Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Palais de Chaillot was built between 1934 and 1937 on the hill of Chaillot, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, for the Universal Exhibition of 1937. Designed by architects Léon Azema, Jacques Carlu and Louis-Hippolyte Boileau, it replaces the Palais du Trocadéro, built in 1878 for a previous Universal Exhibition. The new palace partially preserves the structure of the old, especially its curvilinear wings, but adopts a refined neoclassical style, contrasting with the eclecticism of the previous building.

The Trocadéro site has a complex history, marked by architectural projects aborted since the Ancien Régime. In the 16th century, Catherine de Medici planned to build a villa inspired by antiquity, but the land then passed into the hands of religious, then was destroyed during the Revolution. In the 19th century, Napoleon I planned to erect a palace for his son, the king of Rome, but the project was abandoned. The name Trocadéro was adopted in 1824 in tribute to the French victory at Cadiz in 1823.

The Trocadéro Palace, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1878 by Gabriel Davioud and Jules Bourdais, initially houses the Musée des Monuments Françaises and a museum of ethnography. Critiqued for his style considered too eclectic, he was demolished in 1935 to give way to the Palais de Chaillot. The latter, with its 41,000 m2, includes museums (Human Museum, National Marine Museum), a national theatre, and becomes an emblematic place of culture and diplomacy, hosting notably the UN General Assembly in 1948 and 1951.

During World War II, the palace was occupied by German forces, and Adolf Hitler visited it in June 1940. After the Liberation, it became a symbol of peace and human rights, hosting the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. In the 1950s, it temporarily hosted the headquarters of NATO before fully devoted to its cultural vocation, with major renovations in the 21st century, notably for the Human Museum and the National Marine Museum.

The architecture of the Palais de Chaillot is distinguished by its two pavilions surmounted by monumental sculptures (works by Raymond Delamarre and Carlo Sarrabezolles), its terraced gardens offering stunning views of the Eiffel Tower, and its human rights parvis, renowned in 1985. The national theatre, which has been renovated several times, is a major place for the live performance, while the facades, classified as historical monuments in 1980, illustrate the art deco and neo-classicism of the inter-war period.

The palace embodies values of peace and culture, as evidenced by Paul Valéry's inscriptions on his pediments, commissioned for the 1937 Exhibition. These currencies, combined with allegorical sculptures (Hercules, Apollo), underline its symbolic dimension. Today, the palace houses the City of Architecture and Heritage, the Museum of Man, and the Chaillot National Theatre, perpetuating its role as a place of memory and creation.

Future

The Palais de Chaillot houses several museums including the Musée de l'Homme, de la Marine in its western wing, the Théâtre national de Chaillot, as well as the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine in its eastern wing (Musée des monuments français, École de Chaillot and Institut français d'architecture (IFA)).

External links