Place de la Concorde is one of the major public squares
in Paris, France. Measuring 8.64 hectares, it is the largest square in the
French capital and located in the city's eighth arrondissement.
The place was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel in 1755 as
a moat-skirted octagon between the Champs-Elysées to the west and the Tuileries
Garden to the east. Decorated with statues and fountains, the area was named
the Place Louis XV to honor the king at that time. The square showcased an
equestrian statue of the king, which had been commissioned in 1748 by the city
of Paris, sculpted mostly by Edmé Bouchardon, and completed by Jean-Baptiste
Pigalle after the death of Bouchardon.
At the north end, two magnificent identical stone buildings were constructed. Separated by the Rue Royale, these structures remain among the best examples of Louis Quinze style architecture. Initially, the eastern building served as the French Naval Ministry. Shortly after its construction, the western building became the opulent home of the Duc d'Aumont. It was later purchased by the Comte de Crillon, whose family resided there until 1907. The famous luxury Hôtel de Crillon, which currently occupies the building, took its name from its previous owners.
(I know, these billboard are so annoying)
The Obelix of Luxor (see 2nd image up). The center of the Place is occupied by a giant Egyptian
obelisk decorated with hieroglyphics exalting the reign of the pharaoh Ramesses
II. It is one of two the Egyptian government gave to the French in the 19th
century. The other one stayed in Egypt, too difficult and heavy to move to
France with the technology at that time. In the 1990s, President François
Mitterrand gave the second obelisk back to the Egyptians.
The obelisk once marked the entrance to the Luxor Temple.
The self-declared Khedive of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha, offered the
3,300-year-old Luxor Obelisk to France in 1829. It arrived in Paris on 21
December 1833. Three years later, on 25 October 1836, King Louis Philippe had
it placed in the center of Place de la Concorde.
The obelisk, a yellow granite column, rises 23 metres high, including the base, and weighs over 250 tonnes.
Given the technical limitations of the day, transporting it was no easy feat —
on the pedestal are drawn diagrams explaining the machinery that was used for
the transportation. The obelisk is flanked on both sides by fountains
constructed at the time of its erection on the Place.
Missing its original cap, believed stolen in the 6th
century BC, the government of France added a gold-leafed pyramid cap to the top
of the obelisk in 1998.
thank you all for stopping by and viewing the post...
xxx
