Place de la Concorde
One of the most popular sites in
Paris is the Place de la Concorde.
With an area of over eight thousand
square meters, it is the largest
major public square in the city.
Place de la Concorde lies in Paris’
8th arrondissement.
The famed Champs-Élysées is located
to the west of the Place de la
Concorde while
the Tuileries Gardens
are to its east.
Ange-Jacques Gabriel designed the
Place de la Concorde in 1755. He
filled the site with fountains and
statues including an equestrian
statue of King Louis XV commissioned
by the city of Paris in 1748. The
statue was made by Edmé Bouchardon
and Jean-Baptiste Pigalle. The
latter continued the work after
Bouchardon’s death.
The Place de la Concorde was
originally named the Place Louis XV
in honor of the king, but during the
French Revolution, it was renamed
“Place de la Revolution”. The new
government had a guillotine built on
the site. This was where notables
such as King Louis XVI, Madame
Élisabeth, Marie Antoinette,
Charlotte Corday, Desmoulins, Madame
du Barry, Louis de Saint-Just and
Robespierre were publicly executed.
After the brutal revolution, the
guillotine was removed and the
square was renamed “Place de la
Concorde” as a symbol of national
reconciliation. |
