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Métro Tuileries
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The Place Vendôme has
had many names. It was originally named the Place des
Conquêtes (Square Of Conquests); it then was called the
Place Louis-le-Grand, and it became the Place des Piques
during the Revolution. Its current name comes from the
Hôtel Vendôme, torn down in order ot build the square.
Originally, the Place Vendome held Girardon's equestrian
statue of Louis XIV. The architects who designed the
square, Boffard and Hardouin-Mansart, placed buildings on
three sides of the square, leaving the south side open.
It wasn't until years later that the square took its
modern form. Work on the Vendôme Column began under Napoleon in the beginning of the 19th century. Reaching a height of 43.5 meters, it replaced the Statue of Liberty that was put up during the Revolution. It was first called the Column of Austerlitz, and it represented the Napoleonic Campaigns of 1805-1807. The first statue to top the column was one of Napoleon as Caesar, by Gaudhet. The statue atop the column changed with the changing of regimes. In 1814, during the 100 Days, it was replaced by a statue of Henri IV. Louis XVIII put up a colossal fleur-de-lis, and Louis-Philippe restored Napoleon to the top of the column, wearing a military uniform. The Column was torn down in 1871, during the Paris Commune. It was later restored and a replica of the original statue of Napoleon as Caesar was replaced at the top. |
