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The Luxembourg Palace

Part One: History of the Palace
Now owned by the state, the Luxembourg Palace is a palace of beauty and it is almost as
beautiful as its original tenant (senat.fr, n.d.). The palace has lots of French influence, and has
been the site for many historical events, and addresses.
The Palace of Luxembourg started construction in 1615 by Queen Marie de Medici and
the builder Salomon de Brose (senat.fr, n.d.). Since it was partly designed by the Queen, the
inside represents her personal style, even though it has been redone. The actual palace is divided
into two wings are made for Marie and her son King Lois XIII (eutouring.com, n.d.).
King Lois XIIIs wing has been turned into Senate offices, and holds 2,000 people of the
Senate (senat.fr, n.d.). After the revolution, the Senate took over the palace and has remodeled
the building many times (senat.fr, n.d.). They actually remodeled the front gate, and now it is
home to the Senates gathering room (senat.fr, n.d.). The museum, that they open up to for tourist
with appointment, has furniture from nearby buildings to replace furniture that would have been
there for the queen (senat.fr, n.d.). King Louis XIIIs room was made into one of many offices
for the Senate and their associates (senat.fr, n.d.).
Even if the palace is of historical importance, the queens room was lost in many
accidents over time, including a fire in 1859 (senat.fr, n.d.). After the fire, the construction of a
library was started, and has remained to be a benefit to the Senate of France (senat.fr n.d.). The
library had to parts of it and overlooked the gardens (senat.fr, n.d.). The magnificent library was
built by Delle de Quoin, expanding the large structure thirty centimeters into the garden (senat.fr

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n.d.). The first part to the library was the most of what Quoin did himself, and was the main
library(senat.fr n.d.).
The other part was considered the librarys annex with around 450,000 books, and was
the royal book collection (senat.fr n.d.). The annex is now open for tours, but is under security
because of terrorist attacks, and fear of the Senate (eutouring.com n.d.).
Part Two: Original Tenant Information
Queen Marie de Medici was born in Florence, Italy on April 26, 1575 as the daughter of
the Grand Duke of Tuscany (biography.com, n.d.). Because of this status, she was married to
King Henri IV in 1600 (biography.com n.d.). She gave birth to her son in 1601, and named him
Louis, who later became King Louis XIII (biography.com n.d.). She built the palace and lived in
it until they her husband died in an assassinated in 1610 (biography.com n.d.). Then, she finally
was banished and striped of her riches (biography.com n.d.). Marie fled to Brussels in 1631 and
lived in poverty until she died on July 4, 1642 (biography.com n.d.).
King Henri IV was born on December 13, 1553 in Pau, France as a protestant
(biography.com n.d.). His parents were the king and queen of Navarre, with two different
religions (biography.com n.d.). His dad was catholic, and his mom was a protestant so he was
baptized as a catholic, but was protestant after his dads death in 1562 (biography.com n.d.).
After his dads death, he went into the military at the age of 14 against the catholic rebels, and
his side, the protestants, won (biography.com n.d.). His mom died in 1572 and became King of
Navarre (biography.com n.d.). He was then arranged to marry Margaret of Valois, daughter of
Henry II and Catherine de Medici (biography.com n.d.). This marriage led to the Saint
Bartholomews Day Massacre on August 24, 1572 (biography.com n.d.). This horrifying

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experience led to his conversion to Catholicism (biography.com n.d.). He actually became heir to
the throne of France in 1584 after the death of Franois, the Duke of Anjou (biography.com n.d.).
Henri IV was not able to be king because of a nine-year siege in the France (biography.com n.d.).
Then, he got married to Marie in 1601 and died May 14, 1610 by assassination (biography.com
n.d.).
King Louis XIII was born September 27, 1601 in Fontainebleau, France (biography.com
n.d.). He had two brothers and three biological sisters, and several half-siblings from his dads
many affairs (biography.com n.d.). He was in a time where beliefs mattered to much and cause
conflict (biography.com n.d.). His father also died at the age of nine and was forced to mary
Anne of Austria at the age of 14, in November 1615 by wishes of his mother (biography.com
n.d.). After many miscarriages, they never had a son or heir (biography.com n.d.). He, then,
exiled his mom in 1617 because of her disoperation in his court (biography.com n.d.). After the
loss of his mom, he declared war on Spain in 1635 (biography.com n.d.). Ten years later, he died
of tuberculosis on May 14, 1643 (biography.com n.d.).
Part Three: Conclusion
The Luxembourg Palace is a place of beauty, historical importance, and held many people
of importance. The original tenants have been important to the development of the palace.

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Works Cited
"The Luxembourg Palace - Snat." The Luxembourg Palace - Snat. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct.
2016.
"History of the Palais Du Luxembourg Palace." History Behind Luxembourg Palace in Paris
Starts in the 1600s. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
"Marie De' Medici Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2016
"Henri IV Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2016
"Louis XIII Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2016