TUILERIES, twerrtv (Fr., tile-works). A former "royal palace in Paris, situated on the right bank of the Seine, on ground occupied, be fore the fifteenth century, by a number of tile works. The site was acquired by Louise of Savoy, mother of Francis I., in 1527, and the erec tion of the palace was begun about 1565 by Cath arine de' Medici. The work was under the direc tion of Philibert de Mime (q.v.). who was sue ceeded in 1570 by Jean Bullant. The main struc ture of the original palace comprised a central pavilion, circular in form, and crowned by a cupola. Henry TV. caused the erection of the Pavillon de Fiore on the south wing and began the construction of a long gallery connecting it with the Louvre (q.v.). Under Louis XIV. the central pavilion was altered from round to square and the Pavillon de Marsan on the north wing was erected. In spite of its imposing size, the palace possessed little artistic interest. owing to the great and rather unharmonious diversity of architectural form displayed in its long facade. Before the Revolution it was only intermittently a royal residence, though it was frequently the scene of splendid files; in its theatre were given plays of Corneille, Moliere, and Voltaire. On October 6, 1789, Louis XVI. and the royal family, brought by the Parisian mob from Versailles, took up their residence in the Tuileries. The palace was invaded by a mob on June 20, 1792, but little harm was done. On August 10th, however, the organized sections of Paris stormed the Tuileries and after a bloody battle cut down the Swiss Guard, who. after defending the great stairway of the palace with devoted courage, were ordered by the King to lay down their arms. The royal family were forced to take
refuge in the hall of the Assembly and thence were removed to the Temple. In 1793 the Con vent ion began to bold its sessions in the north wing of the palace. Pavillon de Marsan be ing given up to committee-rooms, administrative offiees. etc. After the establishment of the Con sulate the Tuileries became the residence of Na poleon. and, with successive changes in internal construction, it remained the residence of the rulers of France to the fall of the Second Em pire, with the exception of the years 1848-52. During the War of the Commune in 1871 the palace was set on fire (May 24th) at the orders, it is supposed, of the Communist leaders. In the night of May 24th-25th heavy explosions of gunpowder completed the ruin of the main struc ture. The right wing alone, containing the Pa villon de Fiore, escaped destruction. The Pa-' villon de Marsau was restored in 1875-78. The ruins of the main buildings were removed in 1883. The Garden of the Tuileries, covering about 75 acres, lies between the Place de In Con corde, the site of the palace, the Rue de and the Quai des Tuileries. It was laid out by Le Notre in the time of Louis X1V., but has un dergone extensive changes, especially under the Second Empire. It contains some notable ex amples of sculpture, and is a popular resort of the Parisians. being especially a favorite play ground with children. See PARIS.