Place Rene-Viviani is one of the most beautiful and visited places in Paris. This small garden, located near the banks of the Seine, has a green island in the center of the capital, adorned with ancient ruins and offering stunning views of Notre Dame. But the most interesting: in this park is the oldest tree in Paris!
This is a huge spreading white Robinia pseudoacacia, planted in 1601 by the botanist Gene Robin, who brought this type of tree to France. For more than 400 years, every year in the spring, this beauty pleases the Parisians with its fragrance, although the tree lost the upper branches of its crown during the First World War. Now its size reaches 15 meters in height and 3.5 meters in circumference, while usually trees of this species do not exceed 10 meters. Now this truly historic tree is supported by a concrete structure.
Inside the square itself, in addition to well-trimmed plane trees, lawns, benches and paths, there is a strange-looking fountain, known as the Saint-Julien fountain, built in 1995 by the French sculptor Georges Jeanclot (1933-1997), based on the legend of St. Julian the Hospitable , which has come down to our days in a very distorted form. This fairy tale was told and retold in the Middle Ages, as a result of which it became very popular. As a result, many hospitals, hospices and churches throughout Europe have adopted Saint Julian as their patron.
There are also stone blocks in different places of the square. These are pieces of stones that were previously parts of Notre Dame Cathedral, left over from the partial restoration of the outer walls of the cathedral, carried out in the 19th century by the architect Eugè ne Viollet-le-Duc. A large number of worn-out limestone blocks were replaced with new fragments, and the removed stones were placed randomly in the park.
This is a huge spreading white Robinia pseudoacacia, planted in 1601 by the botanist Gene Robin, who brought this type of tree to France. For more than 400 years, every year in the spring, this beauty pleases the Parisians with its fragrance, although the tree lost the upper branches of its crown during the First World War. Now its size reaches 15 meters in height and 3.5 meters in circumference, while usually trees of this species do not exceed 10 meters. Now this truly historic tree is supported by a concrete structure.
Inside the square itself, in addition to well-trimmed plane trees, lawns, benches and paths, there is a strange-looking fountain, known as the Saint-Julien fountain, built in 1995 by the French sculptor Georges Jeanclot (1933-1997), based on the legend of St. Julian the Hospitable , which has come down to our days in a very distorted form. This fairy tale was told and retold in the Middle Ages, as a result of which it became very popular. As a result, many hospitals, hospices and churches throughout Europe have adopted Saint Julian as their patron.
There are also stone blocks in different places of the square. These are pieces of stones that were previously parts of Notre Dame Cathedral, left over from the partial restoration of the outer walls of the cathedral, carried out in the 19th century by the architect Eugè ne Viollet-le-Duc. A large number of worn-out limestone blocks were replaced with new fragments, and the removed stones were placed randomly in the park.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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