a soaring flame, a relic of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. It is not a permanent display; President Macron decreed that it would appear every summer in the skies of Paris until the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The design idea was to make the cauldron ascend into the Parisian skies. This was first achieved in the same location in 1783 when the world's first hydrogen-filled balloon was launched, some time after the first Mongolfier hot air balloon flew over Versailles and host Louis XIV nearly 100 years earlier.

Engineers this time in 2024 wanted a flame without fire or smoke. Suspended from a giant helium balloon this 60m structure was powered by a single cable transmitting electricity and water. It is designed to withstand normal weather conditions but it is too fragile to be left out in winter. 

 The cauldron's flame is powered by a water mist lit by 40 LED spotlights. A safe way to create the illusion of fire and it is very effective. Three cubic metres of water are used per hour.

I spent the next two hours wandering under the very welcome trees, looking at the statues and rather a lot of hot, empty spaces where gardens and trees once stood for hundreds of years until annihilation in the 19th century. I had also hoped to see Claude Monet's waterlilies paintings on display at the Orangerie, at the far end of the Garden. Alas, although it was the first Sunday of the month and thus entry was free, you have to book a time in advance, so I was turned away.

There are a number of outdoor restaurants, and quite a few seats scattered around to relax and take in the sites. I availed myself of the latter. Statues ancient and modern are scattered about the 55 acres.

Above - the garden today. Below - the disaster of the Paris Communards and their destruction of the Palace. Like the doomed Christchurch Cathedral in New Zealand, a willingness to reconstruct was there but politics (even more than money) always got in the way of history and cultural treasures.