Haussmann, circa 1865

Georges-Eugène Haussmann (March 27, 1809 – January 11, 1891), who called himself Baron Haussmann, was a French civic planner whose name is associated with the rebuilding of Paris. He was born in Paris to a Protestant family from Alsace. Image File history File links Portrait_haussmann. ... Image File history File links Portrait_haussmann. ... is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1809 (MDCCCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Boulevard Haussmann The Haussmann Renovations, or Haussmannization of Paris was a work led under the initiative of Napoléon III and the Seine préfet, Haussmann, from 1852 to 1870. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... (New region flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Regional President Departments Bas-Rhin Haut-Rhin Arrondissements 13 Cantons 75 Communes 903 Statistics Land area1 8,280 km² (??? mi) km² Population (Ranked 14th)  - January 1, 2006 est. ...

Life

The son of Nicolas Valentin Haussmann, a negociant, he was born in Paris and educated at the College Henri IV and subsequently studied law, attending simultaneously the classes at the Paris conservatory 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. Clovis bell tower The Lycée Henri IV (sometimes nicknamed HIV to be pronounced H4) is a public high school located in Paris. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... Conservatoire de Paris, or Paris Conservatoire, has been central to the evolution of music in France and Western Europe. ... Nérac is a commune of the Lot-et-Garonne département, in southwestern France. ... Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution 1830 (MDCCCXXX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Jean Gilbert Victor Fialin, duc de Persigny (February 11, 1808 - January 11, 1872), French statesman, was born at Saint-German Lespinasse (Loire), the son of a receiver of taxes. ... Seine was a département of France encompassing Paris and its immediate suburbs. ... The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France and many former French colonies, roughly analogous to English counties. ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

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^[1]. 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.) Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (April 20, 1808 - January 9, 1873) was the son of King Louis Bonaparte and Queen Hortense de Beauharnais; both monarchs of the French puppet state, the Kingdom of Holland. ... The upper lake, with rowboats The Bois de Boulogne is a park located along the western edge of the 16ème arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt. ... Luxembourg Palace The Luxembourg Palace in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, north of the Luxembourg Garden, is where the French Senate meets. ... The Luxembourg Palace seen from the garden The Luxembourg Garden (Jardin du Luxembourg, familiar nickname Luco) is a 224,500 m² public park in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. ... The Boulevard Saint-Michel is one of the two major streets in the Quartier Latin of Paris (the other being the Boulevard Saint-Germain). ... The Champs Elysees in Paris, France. ... The Palais Garnier, Paris The Palais Garnier, also known as the Opéra de Paris as well as the Opéra Garnier, is a 2,200 seat opera house in Paris, France. ... Jules Ferry, French statesman Jules François Camille Ferry (April 5, 1832 – March 17, 1893) was a French statesman. ... Year 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Les contes dHoffmann (Tales of Hoffmann) is an opera by Jacques Offenbach. ...

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. Émile Ollivier, French statesman Olivier Émile Ollivier (July 2, 1825 - August 20, 1913) was a French statesman. ... Map of the French Second Empire Capital Paris Language(s) French Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1852-1870 Napoleon III Legislature Parliament  - Upper house Senate  - Lower house Corps législatif History  - French coup of 1851 December 2 1851  - Established 1852  - Disestablished September 4, 1870 Currency French Franc The Second French Empire or... // In French political history, Bonapartists were monarchists who desired a French Empire under the House of Bonaparte, the Corsican family of Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I of France) and his nephew Louis (Napoleon III of France). ... Ajaccio (IPA: , Latin: ; French: ; Corsican: ), is a town in France. ...

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. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Place de lÉtoile is a large Place in Paris, France, the meeting point of twelve avenues (hence the name Star Square) including the Champs-Élysées which continues to the east. ... This article is about the monument in Paris. ... The Palais Garnier, Paris The Palais Garnier, also known as the Opéra de Paris as well as the Opéra Garnier, is a 2,200 seat opera house in Paris, France. ...

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). A senate is a deliberative body, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature. ... Chiang Kai-sheks Légion dhonneur. ... This article is about 1862 . ... Looking down the hill at the Père-Lachaise cemetery The cimetière du Père-Lachaise (pronounced pierre la-sh-ez) is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris (there are larger cemeteries in Paris suburbs). ...

According to his memoirs ^[2], Haussmann's use of the title baron was based on his elevation to the Senate and to an 1857 decree of the emperor's that gave Senate members the title of baron; his memoirs further stated that he joked that he might consider the title aqueduc, but that no such title existed. However, the Dictionary of the Second Empire states that Haussmann used the title of baron casually, out of pride as the only male descendant of his maternal grandfather, Georges Frederic, Baron Dentzel, a general under the first Napoleon. This use of baron, however, was not official, and he remained, legally, merely Monsieur Haussmann.[1]

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. Boulevard Haussmann The Haussmann Renovations, or Haussmannization of Paris was a work led under the initiative of Napoléon III and the Seine préfet, Haussmann, from 1852 to 1870. ...

Avenue de la Grande Armée, one of Haussmann's twelve grand avenues radiating from the Arc de Triomphe. La Défense and the Grande Arche (the hollow white cube) can be seen on the horizon.

Georges-Eugène Haussmann was hired by Napoleon III on 22 June 1852 to "modernize" Paris. He hoped in hiring Haussmann that Paris could be moulded into a city with safer streets, better housing, more sanitary, hospitable, shopper-friendly communities, better traffic flow, and, last but not least, streets too broad for rebels to build barricades across them and where coherent battalions and artillery could circulate easily if need be. He created broad avenues linked to the main train-stations so army troops from the provinces could be operative in a short amount of time (for example, the boulevard de Strasbourg near Gare de l'Est and Gare du Nord). This work achieved during the Second Empire is one of the causes of the quick repression of the 1871 Paris Commune: since the 1848 revolution, Adolphe Thiers had become obsessed with crushing out the next foreseeable Parisian rebellion. Thus, he planned to leave the city and retreat, in order to better take it back with more military forces^[3]. Download high resolution version (750x1212, 109 KB)Avenue de la Grande Armee, seen from the Arc de Triomphe, with La Defense on the horizon. ... Download high resolution version (750x1212, 109 KB)Avenue de la Grande Armee, seen from the Arc de Triomphe, with La Defense on the horizon. ... This article is about the monument in Paris. ... La Défense, the latest addition to the Paris region skyline. ... The Grande Arche, La Défense district The Grande Arche de la Fraternité is a monument in the business district of La Défense to the west of Paris. ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Closeup of a collection of blinker equipped barricades A barricade is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. ... An RER train at Gare de lEst. ... Main entrance to the Gare du Nord The Gare du Nord (English: North Station) is one of the six large terminus stations of the SNCFs main line network in Paris. ... Le Père Duchesne looking at the statue of Napoleon I on top of the Vendome column: Eh ben ! bougre de canaille, on va donc te foutre en bas comme ta crapule de neveu !… (Well now! buggering rascal, we will knock you the fuck off just like your crook of... // Observations of liberals As 1848 began, liberals in France awaited the death of King Louis Philippe, expecting a new revolution after his death. ... Louis Adolphe Thiers (April 16, 1797 - September 3, 1877) was a French statesman and historian. ...

Haussmann's design of streets and avenues, combined with the new importance given to trains, made this plan more than successful, 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. Other elements of Haussman's plan included uniform building heights, grand boulevards, and anchoring elements including the Arc de Triomphe and the Grand Opera House. Communards killed in 1871. ...

Haussmann's plan for Paris inspired some of the most important architectural movements including the City Beautiful Movement in the United States. In fact, renowned American architect Daniel Burnham borrowed liberally from Haussmann's plan and even incorporated the diagonal street designs in his 1909 Plan of Chicago. Cities like London and Moscow also have Haussmann influences in their city plans. The City Beautiful movement was a Progressive reform movement in North American architecture and urban planning that flourished in the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of using beautification and monumental grandeur in cities to counteract the perceived moral decay of poverty-stricken urban environments. ...

Historian Shelley Rice, in her book Parisian Views writes that "most Parisians during [the first half of the nineteenth century] perceived [the 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!

—the Vicomte de Launay, 1838 (as quoted in Rice, p. 9)

It should be noted, however, that the people who suffered most from the medieval living conditions were often exiled to the suburbs by Haussmannization, since slums were cleared away and replaced with bourgeois apartments.

Criticism

Because of Haussmannization, that is the creative destruction of something for the betterment of society, the 1860s was a time of intense revolt in Paris. Many Parisians were troubled by the destruction of "old roots". Historian Robert Herbert says that "the impressionist movement depicted this loss of connection in such paintings as Manet's Bar at Folies." The subject of the painting is talking to a man, seen in the mirror behind her, but seems unengaged. According to Herbert, this is a symptom of living in Paris at this time: the citizens became detached from one another. "The continuous destruction of physical Paris led to a destruction of social Paris as well." Haussmann was also criticized for the great cost of his project. Napoléon III fired Haussmann on 5 January 1870 in order to improve his own flagging popularity. Haussmann was also a favorite target of the Situationist's critique; besides 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 accommodations, and the last one for labour). Robert George Wyndham Herbert (1831-1905), was the first Premier of Queensland, Australia. ... “Manet” redirects here. ... A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1882) was the last major work by French painter Édouard Manet before he died. ... is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Situationist International (SI) was a small group of international political and artistic agitators with roots in Marxism, Lettrism and the early 20th century European artistic and political avant-gardes. ... Guy Ernest Debord (December 28, 1931, in Paris – November 30, 1994, in Champot) was a writer, film maker, hypergraphist and founding member of the groups Lettrist International and Situationist International (SI). ... Urbanism is the study of cities - their geographic, economic, political, social and cultural environment, and the imprint of all these forces on the built environment. ... A relaxing afternoon of leisure: a young girl resting in a pool. ... Functionalism is a term with several senses: For functionalism in sociology, see Functionalism (sociology). ... Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, who chose to be known as Le Corbusier (October 6, 1887 – August 27, 1965), was a Swiss-born architect and writer, who is famous for his contributions to what now is called Modern Architecture. ...

The changes wrought by Haussmann on the streetscape of Paris were documented in the film, "Paris: Living Space", featuring Edmund N. Bacon and based on sections of his book Design of Cities. TIME Magazine November 6, 1964 Edmund N. Bacon (May 2, 1910 – October 14, 2005) is a noted Urban Planner whose visions shaped todays Philadelphia, the city in which he was born. ... Design of Cities, published in 1967, is an illustrated account of the development of urban form. ...

See also

• Ildefons Cerdà who designed the 19th century extension of Barcelona called the Eixample neighborhoods.
• List of urban planners
• Situationist International
• Walter Benjamin's The Arcades Project
• Robert Moses, New York planner with whom Haussmann is occasionally compared.
• David Harvey (geographer), Paris Capital of Modernity

Ildefons Cerdà i Sunyer (in Catalan) or Ildefonso Cerdá y Suñer (in Spanish) (December 23, 1815 - August 21, 1876) was the progressive Catalan urban planner who designed the 19th-century extension of Barcelona called the Eixample (in Catalan) or Ensanche (in Spanish). ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts) Postal code 08001–08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ... Districts of Barcelona Original Eixample concept from 1859 Part of Eixample and Sagrada Família, viewed from Montjuic, June 2006 Eixample street & block layout The Eixample (Catalan for extension) is a district of Barcelona between the old city (Ciutat Vella) and what were once surrounding small towns (Sants, Gràcia... List of urban planners chronological by initial year of plan. ... The Situationist International (SI) was a small group of international political and artistic agitators with roots in Marxism, Lettrism and the early 20th century European artistic and political avant-gardes. ... Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin (July 15, 1892 – September 27, 1940) was a German Marxist literary critic, essayist, translator, and philosopher. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This is about the urban planner; for other uses, see Robert Moses (disambiguation). ... David Harvey, 1990s David Harvey (b. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Haussmannian architecture

• "Georges Eugène Haussmann" from French language site Insecula