Place de la Concorde, Paris, France

The octagonal Place de la Concorde is the largest square in Paris. It is situated between the Tuileries and the Champs-Elysées. In 1763, a large statue of king Louis XV was erected at this site to celebrate the recovery of the king after a serious illness. The square surrounding the statue was created later, in 1772, by the architect Jacques-Ange Gabriel. It was known as the place Louis XV.

In 1792, during the French revolution, the statue was replaced by a another, large statue, called Liberté (freedom) and the square was called Place de la Révolution. A guillotine was installed at the center of the square and in a time span of only a couple of years, 1119 people were beheaded here. Amongst them many famous people like King Louis XVI, Marie-Antionette, and Obelisk at Place de la Concorde, Paris revolutionary Robespierre, just to name a few. After the revolution the square was renamed several times until 1830, when it was given the current name Place de la Concorde.

In the 19th century the 3200 years old obelisk from the temple of Ramses II at Thebes was installed at the center of the Place de la Concorde. It is a 23 meters tall monolith in pink granite and weighs approximately 230 tons. In 1831, it was offered by the Viceroy of Egypt to Louis Philippe. The obelisk is covered with hieroglyphs picturing the reign of pharaohs Ramses II & Ramses III. Pictures on the pedestal describe the transportation to Paris and its installation at the square in 1836.

At each corner of the octagonal square is a statue representing a French city: Bordeaux, Brest, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Rouen and Strasbourg. They were installed in 1836 by Jacob Ignaz Hittorf, who redesigned the Place de la Concorde between 1833 and 1846. That same year a bronze fountain, called La fontaine des Mers was added to the square. A second one, the Elevation of the Maritime fountain, was installed in 1839. Both fountains were designed by Hittorf.

References:

A View on Cities

User Reviews

Chathurika Ratnasekera (5 months ago)
It's absolutely beautiful. Never imagined that most go the famous attractions in Paris were within walking distance from here. It wasn't a place I planned to visit as I've never heard of it but when passing through it was the kind of place you want to stop and look around. In every angle you see something beautiful and interesting.

Alphaeus (6 months ago)
Beautiful place where the annual Bastille Day is held. The end of the March down champ élysées. Happens every July period. Weather is pretty warm in the day. Lots of shopping along the nearby streets. A place worth checking out as you walk along Paris.

Melvin Diaz (7 months ago)
An amazing plaza connected to the Arc of Triumph. With an Egyptian obelisk and two amazing fountains. Dense traffic, but reachable on foot by pedestrian crossings. Multiple city bus tours stop here. Great place for getting pics of the arc of Triumph.

ngodinh tra (8 months ago)
It's really nice architectural, well organized and beautiful decorated for the hug capacity for the large number of tourists, which visit Paris every year. The square sometimes so busy with many of tourist buses. So paying a visit at night is recommended.

maithli j (8 months ago)
Just beautiful. The weather was wonderful they carried you was nice. After we just said in drink in the atmosphere. We went over and sat on the grass ran round and had an amazing time.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Alexxx1979

Historic Site of the week

Church of the Savior on Blood

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the main sights of St. Petersburg. The church was built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated and was dedicated in his memory. Construction began in 1883 under Alexander III, as a memorial to his father, Alexander II. Work progressed slowly and was finally completed during the reign of Nicholas II in 1907. Funding was provided by the Imperial family with the support of many private donors.

Architecturally, the Cathedral differs from St. Petersburg's other structures. The city's architecture is predominantly Baroque and Neoclassical, but the Savior on Blood harks back to medieval Russian architecture in the spirit of romantic nationalism. It intentionally resembles the 17th-century Yaroslavl churches and the celebrated St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.

The Church contains over 7500 square metres of mosaics — according to its restorers, more than any other church in the world. The interior was designed by some of the most celebrated Russian artists of the day — including Viktor Vasnetsov, Mikhail Nesterov and Mikhail Vrubel — but the church's chief architect, Alfred Alexandrovich Parland, was relatively little-known (born in St. Petersburg in 1842 in a Baltic-German Lutheran family). Perhaps not surprisingly, the Church's construction ran well over budget, having been estimated at 3.6 million roubles but ending up costing over 4.6 million. The walls and ceilings inside the Church are completely covered in intricately detailed mosaics — the main pictures being biblical scenes or figures — but with very fine patterned borders setting off each picture.

In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, the church was ransacked and looted, badly damaging its interior. The Soviet government closed the church in the early 1930s. During the Second World War when many people were starving due to the Siege of Leningrad by Nazi German military forces, the church was used as a temporary morgue for those who died in combat and from starvation and illness. The church suffered significant damage. After the war, it was used as a warehouse for vegetables, leading to the sardonic name of Saviour on Potatoes.

In July 1970, management of the Church passed to Saint Isaac's Cathedral (then used as a highly profitable museum) and proceeds from the Cathedral were funneled back into restoring the Church. It was reopened in August 1997, after 27 years of restoration, but has not been reconsecrated and does not function as a full-time place of worship; it is a Museum of Mosaics. Even before the Revolution it never functioned as a public place of worship; having been dedicated exclusively to the memory of the assassinated tsar, the only services were panikhidas (memorial services). The Church is now one of the main tourist attractions in St. Petersburg.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Looks like you are a history fan!

Do you know an ancient castle or hidden ruins near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory. It's absolutely free, easy, and you can do it even without registration (of course you an also create an free account)!

Place de la Concorde

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Must-see historic sighs in Luxembourg

Top historic sights of Istria

Best castles to visit in Slovakia

Historic Site of the week

Church of the Savior on Blood

Looks like you are a history fan!

Do you know an ancient castle or hidden ruins near you?