The Rue Radziwill is a street in the

1st arrondissement of Paris The 1st arrondissement of Paris (''Ier arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le premier'' (the first). I ...

. It starts at 1

rue des Petits-Champs ''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of the genus '' Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Mediterranean. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for i ...

and ends in a dead end. It was named after

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

and politician Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł.

History

The street was originally called the Rue Neuve des Bons Enfants. It was created in 1640 on land that

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...

had purchased in 1634. It ended on the Rue Baillif, which has since been removed. The musician

François Couperin François Couperin (; 10 November 1668 – 11 September 1733) was a French Baroque music, Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as ''Couperin le Grand'' ("Couperin the Great") to distinguish him from other members of the musi ...

moved to the Rue Neuve des Bons Enfants in 1724, where he stayed the rest of his life. The area was popular with musicians, particularly those who worked at the nearby

Académie Royale de Musique The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

. The passage Radziwill, which crossed a house owned by the Polish nobleman Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł (1734-1790), ended on the street. It no longer exists. The street was given its present name on 26 February 1867. The

Banque de France The Bank of France ( ) is the national central bank for France within the Eurosystem. It was the French central bank between 1800 and 1998, issuing the French franc. It does not translate its name to English, and thus calls itself ''Banque de ...

expropriated several buildings on the street in the 1880s. It was downgraded by a decree of 23 November 1912 to allow for expansions to the Bank of France.

Buildings

No. 22 is the entrance to the headquarters of the Banque de France. The original building was built by

Jules Hardouin Mansart Jules Hardouin-Mansart (; 16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708) was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Gra ...

for

Louis Phélypeaux, marquis de La Vrillière Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

, and was occupied in 1713 by the son of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

and

Madame de Montespan Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise of Montespan (5 October 1640 – 27 May 1707), commonly known as Madame de Montespan (), was a French noblewoman and the most celebrated maîtresse-en-titre, royal mistress of King Lou ...

. The bank was set up in the house on Napoleon's initiative. Of the original building only the ''Galerie Dorée'' (Golden Gallery) remains. No. 33 was an old hotel from the 1780s called the Hôtel de Hollande or de Radziwill. It had another entrance at 48

rue de Valois The Rue de Valois () is a street in the Palais-Royal quarter in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Description The 377-meter-long-street starts at 202, Rue Saint-Honoré and ends at 1, Rue de Beaujolais. It has a north-south orientation ...

. In 1791 the hotel contained a dangerous gambling hall. It had seven rooms on the Rue de Valois side, eight on the other side and four on the mezzanine. The building had a double staircase. This was useful when it contained a brothel, so the customers would not meet each other.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * {{refend Radziwill