thumb|The [[Palais Bourbon on the Seine, the eastern end of the Quai d'Orsay in the foreground]]

thumb|The [[Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs building at 37 Quai d'Orsay]]

The Quai d'Orsay ( , ) is a quay in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is part of the left bank of the Seine opposite the Place de la Concorde. It becomes the Quai Anatole-France east of the Palais Bourbon, and the Quai Branly west of the Pont de l'Alma.

The seat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Hôtel du ministre des Affaires étrangères) is located on the Quai d'Orsay, between the Esplanade des Invalides and the National Assembly at the Palais Bourbon; thus the ministry is often called the "Quai d'Orsay" in the press by metonymy. The building housing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was built between 1844 and 1855 by Jacques Lacornée. The statues of the facade were created by the sculptor Henri de Triqueti (1870). The 1919 Treaty of Versailles was negotiated and written at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

History

The Quai d'Orsay (originally until the Rue du Bac in the east) has historically played an important role in French art as a location to which many artists came to paint along the banks of the river Seine. Construction of the wharf proceeded slowly.

Name's origin

The Quai d'Orsay is named after Charles Boucher d'Orsay, seigneur of Orsay, who was appointed administrator of commerce for the City of Paris from 1700 to 1708. Orsay, Essonne, is a town 21 km (13 mi) southwest of the centre of Paris.

References

  • Official web site of the Ministry building
  • Musée d'Orsay: History of the site