Philatelic Photograph: Pont Alexandre III and the Petit Palais - Paris, France

Interesting Places I've Photographed

Pont Alexandre III and the Petit Palais

Paris, France

Topic: Philatelic Photographs

N 48° 51.783 E 002° 18.791

Quick Description: 

The Pont Alexandre III is considered to be the most beautiful bridge in Paris. It frames the Petit Palais on the right bank of the River Seine.

Long Description:

Pont Alexandre III was constructed the end of the 19th century as part of a series of projects undertaken for Universal Exposition of 1900. The bridge joined Exposition sites on the right and left banks of the River Seine.

The bridge was designed by architects Joseph Cassien-Bernard and Gaston Cousin and built by the engineers Jean Résal and Amédée d'Alby. The bridge has to meet strict requirements not to obscuring the view of the Champs-Élysées or the Invalides. Thus the bridge is only 132' wide, has a single 353' long span, and a height of only 20'.

The bridge is lavishly decorated with Art Nouveau style lampposts and sculptures of cherubs and nymphs. On each end of bridge are large gilded sculptures on 56' high granite pillars.

The first stone for the bridge was laid by the Russian Tsar Nicolas II in October 1896. The bridge symbolizes Russian-French friendship and was named after the Tsar's father, Tsar Alexander III.

The Petit Palais was also built for the Universal Exposition in the year 1900. Originally it was meant to be a temporary structure, displaying a large exposition of French art. The Beaux Arts-style building was designed by Charles Girault and became a favorite with Parisians, who refused to raze the building. Currently it is the home of the Musée des Beaux-Arts.

The airmail stamp was issued by France on June 13, 1949 to commemorate the International Telegraph and Telephone Conference which was held in Paris from May to July 1949.

Philatelic Photograph: Palais Bourbon - Paris, France

Interesting Places I've Photographed

Palais Bourbon

Paris, France

Topic: Philatelic Photographs

GPS: N48° 51.742; E002° 19.130

Quick Description: 

The Palais Bourbon is located on the left bank of the Seine across from the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France

Long Description:

The Palais Bourbon was built between 1722 and 1728 to a design by the Italian architect Lorenzo Giardini and approved by Jules Hardouin-Mansart. Giardini oversaw construction until his death in 1724. Then Jacques Gabriel assumed control with the assistance of L'Assurance and other designers. The Palais was built for the daughter of Louis XIV and Françoise-Athénaïs, Marquise de Montespan - Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, Duchesse de Bourbon.

During the French Revolution the Palais Bourbon was nationalized, and the Council of the Five Hundred met in the palace from 1798. Fontanes, following wishes of Napoleon to create a grander Paris, commissioned the pedimented Roman portico, designed by architect Bernard Poyet, to be added to the front of the Palais facing the Place de la Concorde. The Roman portico was completed in 1808.

The Bourbon Restoration followed the reign of Napoleon. Prince de Condé returned from exile and took possession of the Palais. He a large portion of the Palais to the Chamber of Deputies. In 1827, The Palais was bought outright from his heir for 5,250,000 francs. The Chamber of Deputies was then able to further modify the Palais to better suit their work. Delacroix did some of the interior decorating and the pediment was re-sculpted by French artist Jean-Pierre Cortot.

Today the Palais Bourbon is the seat of the French National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French government.

The stamp was issued on August 28, 1971 to commemorate the 59th Conference of the Interparliamentary Union.

Philatelic Photograph: Musée d'Orsay - Paris, France

Interesting Places I've Photographed

Musée d'Orsay

Paris, France

Topic: Philatelic Phorographs

GPS: N48° 51.637; E 002° 19.542

Quick Description:

The Musée d'Orsay (Orsay Museum) a world class art museum located on the left bank of the Seine in central Paris.

Long Description:

The Musée d'Orsay is located in the former Beaux-Arts style Orsay railway station, which was designed by Laloux for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. The conversion of the station was done in 1979 by the ACT architecture group, comprised of M. Bardon, M. Colboc and M. Philippon. The great hall of the railway station is used as the main artery of the museum and the glass awning became the museum's entrance.

The building is 619' long, 246 wide and 104' high. The museum is organized on three levels. Galleries occupy the ground floor, terraces on the mid-level overlook the galleries, The upper floor is installed above the lobby and covers the length of the Quai and contains the restaurant. Exhibition spaces and different facilities are located throughout the three levels.

The Musée d'Orsay opened to the public on December 9, 1986 and features collections of art from 1848 to 1914 period. It is exhibits the world's largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings. The collection was formed with works coming mainly from three establishments: from the Louvre museum, for the works of artists born after 1820 or coming to the fore during the Second Republic; from the Musée du Jeu de Paume, which since 1947 had been devoted to Impressionism; and lastly from the National Museum of Modern Art, which, when it moved in 1976 to the Centre Georges Pompidou, only kept works of artists born after 1870. On average, over 3,000,000 visitors view the collection each year.

The stamp was issued on June 18, 2012 as a single stamp commemorating the Musée d'Orsay.

Philatelic Photograph: Resistance Memorial - Paris, France

Interesting Places I've Photographed

Resistance Memorial

Paris, France

Topic: Philatelic Photographs

GPS: N48° 50.902; E002° 20.322

Quick Description:

Resistance Memorial is located in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, France

Long Description:

A memorial placed in the northeast part of the Luxembourg Gardens pays homage to the members of the Resistance Movement in France during World War II. Placed by a group identified as Student Resistance, it features a pair of life-sized bronze figures. A standing figure holds his head up high and a fallen comrade, who is lying on his side with his head facing back, is at the feet of the standing figure.
The low pedestal is inscribed in on the front:

AMI. SI TU TOMBES UN AMI SORT DE L'OMBRES A TA PLACE.
AUX ETUDIANTES RESISTANTS

Friend. If you fall a friend comes out of the shadows to take your place.

Student Resistance

The statue was sculpted by Gaston Watkins in 1956. The semi-postal stamp was issued in 1964 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the liberation of France in World War II.

Philatelic Photograph: Palais du Luxembourg - Paris, France

Interesting Places I've Photographed

Palais du Luxembourg

Paris, France

Topic: Philatelic Photographs

GPS: N48° 50.860; E002° 20.234

Quick Description: 

Palais du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Palace) is located on the left bank of the River Seine in in Paris, France

Long Description:

After Henri IV was assassinated, his widow, Marie de Medici, decided to build herself a luxurious palace in the Luxembourg district of Paris. The palace was built between 1615-1627 to a design by architect Salomon de Brosse. The Palais du Luxembourg then housed a succession of France's nobility. In 1792, was taken over by Revolutionaries and converted into a prison. In 1797, Napoleon I installed the Senate in the Palace, for a brief time. The Senate returned to the Palace in 1879, where it is today.

Adjacent to the palace is the Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens), one of the largest and most beautiful parks in Paris.

Philatelic Photograph: Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris - Paris, France

Interesting Places I've Photographed

Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris

Paris, France

Topic: Philatelic Photographs

GPS: N48° 51.193; E002° 20.940

Quick Description: 

Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris (Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris) is a historic Roman Catholic Marian cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France.

Long Description:

Cathédrale de Notre Dame is a world famous example of French Gothic architecture. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Paris. Construction began when the cornerstone was laid in 1163. By 1182 the apse and choir were completed. Work began on the west façade about 1200 and was completed in 1225. By 1250, the western towers and the north rose window were complete. From 1245–1260 the transepts remodelled in the Rayonnant style by Jean de Chelles. he also added the gabled portal to the north which contains the hallmark rose window. Pierre de Montreuil then duplicated these elements on the south transept.

South Rose Window

Notre Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress to support the exterior walls. The many small statues around the outside serve as supports for columns and water spouts, the famous gargoyles. 

The cathedral was extensively damaged during the French Revolution of 1789 - 1799 and subsequently restored to its original Gothic condition by order of Napoleon under the supervision of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor inside the Cathédrale de Notre Dame.

The stamp was issued by France in 2010 as part of an ongoing series of four stamps showing landmarks in European capital series. In 2010, the home country capital of Paris was selected. The stamp and depicts the south façade of Notre Dame as viewed from the riverbank across the River Seine.

Philatelic Photograph: La Conciergerie - Paris, France

Interesting Places I've Photographed

La Conciergerie

Paris, France

Topic: Philatelic Photographs

GPS: N48° 51.370; E002° 20.781

Quick Description: 

La Conciergerie is located on the Quai de l'Horloge on Île de la Cité near the Pont au Change in Paris.

Long Description:

The site of the present La Conciergerie was the Palace of French Kings from the 10th century until they moved to the Louvre in 1358. The Conciergerie became a prison in 1391 and played a significant and dramatic role during the 1789 French Revolution. Around 2,780 prisoners, including Marie-Antoinette, were held here before being taken from La Conciergerie to be executed on the guillotine at a number of locations around Paris. After the Revolution La Conciergerie continued to be used for important prisoners, notably Napoleon III. Today, it is part of the larger complex known as the Palais de Justice, which is still used for judicial purposes.

The Gothic-style La Conciergerie includes the remains of the oldest royal palace in Paris and was first constructed at the start of the 14th century. Located on an island in the middle of the River Seine, the location was chosen by King Philippe IV, known as Philippe The Fair, in the early 14th Century as the place where he would build a palace to symbolise his power. A few remnants of the Conciergerie remain from the Middle Ages. The Silver Tower, which supposedly housed the royal treasury; the Caesar Tower, named for the Roman emperors; and the Bonbec Tower, which housed a torture chamber.

Recently, the mounted clock on the clock tower has been restored to is former splendor.

The stamp was issued by France in 1947 as part of a set of four stamps depicting Paris sites and commemorating the 12th Congress of the Universal Postal Union held in Paris from May 7 to July 7, 1947.