Paris
The fascinating Capital
of France is no longer missing from our screensaver pages.
You will find here some of the best
known images of the city such as Notre-Dame Cathedral, in the center of "old"
Paris. Interestingly enough this has always been a place of worship. Initially with Roman
temple dedicated to Jupiter (Zeus for the Greeks), then a Christian basilica, followed by
an early Medieval church.
The construction of the Gothic Church, as we see it today, began in 1163 and was completed
after approximately 200 years.
Another strong point is the Eiffel
Tower, built for the Paris International Exhibition of 1889 that was held to commemorate
the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Gustave Eiffel's project was unanimously
chosen from among 700 different ones that had been submitted to a design competition. The
Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII of England, inaugurated the Tower.
The Pyramid at the Louvre is a
controversial glass structure that was completed in 1989. It is at the entrance to the
Louvre and was designed by the Chinese-born American architect I. M. Pei. The Louvre
originally was a medieval fortress, then Palace of the Kings of France, and has been a
museum for the last two centuries. The Louvre Museum is one of the earliest European
museums as it was established in 1793 during the first years of the French Republic. It is
split into 7 departments and houses collections which incorporate works and artifacts
dating from the birth of the great ancient civilizations right up to the first half of the
19th century.
The Arc of Triumph, located at the
upper part of the Avenue des Champs Elysees, was commissioned in 1806 by Napoleon and not
completed until 1836.
