A postcard setting: Fontvieille
Rediscover in pictures the history of your favorite places in Monaco. Today, place in the emblematic district of Fontvieille.
A neighborhood dear to residents and employees. Fontvieille has always been the industrial district of the Principality, the gathering place for workers. If yesterday, the industries were the most present, today, it is the services that have taken over and the suit has replaced the overalls.
Initially, the Fontvieille district had much less territory than it does now. Like most districts of the Principality, at the beginning of the 20th century, Fontvieille was almost deserted. Only a few houses line the roads and the railway while the Prince Albert Hospital begins its construction.
The new Prince Albert Hospital, later renamed Center Hospitalier Princesse Grâce (CHPG), was translated in 1902.
Over time and coastal developments along the Fontvieille district, the Monegasque territory nibbled more and more land on the sea. Following an extension built after the First World War, a small port, the tunnel of the Darse and an embankment which will become, in 1939, the Stade Louis II, make their appearance.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, factories amassed on this small piece of land nestled between the mountains and the sea. more legendary.
Over time, the space becomes too narrow. In his desire to enlarge the Monegasque territory, Prince Rainier III decided to build several extensions at sea. The Fontvieille district is part of this great plan and saw its silhouette change radically. Shortly after the Larvotto extensions, construction of the Fontvieille extension began in 1966.
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The construction site is titanic. In total, 220,000 m² will be reclaimed from the sea. However, the initial project hopes to reach 400,000 m². Additional difficulty to that of creating an extension at sea: the sea floor reaches a depth of up to 40m off the coast of Fontvieille. To protect the works and delimit the area of the extension, a one-kilometre dyke was built. With such depth, the dike becomes the deepest in the world.
The dam built, the site is only in its infancy. It is still necessary to pour 7 million tons of aggregates to submerge the 220,000 m² embankment.
All that remains is to build the infrastructure planned for the new district of Fontvieille. The work extended from 1980 until 1992. Thanks to this new extension, 10,000 people found brand new housing. In the center, a garden, a rose garden, a marquee, a fire station and a church are born. The new Stade Louis II is also integrated to replace the old one.
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The old Stade Louis II destroyed, the place becomes free to build the shopping center of Fontvieille. A large architectural ensemble including the Prince’s car collection, the Stamp and Coin Museum, the Naval Museum and the Espace Léo Ferré. The charming UNESCO garden crowns it all.
Only, today, the latest addition to Fontvieille is already preparing to be transformed. In anticipation of future work, in July the Prince’s car collection moved to Port Hercule. In the years to come, the shopping center should see its surface increased to have more light and give pride of place to vegetation.
Monaco evolved a lot throughout the 20th century, the district of Fontvieille bears witness to these changes. The rest of the city is not left out and if you then want to discover more, a group of enthusiasts, administered by Jean-Paul Bascoul, met on Facebook to share their old photos of the Principality: Monaco4Ever.