Parc Montsouris

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A lake in the park.

Parc Montsouris is a public city park of Paris, in the 14th arrondissement, in Rive Gauche (the southern portion of the city proper). The park is 15 hectares in area and is designed in the style of an English garden, which was popular at the end of the 19th century. The park was created by Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann as part of a plan to add green areas to Paris. ^[1]

The park is bounded to the south by the "Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris" (CIUP), to the north and east by relatively affluent residential flats, and to the west by the residential corridor surrounding the avenue Générale Leclerc.

The water reservoir in the northeast portion of the park now covers a historical entrance to the Paris catacombs, which were primarily excavated as a quarry for building stones.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Cité Universitaire Stop on RER B

Cité Universitaire Stop on RER B

Many commuters on the RER B (a main north-south train running from Charles de Gaulle airport to the southern suburbs) are familiar with the stop "Cité Universitaire" on the line. This stop is in Parc Montsouris itself, and is distinguished by its open air top and overhanging trees from the park.

[edit] Etymology of "Montsouris"

Acoording to the Park's official site^[2] maintained by the French government, the area was originally called moque souris (literally translated as "mock mice") because the area was inhabited mainly by rodents. The name eventually evolved into Montsouris.

[edit] Trees, shrubs and statues

Weeping beeches (Fagus sylvatica tortuosa) encircle the centre lake of the Montsouris Park. There are at least four of them weeping directly into the water and three others two steps away from it.

Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides) lying on a bed of Magnolia leaves beneath its branches close to the lake of the Montsouris park.

As a public garden it's a dedicated place for the students from the adjacent Cité Universitaire. When the City was founded the park was supposed to be for students use only to compensate for their intellectual effort. Every Saturday and Sunday morning you can see them running through the paved lanes in circles, down and up the slopes. The main upper lawn was used once for a golf presentation. When it's open to the public it crowds with children and adults eager to step bare feet on the grassy ground, an obvious change to the paved lanes of the City.

In the lower part of the park a tiny lake with an isle in the middle attracts the migratory birds. About 40 species of savage ducks, geese, herons and others find a friendly sanctuary over there. Some turtles imported from Florida are sunbathing on the lakes stony shores.

A duo of painted buckeye (aesculus sylvatica) trees at the entrance of Montsouris park on the upper lawn looks like a united one two-legged tree. Two trunks seem to be turning as if in a dance. Their exceptional sizes are due to their grafts on the horse-chestnut trees (aesculus hippocastanum). The phenomenon makes of this duo a horticultural variety creating a rare ecosystem.

According to Montsouris chief gardener there are about 150 species of trees and shrubs.

• Amongst the trees, dominating in quantities are:
  • Horse-Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
  • Common Yew (Taxus baccata)
  • Cedar (Cedrus)
  • Weeping beech (Fagus sylvatica tortuosa)
  • Buttonwood (Platanus)

Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia Glyptostroboides), the unique one of the Montsouris park growing close to the footbridge over the RER suburb train, yields an exceptional burning red colour, in contrast to the whiteness of the Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) to its left and deep green of the Austrian Pine (Pinus nigra) to its right.

• The rare or more exotic species include:
  • Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
  • Silk tree (Albizia julibrissin)
  • Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)
  • Princess Tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
  • Pride of India(Koelreuteria bipinnata)

• The dominating species of shrubs are:
  • Spindle (Euonymus)
  • Mahonia (Mahonia)
  • Boxwood (Buxus)
  • Aucuba (Aucuba)
  • Viburnum rhytidophyllum (Viburnum)
  • Tinus (Laurustinus Viburnum)

The statue of "Pureté" by Costa Valsenis (1955) - a gift from Hellenes of France for its bimillenary.

Sculptures in bronze and marble punctuate the park area.

• In the lower part you may find:
  • "Column of the Armed Peace" by Jules Coutan (1887)
  • "First thrill" by René Baucour (1921)
  • "Lion's death" by Edmond Desca (1929)

• On the lawn above the park's lake:
  • "Women bathers" by Maurice Lipsi (1952)
  • "Shipwrecked" by Etex (1859)

• In the upper part of the park:
  • "Desert drama" par Georges Gardet (1891)
  • "Purity" by Costa Valsenis (1955)
  • "Mine accident" by Henri Bouchard (1900)
  • "Monument commemorating Colonel Flatters" by Singery

• Exposed close to the RER underground stop station is:
  • "Statue of General San Martin" by Van Peborgh (1960)

[edit] References

1. ^ Paris portal: Principaux parcs: Parc Montsouris (French)
2. ^ Paris portal: Principaux parcs: Parc Montsouris (French)

• Downie, David (2005), Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light, Fort Bragg: Transatlantic Press, ISBN 0976925109: "Montsouris and Buttes-Chaumont: the art of the faux", pp. 34-41

[edit] External links

• Parc Montsouris — current photographs and of the years 1900 (French)
• Official website (French)
• Visiting the Park (English)
• Architecture around the Park (French)
• Trees and shrubs (English)