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Key figures

Origin and history

The Bois de Boulogne is the vestige of the old forest of Rouvray, mentioned as early as 717 in the charter of Compiègne. Offered by Childéric II to the monks of Saint-Denis, it became a royal hunting reserve under Philip Augustus (XII century). In 1256, Isabelle de France, sister of Saint Louis, founded the Abbey of Longchamp. The name " Boulogne" comes from a church built in 1319 by Philippe le Bel, inspired by a pilgrimage to Boulogne-sur-Mer.

During the Hundred Years War, the forest was a den of robbers and was destroyed by the Bourguignons (1416-1417). Reforested under Louis XI, it hosts the castle of Madrid under Francis I (1528) and becomes a place of feasts. Henry IV planted 15,000 mulberry trees there for a silk industry, but his assassination in 1610 interrupted the project. In the 18th century, the wood was the theatre of an aborted duel between the Count of Artois and the Duke of Bourbon (1778), and the first balloon flight of the Montgolfier brothers (1783).

In 1852, Napoleon III gave the wood to the city of Paris to make it a public park. Architects Jacques Hittorff and Louis-Sulpice Varé started the development, but the latter was replaced by Adolphe Alphand and Jean-Pierre Barillet-Deschamps after a levelling error. They create artificial lakes, waterfalls, and English gardens, while preserving two straight paths. The park was enriched by a Swiss chalet (1867), Longchamp Racecourse (1858), and the Jardin d'acclimation. In 1925-1929 it was officially annexed by Paris.

The Bois de Boulogne is marked by tragic events, such as the Prussian bombings of 1870 or the execution of 35 resistors near the Grande Cascade in 1944. Ranked a picturesque site in 1957, it remains a place of relaxation for Parisians, despite recurring security issues (prostitution, trafficking). Today, it houses cultural facilities (Louis-Vuitton Foundation), sports (Roland-Garros, racetracks), and protected natural areas.

Its artificial hydraulic system, powered by the Seine, includes about ten lakes and ponds, including the Upper and Lower Lakes, connected by a waterfall. The Grande Cascade, built in 1856 with rocks of Fontainebleau, is a symbol of the park. The wood also inspires the arts: painted by Berthe Morisot or Édouard Vuillard, filmed by Méliès or Bresson, and cited in literature (Zola, Simone de Beauvoir).

Future

The central part of the wood contains Bagatelle Park, as well as the Jardin du Pré-Catelan. Its northern part is occupied by the Jardin d'acclimation, an amusement park famous for its menagerie. To the south-east is the greenhouse garden of Auteuil.

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