The
site of the Musee D’Orsay is filled with history.
In the 16th Century it was the gardens of Marguerite de
Valois, queen to Henri IV. Divided up after her death,
it was covered with an upper class neighbourhood. Meanwhile
on the banks of the river Seine pieces of the famous property
were becoming a stopping place for river traffic. This
demand made is necessary to form a quay, and in 1615 the
Quai d'Orsay was stated under the auspices of Napoleon
the first. At the end of the 18th century the Hôtel
de Salm (today the Musée de la Légion d'honneur)
was built, between 1782 and 1788. On the exact spot of
the Museum there was a cavalry barracks and the Palais
d'Orsay. During the Paris Commune in 1871, the entire
neighbourhood was burnt down. For thirty years the ruins
of the Palais d'Orsay was a “reminder of the horrors
of civil war”. |
