Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Paris floral park has its origins in the military history of Vincennes wood. In the 19th century, the central part of the wood was cleared to create a military training ground, including barracks, manoeuvring fields and shooting sites. Napoleon III ceded the wood to the city of Paris in 1860 to make it a symmetrical park to the Bois de Boulogne, but the centre remained a military zone until the 1950s-1960s, the date of his gradual evacuation by the army. Only in the late 1960s, on the occasion of the Third International Floralies, was the City of Paris looking for a site to host the event.

The design of the park is entrusted to landscape architect Daniel Collin, who transforms the former abandoned military grounds of La Cartoucherie and the Pyramid. Only a pine forest of Corsica pine is preserved; the rest of the site, completely remodeled, was inaugurated in 1969 after 15 months of work. With its 35 hectares, it became the largest green space created in Paris since the end of the Second Empire. The park includes japonising influences inspired by the Tokyo Olympics (1964), with volute roofs, semi-covered alleys and pavilions reminiscent of the Imperial Villa of Katsura.

From its opening, the floral park is distinguished by its artistic and botanical dimension. Bernard Anthonioz developed a policy of ordering from emerging or confirmed artists, such as Giacometti, Calder, or Tinguely, including for the first time ephemeral works between 1969 and 1971. The park is also home to a performance scene (Espace Delta), restaurants, and remarkable plant collections: 1,500 diiris varieties, 7,951 plant taxa, and international competitions (dahlias, tulips). Recognised as a botanical garden in 1998, it is part of the network of the Botanical Garden of the city of Paris, alongside the arboretum of the school Du Breuil and the Bagatelle Park.

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