POI #1: The Gare du Nord



 


 


 


 

The Gare du Nord is railway station in France and considered one of the busiest station in Europe and third busiest in world. In the beginning, Gare du Nord railway station was opened in 1846. But, the old railway station was demolished in 1860 and a construction on a new railways station begun 1865. The original railway station was designed by Lèonce Reyaud, who was a professor of architecture in France. Furthermore, the new station was designed by Jacquues Ignace Hittorfff, a German born architect.[1] Moreover, most of the railway stations in Europe have this enormous curved roofs but the platform at the Gare du Nord has a more modest looking peak roof. [2] In addition, there are some unique features of the Gare du Nord such as the 23 female statues that make the station seem more attractive. [3] Each of the female statues is supposed to represent a particular destination that can be accessed by the trains in the station. For instance some destinations include Paris, London, Berlin, Warsaw, Vienna, and many more. Nine of the statues are located on the cornice line of the façade with the remaining of the statues located on the lower façade.[4] In fact, in the novel Red Snow by Sean Ryan Stuart mentions that “The Gare du Nord was a prime example of 19th- century French train station. Jeremy admired its massive grantie Corinthian columns and façade which took up at least two blocks of the avenue Magenta”. [5] Finally, there were slabs of stone that was supported by iron beams. Additionally, there are also Iron pillars that supported the rest of the Gare du Nord building.

Evans, R.J.W. and Hartmut Pogge von Strndmann, eds, The coming of the First World War, (Clarendon Press: 1998), 137

"Gare du Nord, Paris", Railway Technology, http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/garedunord/

Hanc, John. " A fleet of Taxis did not really save Paris from the Germans During World War I", Smithsonian. 2014.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/fleet-taxis-did-not-really-save-paris-germans-during-world-war-i-180952140/

Pignot, Manon. "Children and Childhood (France)". International Encyclopedia of the First World War. 2014. https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/children_and_childhood_france

Stuart, Sean Ryan. Red Snow, (CCB publishing: 2011), 181

Van Emengem, Kristiaan. "Gare du Nord, Paris", A View on the Citites, http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/garedunord.htm

Vidal-Naquet, Clementine."Private Life (France)", International Encyclopedia of the First World War, 2015. https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/private_life_france

Furthermore, many soldiers left from the Gare du Nord to the front Lines. So, the child's father would have been sent out from the Gare du Nord to the front lines during World War I along with many others. Additionally, in the coming of the First World War edited by R.J. W. Evans and Hartmut Pogge von Strndmann mentions that "The boulevard seemed to shake with a continuous rumble of Nosie: the sound of hundreds of marching fleet, no fleur au fusil, no patriotic songs, just a steady shuffle, as regiment after regiment headed northwards in the direction of the Gare de L'Est and the Gare du Nord". [6]

As a result, life would start to change for men, women, and children that would be in Paris while the war is going on. For instance, on August 22 about 27,000 French soldiers were killed during a fight one day near Belgian.[7] Additionally, the boarders between French and their enemies drew closer to Paris. Thus, there was a fear among the residence that Paris would be sieged very soon. Moreover, there was an allowance given too many households to help get the family through the war. For example, the daily allowance was 1.25 francs with an additional 0.50 for each child under 16. Moreover, the allowance was raised in 1917 to 1.50 francs per day and 1 franc per child because of the moral crisis in both the army and the citizens of Paris.[8] But, women were needed to work factory jobs to make ends meet in the household. On the other hand, working class children in Paris during this time experience forced labour to help the other family members such as picking berries, destroying weeds that could damage the crops and many more were the responsibilities of the school children.[9] In the end, the children in Paris still got impacted by the war because they were a generation too young to fight in World War I but the child would have still witness nationalist discourse.

[1] "Gare du Nord, Paris", Railway Technology, http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/garedunord/

[2] Kristiaan Van Emengem, "Gare du Nord, Paris", A View on the Citites, http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/garedunord.htm

[3] "Gare du Nord, Paris", Railway Technology, http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/garedunord/

[4] Ibid

[5] Sean Ryan Stuart, Red Snow, (CCB publishing: 2011), 181.

[6] R.J. W. Evans and Hartmut Pogge von Strndmann, eds, The coming of the First World War, (Clarendon Press: 1998), 137

[7] John Hanc, " A fleet of Taxis did not really save Paris from the Germans During World War I", Smithsonian. 2014.

[8] Clementine Vidal-Naquet, "Private Life (France)", International Encyclopedia of the First World War, 2015.

[9] Manon Pignot, "Children and Childhood (France)". International Encyclopedia of the First World War. 2014.

This point of interest is one of many on the GuideTags app –
a free digital interpretive guide that features thematic tours, routes, and discovery sessions,
and automatically tells geolocated stories about the places that surround us.
Download the app today, and start exploring!
Contact us if you would like to create your own content.
Report an error or inappropriate content.

Log in
Legal Disclaimer