|
The Place de la Concorde was
designed by Gabriel, begun in 1748 and completed in 1763. It was
first called Place Louis XV, and planned as a worthy setting for
the royal statue. It may be the Place de la Concorde ("concorde"
means agreement in French), but this square in Paris has a bloody
history with more than 1300 people having been beheaded within its
boundaries. Among them : Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Charlotte
Corday, Danton and, eventually, the architect of The Terror Robespierre
himself.
Originally Place Louis XV, it was changed by revolutionaries to
Place de la Revolution. Later governments thought it wise to rename
the area in the hope of lessening its darker history.
Two commanding edifices, whose colonnades are copies of the Perrault
wings of the Louvre, rise up over the north side of the plaza. And,
currently situated in the right-hand building is the Naval Ministry.
Just on the Place de la Concorde sits a famous "palace",
the Hotel Crillon, which is amongst the citadels of Parisian snobbery.
Formerly, its elegant salons served as the winter quarters for the
famous Chateaubriand family. Today it houses the French automobile
club. These are just two examples of Louis XV style, by Gabriel.
Just at the entrance to the Place de la Concorde, on either side
of the Champs-Élysées, are the Chevaux de Marly. There
are eight statues representing the eight major cities of France;
Brest and Rouen (in the northwest), Lille and Strasbourg (to the
northeast) Lyon and Marseille (on the Quai des Tuileries) and Bordeaux
and Nantes (in the southwest). The statue representing Strasbourg
was modelled by the actress Juliette Drouet, who was a muse of Victor
Hugo. You can find these statues on the four corners of the square.
The obelisk
This is one of the pair of
obelisks, orginally built in Luxor, Egypt. This was transported
to Paris in 19th Century.
It is reported that Josephine's parting words to Napoleon before
he began his failed conquest of Egypt in 1798 were: "Good-by!
If you go to Thebes, do send me a little obelisk." Whether
or not the story is true, Napoleon's expedition first left France
desiring an obelisk of its own, though it wasn't until May 1830
that the then Egyptian viceroy, Mohammed Ali, decided to give it
to Charles X of France. In Oct. 25, 1833 .The obelisk is re-erected
at the center of the Place where the statue of Louis XV had once
stood.
In May 1998, a gold-leafed pyramid cap was placed on top of this
obelisk. Historians believe its original cap was stolen in the 6th
century B.C. by Assyrian or Persian invaders. When this obelisk
was re-erected in 1833, experts urged the French authorities to
restore the masterpiece to its original splendor by putting a pyramid
cap back on the pinnacle. But it was not until French President
Jacques Chiraque agreed in 1997 to back the 1.5 million franc (US$252,000)
project as part of celebrations to mark Franco-Egyptian relations.
How to get there
Metro line 1,8 or 12 : Concorde
Info Paris (clic below)
Paris by Night, Weather, Embassies, Cults, Maps.
Glossary, Popular Places, Itineraries, Transportation.
Shopping, Gay & lesbian info.
Hotel near Concorde
Hotel Dechampaigne Paris Rivoli - Hotel Lotti Paris Louvre Rivoli - Hotel Marignan Champs Elysees Paris -
Back
|
