PARIZ / PARIS
Kada je 14. aprila 1900. godine u Parizu otvorena Svetska izložba („Exposition Universelle“), glavni grad Francuske mogao je bez zadrške da se proglasi i glavnim gradom planete When the World Exhibition (Exposition Universelle) opened in Paris on 14 th April, 1900, the French capital could easily have declared itself the capital of the planet
B eautiful, renowned and enticing, the Paris of 1900 was also very pompous. The first world’s fair of the new century brought to- gether over 83,000 exhibitors, with more than half arriving from various parts of the world. By the time the exhibition closed in November, an unbelievable 50 million visitors had passed through Paris. Observing the history of world’s fairs, such visi- tor numbers were only achieved in Osaka in 1970 and in Shanghai in 2010. Paris shone in all its splendour and attracted huge attention from the wealthiest who were seeking new profits and investments, but also those desiring luxu- ry, artistic innovations, excellent restaurants and en- tertainment of every kind. And it all unfolded in the lee of the then already famous, and still relatively new, Eiffel Tower. Le Belle Époque, the “beautiful age”, was then at the peak of its dominance, colouring everything with its golden glow... It seemed as though the world had witnessed the arrival of an era of prosperity, beau- ty, peace and optimism. Artistic advances, but also pro- gress in science and technology, and even medicine, were visible at every turn, while the world strode as- suredly towards the New Age. Paris was enthroned as the centre of the world. The Exposition Universelle occupied the banks of the Seine from the Eiffel Tower, which had been built for the previous 1889 world’s fair, via the Champ de Mars, to Les Invalides. This event led to the emergence of new edifices in Paris: the Lyon and Gare d’Orsay rail- way stations, the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, the first metro station on Line 1, as well as the famous Pont Alexandre III bridge, symbolising the signing of
DAWNING OF THE LAST CENTURY Capital of the new world Paris 1900... A place of all possible wonders, from electricity that back then was still seen as some kind of mythical light, via the “Celestial Globe” and Art Nouveau in its full glory, all the way to technological marvels in the form of the first diesel engine and the pioneering electric car project (Porsche)
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