| Baron Haussmann |
Article Index for Baron |
Website Links For Baron |
Information AboutBaron Haussmann |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BARON HAUSSMANN | |
| french urban planners | |
| haussmann, baron | |
| légion dhonneur recipients | |
| french nobility | |
| burials at père lachaise cemetery | |
| 1809 births | |
| 1891 deaths | |
|
. La Défense and the Grande Arche (the hollow white cube) can be seen on the horizon.]] Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann ( March 27 , 1809 – January 11 , 1891 ) was a French civic planner whose name is associated with the Rebuilding Of Paris . He was born in that city of a Protestant family from Alsace . LIFE He was educated at the College Henri IV , and subsequently studied Law , attending simultaneously the classes at the Paris Conservatoire Of Music , for he was a good musician. He became ''sous-préfet'' of Nérac in 1830 , and advanced rapidly in the civil service until in 1853 he was chosen by Persigny prefect of the Seine '' Département '' in succession to Jean Jacques Berger , who hesitated to incur the vast expenses of the imperial schemes for the embellishment of Paris. Haussmann would remain in this post until 1870 . Commissioned by Napoleon III to instigate a program of planning reforms in Paris, Haussmann laid out the Bois De Boulogne , and made extensive improvements in the smaller parks. The gardens of the Luxembourg Palace ( Luxembourg Garden ) were cut down to allow of the formation of new streets, and the Boulevard De Sebastopol , the southern half of which is now the Boulevard St Michel , was driven through a populous district. Additional, sweeping changes made wide "boulevards" of hitherto narrow streets. A new water supply, a gigantic system of sewers, new bridges, The Opera House , and other public buildings, the inclusion of outlying districts - these were among the new prefect's achievements, accomplished by the aid of a bold handling of the public funds which called forth Jules Ferry 's indictment, ''Les Comptes fantastiques de Haussmann'', in 1867 . (A play on words between ''contes'', stories or tales - as in '' Les Contes D'Hoffmann '' or ''Tales of Hoffmann'', and ''comptes'', accounts.) A loan of 250 million francs was sanctioned for the city of Paris in 1865, and another of 260 million in 1869. These sums represented only part of his financial schemes, which led to his dismissal by the government of Émile Ollivier . After the fall of the Empire he spent about a year abroad, but he re-entered public life in 1877, when he became Bonapartist deputy for Ajaccio . His work had destroyed much of the Medieval city. It is estimated that he transformed 60% of Paris' buildings. Notably, he redesigned the Place De L'Etoile , and created long avenues giving perspectives on monuments such as the Arc De Triomphe and the Opera Garnier . Haussmann had been made Senator in 1857, member of the Academy of Fine Arts in 1867, and grand cross of the Legion Of Honour in 1862 . He died in Paris and is buried in Le Cimetière Père Lachaise , Paris. His name is preserved in the Boulevard Haussmann. His later years were occupied with the preparation of his ''Mémoires'' (3 vols., 1890-1893). HAUSSMANN'S PLAN FOR PARIS Between the Revolution of 1789 and Haussmann's Renovation Of Paris in the 1860s ideals changed from those of a politically motivated city to those of an economically and socially centered city. Modern technology such as railroads and gas lamps were conveniences which the rising bourgeoisie could enjoy in their leisurely lifestyle. New spaces that were created during the renovation encouraged the bourgeoisie to flaunt their new wealth, creating a booming economy. All of these examples of the changes occurring in Paris during this time period can be seen in representations of the city. There are two views of Baron Haussmann: One depicts him as the man who destroyed Old Paris, and the other as the man who created New Paris. Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann was hired by Napoleon III on , Adolphe Thiers had became obsessed with crushing out the next previsible Parisian rebellion. Thus, he planned to leave the city and retreat, in order to better take it back with more military forces. Haussmann's design of streets and avenues, mixed to the new importance given to trains, made this plan more than successfull, and Adolphe Thiers easily crushed the '' Communards ''. Haussmann accomplished much of this by tearing up many of the old, twisting streets and rundown apartment houses, and replacing them with the wide, tree-lined boulevards and expansive gardens for which Paris is famous today. HAUSSMANN THE HERO Historian Shelley Rice , in her book ''Parisian Views'' writes that "most Parisians during first half of the nineteenth century perceived streets as dirty, crowded, and unhealthy . . . Covered with mud and makeshift shanties, damp and fetid, filled with the signs of poverty as well as the signs of garbage and waste left there by the inadequate and faulty sewer system . . ." (p. 9). For these people, Haussmann was performing a much needed service to the city and to France. How ugly Paris seems after a year's absence. How one chokes in these dark, narrow and dank corridors that we like to call the streets of Paris! One would think that one was in a subterranean city, that's how heavy is the atmosphere, how profound is the darkness! HAUSSMANN THE DESTROYER OF PARIS Because of Haussmannization, the 1860s was a time of intense revolt in Paris. Many Parisians were troubled by the destruction of "old roots". Historian 1870 in order to improve his own flagging popularity. Haussmann was also a favorite target of the Situationist 's critique; beside of pointing out the repressive aims that were achieved by Haussmann's urbanism, Guy Debord and his friends (who considered Urbanism to be a "state science" or inherently "capitalist" science) also underlined that he nicely separated Leisure areas from work places, thus announcing modern Functionalism , as illustrated by Le Corbusier 's precise zone tripartition (one zone for circulation, another one for accomodations, and the last one for labour). SEE ALSO
SOURCE EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|