Description of the attraction
Montparnasse is an area in the south of Paris, a former urban suburb. Glory was brought to him by writers, artists, sculptors of the 20s of the last century.
The boulevard Montparnasse itself was built in the 18th century. During the years of the French Revolution, the quarter was not politicized - many cabarets and dance halls arose here. In Montparnasse, it is believed that the cancan and the polka were born here.
Already at the end of the 19th century, the creative intelligentsia from the Old and New Worlds, attracted by the cheapness of local life, reached the quarter. There were so many artists that one of their most famous refuge was called the Beehive (la Ruche). In different decades, Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, Chagall, Apollinaire, Hemingway, Faulkner, Scott Fitzgerald lived and worked on Montparnasse. The hospitality of the quarter was enjoyed not only by the creators - emigrants Lenin, Trotsky, Petlyura walked along its pavements. Mayakovsky came here twice.
The owners of local cafes allowed the artists to sit at the tables as much as they wanted. If there was no money to pay, pictures were taken as payment. This is how very good collections arose.
The Second World War dealt a heavy blow to the area - artists and writers partly fled from the occupation, partly were destroyed by the Nazis. After the war, Montparnasse was no longer able to restore its former glory.
Now here is the business district. The most famous building is undoubtedly the 210-meter-high Montparnasse office center - the tallest building in Paris. Until the middle of the 20th century, a small station was located here, in 1972 it was demolished. Instead, they built a building, which the Parisians immediately dubbed the ugliest. It was recognized as an urban planning mistake, the municipality banned the construction of skyscrapers in the center of Paris. Demonstrations demanding the demolition of the building are still taking place. Nevertheless, the observation deck at the top of the tower is considered one of the best.
The Montparnasse cemetery is one of the most famous in Paris. Baudelaire, Sartre, Ionesco, the mathematician Poincaré, the encyclopedist Larousse, the populist Lavrov are buried here. Nearby, a large area is occupied by the famous Catholic College Stanislas.
