6th arrondissement of Paris

6th arrondissement of Paris
The 6th arrondissement of Paris (VIe arrondissement) is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as le sixième.
The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in a reference to the seat of the Senate and its garden, is situated on the Rive Gauche of the River Seine. It includes educational institutions such as the , the and the Institut de France, as well as Parisian monuments such as the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe, the Pont des Arts, which links the 1st and 6th arrondissements over the Seine, Saint-Germain Abbey and Saint-Sulpice Church.
This central arrondissement, which includes the historic districts of Saint-Germain-des-Prés (surrounding the abbey founded in the 6th century) and Luxembourg (surrounding the Palace and its Gardens), has played a major role throughout Parisian history and is well known for its café culture and the revolutionary intellectualism (existentialism, authors such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir) and literature (writers Paul Éluard, Boris Vian, Albert Camus and Françoise Sagan) it has hosted.
With its cityscape, intellectual tradition, history, architecture and central location, the arrondissement has long been home to French intelligentsia. It is a major locale for art galleries and fashion stores, as well as Paris's most expensive area. The arrondissement is one of France's richest districts in terms of average income; it is part of Paris Ouest alongside the 7th, 8th and 16th arrondissements, as well as the Neuilly-sur-Seine inner suburb. The 6th arrondissement is the smallest in Paris in terms of area covered.
History
The current 6th arrondissement, dominated by the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés—founded in the 6th century—was the heart of the Catholic Church's power in Paris for centuries, hosting many religious institutions.
In 1612, Queen Marie de Médicis bought an estate in the district and commissioned architect Salomon de Brosse to transform it into the outstanding Luxembourg Palace surrounded by extensive royal gardens. The new Luxembourg Palace turned the neighbourhood into a fashionable district for French nobility.
In the aftermath of the French Revolution, architect Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin was commissioned to redesign the Luxembourg Palace in 1800 to make it the seat of the newly-established Sénat conservateur. Nowadays, the grounds around the Luxembourg Palace, known as the Senate Garden (Jardin du Sénat), are open to the public; they have become a prised Parisian garden across from the 5th arrondissement's Panthéon.
Since the 1950s, the arrondissement, with its many higher education institutions, cafés (Café de Flore La Palette, Café Procope) and publishing houses (Gallimard, Julliard, Grasset) has been the home of much of the major post-war intellectual and literary movements and some of most influential in history such as surrealism, existentialism and modern feminism.
Geography
The land area of the arrondissement is 2.154 km2 (0.832 sq. mile, or 532 acres).
Cityscape
Places of interest
Académie Française
Café de Flore
Café Procope
Hôtel de Chimay
Hôtel Lutetia
Institut de France
Jardin du Luxembourg
Latin Quarter (partial)
Medici Fountain
Notre-Dame-des-Champs, Paris
Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe
Polidor
Pont des Arts
Pont Neuf
Pont Saint-Michel
Saint-Denys-du-Saint-Sacrement (Neoclassical church)
Saint-Germain-des-Prés (church)
Saint-Germain-des-Prés quarter
Saint-Sulpice church
Senate (Luxembourg Palace)
Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier
Museums
Fondation Jean Dubuffet
Maison d'Auguste Comte
Monnaie de Paris
Musée – Librairie du Compagnonnage
Musée d'Anatomie Delmas-Orfila-Rouvière
Musée de Minéralogie
Musée Edouard Branly
Musée Hébert
Musée Zadkine
Colleges and universities
Université Paris Cité (Saints-Pères campus)
Pantheon-Assas University (main campus)
Catholic University of Paris (main campus)
Lycée Stanislas
École nationale des ponts et chaussées
(PSL University)
École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris (PSL University)
Lycée Fénelon
Lycée Montaigne
Lycée Saint-Louis
Former places
Arcade du Pont-Neuf
Cherche-Midi prison
Couvent des Cordeliers
Comédie-Française
Hôtel de Bourbon-Condé
Hôtel de Condé
Main streets and squares
Place du 18-Juin-1940
Rue de l'Abbaye
Rue de l'Ancienne Comédie
Rue André-Mazet
Rue d'Assas
Rue Auguste Comte
Rue de Beaux Arts
Rue Bonaparte
named after Napoleon
Rue Bréa
named after General Jean Baptiste Fidèle Bréa (1790–1848)
Rue de Buci
named after Simon de Buci, President of the Parlement of Paris, who had purchased the Gate Saint-Germain (now demolished) in 1350
Rue des Canettes
Rue Cassette
Rue du Cherche-Midi
Rue Christine
named after Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy (1606–1663)
Rue de Condé
named after the former Hôtel de Condé, of which forecourt faced the street
Quai de Conti
Rue Danton
Passage Dauphine
Rue Dauphine
named after King Louis XIII (1601-1643), Dauphin of France from 1601 to 1610
Rue du Dragon
Rue Duguay-Trouin
Rue Dupin
Rue de l'École de Médecine
Rue de Fleurus
Rue du Four
Place de Furstemberg
Rue de Furstemberg
Rue Garancière
Quai des Grands-Augustins
Rue des Grands Augustins
Rue Grégoire de Tours
named after Saint Gregory of Tours, Bishop of Tours (538–594)
Rue Guisarde
Rue Guynemer
Rue Hautefeuille
Place Henri Mondor
Rue Jacques Callot
named after Jacques Callot (1592–1635), engraver
Rue du Jardinet
Rue Jacob
Rue Lobineau
Rue Mabillon
Rue Madame
named after Marie Joséphine of Savoy (1753–1810), styled Madame
Quai Malaquais
Rue Mayet
Rue Mazarine
Rue de Médicis
Rue de Mézières
Rue Mignon
Rue Monsieur-le-Prince
Boulevard du Montparnasse
Rue de Nesle
Rue de Nevers
Rue Notre-Dame des Champs
Carrefour de l'Odéon
Rue de l'Odéon
Rue Palatine
named after Anne Henriette of Bavaria, Princess Palatine (1648–1723)
Rue Pierre Sarrazin
Rue des Poitevins
Rue du Pont de Lodi
named after Bonaparte's victory on May 10, 1796, at the Battle of Lodi
Rue Princesse
named after Catherine de Lorraine, Princess de Dombes (1552–1596)
Rue des Quatre Vents
Place du Québec
Boulevard Raspail
named after François Vincent Raspail (1794–1878) French chemist and politician
Rue de Rennes
Rue Saint-André-des-Arts
Rue Saint-Benoît
Boulevard Saint-Germain (partial)
Rue Saint-Jean-Baptiste de la Salle
Boulevard Saint-Michel (partial)
Place Saint-Michel (partial)
Place Saint-Sulpice
Rue Saint-Sulpice
Rue des Saints Pères
Rue de Savoie
Rue de Seine
Rue de Sèvres
Rue Stanislas
named after the nearby collège Stanislas, founded under Louis XVIII of France, and named after one of his first names
Rue de Tournon
named after Cardinal François de Tournon (1489–1562)
Rue de Vaugirard (partial)
Rue Vavin
named after the 19th-century politician Alexis Vavin
Rue Visconti
named after Louis Visconti (1791–1853), designer of Napoleon's tomb
Demography
The arrondissement attained its peak population in 1911 when the population density reached nearly 50,000 inhabitants per km2. In 2009, the population was 43,143 inhabitants while the arrondissement provided 43,691 jobs.
Economy
Toei Animation Europe has its head office in the arrondissement. The company, which opened in 2004, serves France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Real estate
The 6th and 7th arrondissements are the most expensive districts of Paris, the most expensive parts of the 6th arrondissement being Saint-Germain-des-Prés quarter, the riverside districts and the areas nearby the Luxembourg Garden.
Historical population
Immigration
Notable people
Raymond Aron (1905–1983), historian and philosopher
Maurice Françon (1913–1996), engineer and physicist
References
External links