Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans X France

image :http://www.leonardfrank.com/Worldheritage/ArcetSenans01.jpg

The Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, near Besançon, was built by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. Its construction, begun in 1775 during the reign of Louis XVI, was the first major achievement of industrial architecture, reflecting the ideal of progress of the Enlightenment. This vast, semicircular complex was designed to permit a rational and hierarchical organization of work and was to have been followed by the building of an ideal city, a project that was never realized.

It was a factory for the production of salt by heat evaporation of salted water.The complex consists of 11 buildings, not only workshops but also workers home, and is laid out in a semicircle around the Directors House.It was part of a bigger, unrealised plan of a circle containing the factory as well as other buildings of the ideal city of Chaux.The factory was in production until 1895.

credits:Leonard Frank and UNESCO

Versailles Palace XFrance

PALACE OF VERSAILLES

The Palace of Versailles was the official residence of the Kings of France from 1682 until 1790. It was originally a hunting lodge, built in 1624, by Louis XIII. It was expanded by Louis XIV beginning in 1669. He used it as a little lodge as a secret refuge for his amorous trysts with the lovely Louise de la Valliere and built a fairy tale park around it.

Jules Hardouin Mansart, the king's principal architect, drew the plans to enlarge what was turning more and more into a palace from A Thousand and One Nights. The terrace that overlooked the gardens was removed to make way for the magnificent Hall of Mirrors, the Galarie de Glaces. It is here from which the king radiated his power and where the destiny of Europe was decided over a century. The French classical architecture was complemented by extensive gardens.

The palace was stripped of most of it's furnishings during the French Revolution, and Tuileries in Paris became the royal residence. Versailles is now a national museum.

creidts: http://www.castles.org/castles/Europe/Western_Europe/France/france6.htm

for more detailed information or updated events : http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/

Notre Dame de Paris

image credits on http://www.dlgallery.com.cn/paris/fengguang/shengmuyuan6.jpg

Notre Dame de Paris ('Our Lady of Paris' in French) is a Gothic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in Paris, France, with its main entrance to the west.

It is the cathedral of Paris and the seat of the Archbishop of Paris. Notre Dame de Paris is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. It was restored and saved from destruction by Viollet-le-Duc, one of France's most famous architects. The name Notre Dame means "Our Lady" in French. Notre Dame de Paris was one of the first Gothic cathedrals, and its construction spanned the Gothic period. Its sculptures and stained glass show the heavy influence of naturalism, unlike that of earlier Romanesque architecture.

Notre Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress [arched exterior supports]. The building was not originally designed to include the flying buttresses around the choir and nave. After the construction began and the thinner walls (popularized in the Gothic style) grew ever higher, stress fractures began to occur as the walls pushed outward. In response, the cathedral's architects built supports around the outside walls, and later additions continued as such.

The cathedral suffered desecration during the radical phase of the French Revolution in the 1790s, when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. During the 19th century, an extensive restoration project was completed, returning the cathedral to its previous state.

credits on wikipedia..
more information about the history or construction of the Notre Dame de Paris
please check it out on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_de_Paris

IntroructionXFrance

A little concise introdcution on France
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France is the largest country in western Europe. It is bordered by both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

-Capital :Paris
-Largest City :Paris (2,175,200)
-Language: French
-Currency: Euro
-Population 60,180,529 (July 2003 est.)
-Religions Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim (North African workers) 3%, unaffiliated 4%
-Area more than 210,000 square miles includes the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea
Highest Mountain Mont Blanc, in the Alps. It is the highest mountain in Europe.
-Longest River River Loire
-resources: coal, iron ore, bauxite, fish, timber, zinc, potash


Mountains
There are mountains in parts of France. Some mountains are snow-cappedall year round. France's highest mountains are the French Alps and Jura Mountains, bordering Italy and Switzerland, and the Pyrénées, along the frontier with Spain.
The highest mountain is Mont Blanc in the French Alps. It rises to 4,807m (15,771 ft). Mount Blanc is also the highest peak in the whole of Europe.


What is France Famous for?

France is famous for cheese (Camembert, Brie, Roquefort) More than 350 kinds of cheese are made in France.
wine, perfume(Chanel, Dior, Givenchy) and cars (Renault, Citroen, Peugeot). It is also famous for the Tour de France and the Tour Eiffel.

Famous Landmarks of Paris
Symbols such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Latin Quarter, Montmartre, and the Georges Pompidou Center make Paris one of the most visited places in the world.

Weather
France generally has cool winters and mild summers. However, along the Mediterranean they have hot summers.
The north has cool weather. In the south it gets very hot in summer. Fruits such as oranges and lemons grow in the south.

Food
France is known for its fine food. French cooking is thought to be the best in the world. Chefs prepare dishes such as quiche, soufflés, mousse, pâté, croissants, crêpes, and French bread. Many people in France like to drink their hot chocolate from bowls and dip their bread into it.

credit by http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/

巴黎x 法國

巴黎
法國
巴黎養育感覺并且哺養智力和靈魂。 遊人聚集到它壯觀的博物館和展覽，但是這個富有文化的城市生活围绕它的鄰里cafés和小餐館，訪客能偶爾地成功表面上不可能的技藝通過Parisians的。 Est鈰que c'est可能？ 在光城市，浪漫史出生地和樣式，一切是不可思議的，并且任何可能發生。
名列前茅十視域
在世界(大约163英尺高和147的弧DE TRIOMPHE-The最大的凯旋门寬)在1806年由拿破崙架設紀念他的軍隊的勝利。 多年來它成為了重点国葬的和在WW II期間，侵略的德國人和在它之下通過的巴黎遊行的解放。 它是法國的无名英雄墓站點，并且它有一間观察台和展览室在上面，当描述的照片和平板印刷曲拱的歷史。 那里： place查爾斯・ de Gaulle-Etoilee，第8 arrondissement。 通过地下段落輸入。 www.monuments.fr。
BASILIQUE作為一奉獻提供的DU SACRÉ COEUR計劃的採取法國的頭腦它的損失在1870年， Sacré-Coeur佛朗哥普魯士人的戰爭中被修造了在1876年和1914年之間在華麗羅馬拜佔庭式的樣式，在設計以後由保羅・ Abadie。

Paris X France

Image brought to you courtesy of GalleryPlayer's Image Collection.
Paris
France
Paris nourishes the senses and feeds both intellect and soul. Tourists flock to its magnificent museums and exhibits, but the life of this culture-rich city revolves around its neighborhood cafés and bistros, where visitors can occasionally pull off the seemingly impossible feat of passing for Parisians. Est-ce que c’est possible? In the City of Light, the birthplace of romance and style, everything is magic, and anything can happen.

THE TOP TEN SIGHTS
ARC DE TRIOMPHE—The largest triumphal arch in the world (about 163 feet high and 147 wide) was erected by Napoleon in 1806 to commemorate his army’s victories. Over the years it became the focal point for state funerals, and during WW II, both the invading Germans and the liberation of Paris parade passed beneath it.
It’s the site of France’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and it has an observation deck and exhibition hall at the top, with photos and lithographs depicting the arch’s history.

WHERE: Place Charles de Gaulle-Étoile, 8th arrondissement. Enter via the underground passage. www.monuments.fr.
BASILIQUE DU SACRÉ-COEUR—Planned as a votive offering to take France’s mind off its loss in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Sacré-Coeur was built between 1876 and 1914 in an ornate Romano-Byzantine style, after a design by Paul Abadie.

credit by http://www.1000beforeyoudie.com/