Public Gardens
1900
A huge marsh, then vineyards in the Middle Ages, this area retained a rural appearance until the mid-18th century.
On his arrival in Bordeaux in 1743, Intendant Tourny, struck by the lack of links between the Chartrons and Saint-Seurin, decided to join them by laying out a garden walkway. He commissioned the landscape architect, Jacques Ange Gabriel, who designed a French-style garden. Between 1753 and 1755, the entrepreneur Michel Voisin created a terrace with two colonnaded porticoes, after drawings by André Portier.
Jardin public au début du 20e siècle
© Mairie de Bordeaux
Until the French Revolution the Garden was frequented by the elite and by merchants. It became a site for political meetings during the Revolution; it was then later used as a parade ground. In 1830, it found its true vocation and was turned into an English-style garden. In the late 19th century it was decorated with statues. Jacques d'Welles was the last to carry out building work in the public gardens when he renovated the terrace in 1938 and restored the porticoes.