Gare de Bordeaux-Bastide ou ancienne gare d'Orléans
MonumentHidden Treasure
Gare de Bordeaux-Bastide ou ancienne gare d'Orléans, located in Bordeaux (Gironde), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Bordeaux, Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.8419, -0.5620
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00083186
Neoclassical jewel on the right bank of Bordeaux, the gare de la Bastide (1851–1853) is one of the oldest railway stations in France, with its Doric columns and monumental U-shaped wings overlooking the Garonne.
History
Standing opposite the Pont de Pierre on the right bank of the Garonne, Bordeaux-Bastide station - formerly the Gare d'Orléans - is an exceptional landmark in 19th-century French railway architecture. Far from the large metal canopies that would triumph a few decades later, it resolutely borrows the classical grammar so dear to Bordeaux: Doric pilasters, semicircular arches, projecting cornices and sculpted pediments make up a façade whose sober elegance seems to belong more to a courthouse than a railway station. What makes this monument truly unique is its U-shaped plan, the canonical figure of the old-style "head of line" station, where passengers would enter from the town to find themselves framed by two huge wings, each with twenty-seven bays, forming a vast main courtyard opening onto the tracks. Two square pavilions at the corners meet a seven-bay central body, crowned by two fluted Doric columns and an attic decorated with languid female statues on either side of a shield - a decorative scheme that reflects the symbolic ambitions of the railway companies of the time, keen to embody progress in stone. The interior is also full of surprises. The waiting rooms in the north wing have preserved their original décor remarkably intact: moulded ceilings, carefully crafted panelling and discreetly elegant cast-iron stoves bear witness to the care taken to ensure the comfort of Victorian travellers. At the western end of the site, the small customs building remains, a tangible reminder of a time when crossing the river still involved administrative formalities. The visit unfolds ideally from the Pont de Pierre, which offers an unrivalled view of the station's river frontage. Photographers and architecture enthusiasts will find the interplay of the Garonne's reflections at sunset a natural and striking backdrop. For anyone looking to get off the beaten track on the Left Bank, Bastide station is one of those discreet monuments that Bordeaux reserves for the most attentive onlookers.
Architecture
Bastide station is a representative example of neo-classicism in Bordeaux, an architectural movement that in the mid-19th century continued the great traditions of Louis and Combes while adapting them to the new demands of railway programmes. Its rigorously symmetrical U-shaped plan features a central body of seven bays and two perpendicular wings of twenty-seven bays each, linked to the main building by two massive square pavilions with corner chains. The whole complex forms a courtyard that opens out to the east, towards the old tracks, in line with the functional logic of the mainline station. The western facade, facing the town, concentrates most of the ornament. Doric pilasters, semi-circular openings with moulded arches and keystones in high relief, projecting imposts: the vocabulary is sober but applied with an almost musical regularity along the entire length of the wings. At the centre of the main body, two fluted Doric columns support a full entablature surmounted by an arched attic, a theatrical crowning touch where two monumental female figures frame a coat of arms - allegories of Commerce and Travel according to the iconographic rhetoric used in Second Empire civil buildings. The materials used are typical of Gironde construction: the local limestone ashlar, typical of the great buildings of Bordeaux, gives the building a slightly ochre blond hue that blends harmoniously with the landscape of the Garonne. Inside, the north waiting rooms have retained their full period décor - moulded coffered ceilings, high panelling and ornate cast-iron stoves - a rare combination that makes these rooms a living document of the bourgeois comforts of rail travel under the Second Empire.
Related Figures
M. Darru – architecte de la Compagnie d'Orléans, concepteur des plans de la gare (1851-1853)Ingénieurs de la Compagnie des chemins de fer d'Orléans – maîtres d'ouvrage du projet ferroviaireLouis-Jules de Mornay – directeur général de la Compagnie d'Orléans au moment de la constructionVictor Louis – architecte bordelais de la génération précédente, dont l'œuvre inspire le néo-classicisme dans lequel s'inscrit la gareJacques Gabriel – précurseur du classicisme bordelais, référence culturelle de l'école architecturale locale
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Gare de Bordeaux-Bastide ou ancienne gare d'Orléans located?
Gare de Bordeaux-Bastide ou ancienne gare d'Orléans is located in Bordeaux, Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Gare de Bordeaux-Bastide ou ancienne gare d'Orléans built?
Gare de Bordeaux-Bastide ou ancienne gare d'Orléans dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Gare de Bordeaux-Bastide ou ancienne gare d'Orléans open to visitors?
Gare de Bordeaux-Bastide ou ancienne gare d'Orléans is currently closed to visitors.