Jardin Atlantique
Encyclopedia
The Jardin Atlantique is a public park and garden located in the 15th arrondissement of Paris
, on the roof that covers the tracks and platforms of the Gare Montparnasse
railway station. It has an area of 3.4 hectares. It was created by the landscape architects Brun, Penna and Schnitzler, and opened in 1994.
, commander of the French armored division which entered Paris first during the liberation of the city from the Germans in August 1944.
The plan of the garden is inspired the historical role of the Gare Montparnasse as the train station that connected Paris to Brittany
and the Atlantic Ocean
. One theme is that of a ship; the lamposts resemble the masts of sailing ships, and there are two elevated walkways on either side of the garden which resemble the bridges of ships. The visitor to the garden is supposed to feel like a passenger on a cruise ship surrounded by a circle of office buildings.
In the center of the garden, surrounded by a lawn, is a small square called the Isle of the Hesperides
, named for the legendary islands believed by the Ancient Greeks to be to the west of the Pillars of Hercules
. In the "island" is a fountain, called the Fontaine des Hesperides, made by the sculptor Jean-Max Llorca, composed of several gigantic meteorogical instruments for measuring the rain, temperature, wind and atmospheric pressure, surrounded by jets of water.
On the east side of the garden are a series of small thematic gardens, with different types of vegetation:
The large number of pine trees in the garden are also supposed to evoke the Atlantic coast of Brittany.
The east side of the garden also has two pavillons, where visitors can climb to the roof and look over the garden.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, on the roof that covers the tracks and platforms of the Gare Montparnasse
Gare Montparnasse
Paris Montparnasse is one of the six large terminus railway stations of Paris, located in the Montparnasse area in the XIVe arrondissement. The station was opened in 1840, and rebuilt completely in 1969...
railway station. It has an area of 3.4 hectares. It was created by the landscape architects Brun, Penna and Schnitzler, and opened in 1994.
Description
The garden is placed atop the large roof, or dalle, that covers the tracks and platforms of the Gare Monparnasse, supported by twelve pillars, and seventeen meters above the street level. Large ventilator shafts for the station are placed around the garden, and the announcement of the trains departing can be heard in the garden. Cubes of stone filled with earth contain five hundred trees. The garden is surrounded by office buildings and by a line of tennis courts on the west side. It is also the site of a small museum honoring Philippe Leclerc de HauteclocquePhilippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque
Philippe François Marie, comte de Hauteclocque, then Leclerc de Hauteclocque, by a 1945 decree that incorporated his French Resistance alias Jacques-Philippe Leclerc to his name, , was a French general during World War II...
, commander of the French armored division which entered Paris first during the liberation of the city from the Germans in August 1944.
The plan of the garden is inspired the historical role of the Gare Montparnasse as the train station that connected Paris to Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
and the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. One theme is that of a ship; the lamposts resemble the masts of sailing ships, and there are two elevated walkways on either side of the garden which resemble the bridges of ships. The visitor to the garden is supposed to feel like a passenger on a cruise ship surrounded by a circle of office buildings.
In the center of the garden, surrounded by a lawn, is a small square called the Isle of the Hesperides
Hesperides
In Greek mythology, the Hesperides are nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, located near the Atlas mountains in North Africa at the edge of the encircling Oceanus, the world-ocean....
, named for the legendary islands believed by the Ancient Greeks to be to the west of the Pillars of Hercules
Pillars of Hercules
The Pillars of Hercules was the phrase that was applied in Antiquity to the promontories that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. The northern Pillar is the Rock of Gibraltar in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar...
. In the "island" is a fountain, called the Fontaine des Hesperides, made by the sculptor Jean-Max Llorca, composed of several gigantic meteorogical instruments for measuring the rain, temperature, wind and atmospheric pressure, surrounded by jets of water.
On the east side of the garden are a series of small thematic gardens, with different types of vegetation:
- Salle des Plants ondoyantes. (grasses moving in the wind.)
- Salle des Humidites. (Aquatic plants.)
- Salle des Bleus and Mauves. (Flowers in blue and mauve.)
- Salle du Silence. (A secluded garden for meditation.)
- Salle des Rivages (Plants of the coast.)
The large number of pine trees in the garden are also supposed to evoke the Atlantic coast of Brittany.
The east side of the garden also has two pavillons, where visitors can climb to the roof and look over the garden.