The Jardin du Bassin de l'Arsenal is a public park in the
12th arrondissement of Paris The 12th arrondissement of Paris (''XIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le douzième'' ("the twelfth"). Situated on the right bank of the River Seine, it is ...
, located on the east bank of the
Canal Saint-Martin between the
Place de la Bastille
The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris where the Bastille prison once stood, until the storming of the Bastille and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution. No vestige of the ...
and the
Seine. It was created in 1983. The access to the park is from boulevard de la Bastille. The nearest metro station is Bastille.
History
The Arsenal was established by
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
in 1806, between the Place de la Bastille and the Seine. The
Canal Saint-Martin was not finished until 1825. It was 4,5 kilometers long, and linked the
Seine with the basin of
La Vilette. In the 1970s a proposal was put forward by the Paris municipal council to cover the canal completely with a four-lane highway. The project was rejected after public protests.
The section of canal between Place de la Bastille and the Seine became instead a harbor for private yachts and excursion boats. In 1983 the city decided to develop the edge of the canal into a garden a promenade. The designers of the park were architect Philippe Mathieux and landscape architect Serge Eyzat.
Features of the park
The park is 544 meters long, and occupies 1.4 hectares along the east bank of the canal between the river and the Place de la Bastille. The main features of the park are an alley sheltered by maple and willow trees, and a pergola covered with roses and other plants. The park also has several works of sculpture from the period of the 1920s and 1930s taken from the city's reserves, including a bronze statue of the Diane by Henry Arnold (1879-1945). The park also has a restaurant whose architecture is inspired by garden greenhouses.
[Jarrassé, Dominique, ''Grammaire des jardins Parisiens'', p. 229.]
File:Jardin du Bassin de l'Arsenal 1.JPG, Pergola in the Jardin du Bassin de l'Arsenal
File:Jardin du Port de l'Arsenal.JPG, Pathway in the Jardin du Bassin de l'Arsenal
File:Larsenal-La-Bastille 478.jpg, The terrace in spring.
File:Jardin de l'Arsenal Paris 12e 003.JPG, View from boulevard Bourdon.
File:Jardin de l'Arsenal Paris 12e 004.JPG, At the edge of the pool.
File:Jardin de l'Arsenal Paris 12e 002.JPG, The coffee terrace.
See also
*
12th arrondissement of Paris The 12th arrondissement of Paris (''XIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le douzième'' ("the twelfth"). Situated on the right bank of the River Seine, it is ...
*
History of Parks and Gardens of Paris
*
List of parks and gardens in Paris
Paris, France today has more than 421 municipal parks and gardens, covering more than three thousand hectares and containing more than 250,000 trees.Jarrassé, Dominique, ''Grammaire des Jardins Parisiens'' (2007), Parigramme, () The following is ...
References
Notes and citations
Bibliography
*
*
*''Dictionnaire Historique de Paris'' (2013), Le Livre de Poche, ()
{{coord, 48, 50, 57, N, 2, 22, 04, E, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title
12th arrondissement of Paris
Parks and open spaces in Paris