What is a boulevard? When pronouncing this word, as a rule, associations arise with lush greenery, coolness, a pleasant unhurried walk. And such an association is consistent with reality. However, the boulevard is not only a place for walking, as the term has another interpretation, although it is outdated.
Two definitions
Regarding the meaning of the word “boulevard”, the dictionary says that it has two options: modern and outdated.
The first of them characterizes a wide avenue along which trees are planted; a road intended for walking along a rampart along a city street or the seashore. At first, boulevards appeared in Paris, and since the end of the XIX century and in other places.
The second says that earlier earthworks were called boulevards, which were used in sieges in the 15th century.
For a better understanding that this is a boulevard, it would be advisable to familiarize yourself with its synonyms.
Synonyms
Among them are such as:
- road;
- alley;
- Street;
- esplanade;
- subsidence;
- Broadway;
- cardo;
- highway;
- run;
- Avenue;
- promenade;
- avenue
- straight;
- corso;
- decumanus.
The understanding that this is a boulevard will also be facilitated by a study of the origin of the word.
Etymology
As for the origin of the term in question, etymologists managed to trace it to the German noun bollwerk, which is translated into Russian as “fortification”, “bastion”. From it was formed the French noun boulevard, whose meaning corresponds to German.
It is believed that in our language the word has passed from French. It was first mentioned in Russian written texts in 1771-1773 when describing streets in Paris and their names in various travel magazines.
How did the boulevards come about?
They were first used by the British military during the siege of Orleans in 1428. At that time, the word was perceived differently. Boulevards are, in the understanding of the then military, square redoubts with round ledges in the corners, in which three guns were placed, firing through the embrasures.
Later, the name "boulevard" began to be used to designate the line of earthen ramparts that were being built in front of the fortresses. In the XV and XVI centuries, the French called the boulevard a fortification, located outside the city walls and replacing the medieval barbican. The latter was intended for additional protection of the entrance leading to the fortress. Usually it was a tower outside the perimeter of a castle or fortress, guarding the approaches to the gate or bridge.
First, the boulevards were built from land covered with turf, and then they began to cover it with a stone wall. This served as a defense against enemy artillery. Often the boulevard was connected to the main fortification walls.
Such structures were an independent part of the fortifications, separated from the main system. As soon as the development of siege artillery forced the trenches to approach each other for the purpose of mutual protection, the boulevards turned into bastions.
Name Retention
In peacetime, on the old ramparts began to arrange avenues for walks, along which trees were planted, retaining their former name "Boulevard". Today, boulevards are used for pedestrian traffic, for a short rest, and they also protect buildings from noise and dust. On them are placed sculptures and monuments, cafes, sports and playgrounds, fountains, kiosks, temples. They are given beautiful names, such as Lilac Boulevard.
Streets with this name are present in different settlements of our country. They are in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Troitsk and many other cities. In Moscow, the boulevard received its name in 1960. This is due to the fact that there was a lilac nursery nearby, and lilac bushes of different varieties were planted along the highway itself.
In the Russian language there are concepts of “tabloid novel”, “tabloid press”, “tabloid literature”. A boulevard novel is called the genre of mass literature that does not have cultural and artistic significance. The term "tabloid art" came from the theater and is associated with the emergence in the XVII-XVIII centuries in Paris, on the Boulevard du Temple, private theaters. They were limited in their choice of plays, since the privileged royal theater of the Comedy Frances was used in this matter. To attract viewers, the boulevard theaters began to focus on the unpretentious taste of the townsfolk, an entertaining repertoire with the presence of eroticism.