The Place des Quinconces, located in Bordeaux, France, is among the largest city squares in Europe (approximately 63 ac or 25.6 ha [1] [2] [ circular reference ]).
It was laid out in 1820 on the site of Château Trompette and was intended to prevent rebellion against the city. Its guns were turned towards the centre. Its current shape (lengthened rectangle rounded off with a semicircle) was adopted in 1816. Trees were planted (in quincunxes, hence the name of the square) in 1818.
With the installation of a tram system in 2003, the place has become the most important public transport hub of the area, with Quinconces tram stop serving three tram lines, 21 bus lines (including 3 night buses), an electric shuttle, and 12 coach lines through Gironde as well as a reception area in the south.
The two 21-metre (69 ft) rostral columns facing the Garonne were erected by Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau in 1829. One of them symbolises commerce, and the other stands for navigation. The white-marble statues of Michel de Montaigne and Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu (by sculptor Dominique Fortuné Magges]) were added in 1858.
The principal monument, the 54-meter-tall Monument aux Girondins, [3] [4] was erected between 1894 and 1902, [4] [5] in memory of the Girondists who fell victim of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. It has a large pedestal framed with two basins, decorated with bronze horses and troops, and surmounted by a large column with a statue on top to represent the spirit of liberty. [6] [3] Just below the statue on each of the 4 sides are the letter "G" for the Girondins, and crescents for the "Port de la Lune" (Port of the Moon) symbolising the crescent-shaped curve of the river.
Among the sculptures are:
At the feet of the "Triumph of the Concorde": Ignorance, Lies and Vice. At the feet of the Triumph of the Republique": A family with the child riding on a sturgeon, representing Happiness. The column was erected by Achille Dumilatre and architect Victor Rich. The pedestal is by Corgolin. Felix Sharpantie and Gustav Debri created the sculpture groups with the latter responsible for the sea horses. [5] [7]
During the 1942 German occupation of France in World War II, the Nazis removed the statues from the fountain to make cannons [4] [3] and destroyed other parts of the monument. [5] The statues were located two years later in Angers and restored and re-erected in 1983. [4] The Girondin memorial was [5] renovated in 2004 [3] and declared a historical monument on March 16, 2011. [4] [3] The names of deputies to the National Convention executed during the Terror who hailed from the Gironde department were added in 1989. [8]
Bordeaux is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called "Bordelais" (masculine) or "Bordelaises" (feminine). The term "Bordelais" may also refer to the city and its surrounding region.
The Place de la Concorde is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring 7.6 ha in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
The Tuileries Garden is a public garden between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Created by Catherine de' Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, it was opened to the public in 1667 and became a public park after the French Revolution. Since the 19th century, it has been a place for Parisians to celebrate, meet, stroll and relax.
Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux, commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux or simply Bordeaux, is a French professional football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The team currently plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football, and is coached by Albert Riera.
Lormont is a commune in the Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is a suburb of the city of Bordeaux and is adjacent to it on the northeast. Thus, it is a member of the intercommunality Bordeaux Métropole.
Langon is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Langon serves as the seat of its district, canton and subprefecture. Its inhabitants are called Langonnais and Langonnaise.
The Fontaine Bartholdi is a fountain sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and realised in 1889 by Gaget & Gautier. It was erected at the Place des Terreaux, in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon, in September 1892.
Place Bellecour is a large square in the centre of Lyon, France, to the north of the Ainay district. Measuring 312 m by 200 m, it is one of the largest open squares in Europe, and the third biggest square in France, behind the Place des Quinconces in Bordeaux (126,000 m²) and the Place de la Concorde in Paris (86,400 m²). It is also the largest pedestrian square in Europe: vehicles are allowed on the Place de la Concorde and Place des Quinconces.
The Bordeaux tramway network consists of four lines serving the city of Bordeaux in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The system has a route length of 77.5 kilometres (48.2 mi), serving a total of 133 tram stops.
The Congress Column is a monumental column in Brussels, Belgium, commemorating the creation of the Belgian Constitution by the National Congress of 1830–31. Inspired by Trajan's Column in Rome, it was erected between 1850 and 1859, on the initiative of the then-Prime Minister of Belgium, Charles Rogier, according to a design by the architect Joseph Poelaert. At the top of the column is a statue of Belgium's first monarch; King Leopold I, and at its base, the pedestal is surrounded by statues personifying the four freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution. The Belgian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame lies at its foot.
A rostral column is a type of victory column originating in ancient Greece and Rome, where they were erected to commemorate a naval military victory. Its defining characteristic is the integrated prows or rams of ships, representing captured or destroyed enemy ships. The name derives from the Latin rostrum meaning the bow of a naval vessel.
The Place de la Nation is a circle on the eastern side of Paris, between the Place de la Bastille and the Bois de Vincennes, on the border of the 11th and 12th arrondissements. Widely known for having the most active guillotines during the Revolution, the square acquired its current name on Bastille Day, 14 July 1880, under the Third Republic.
The Fountains in Paris originally provided drinking water for city residents, and now are decorative features in the city's squares and parks. Paris has more than two hundred fountains, the oldest dating back to the 16th century. It also has more than one hundred Wallace drinking fountains. Most of the fountains are the property of the municipality.
The Boer War Memorial is a monument to the heroes of the Boer War. It is located at Dorchester Square in downtown Montreal, in Quebec, Canada.
Félix Charpentier was a French sculptor. His work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
The Place de la Bourse is a square in Bordeaux, France, and one of the city's most recognisable sights. Built from 1730 to 1775 along the river Garonne, it was a multi-building development designed by the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel. It is within the historic part of the city that has been recognized on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble" of the 18th century.
Mérignac is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The 20th-century historian Robert Étienne (1921–2009) was born in Mérignac.
La Défense de Paris is a bronze statue by French sculptor Louis-Ernest Barrias. It commemorates the French dead from the Siege of Paris in 1870–71, during the Franco-Prussian War. The sculpture group was unveiled to the west of Paris on 12 October 1883, erected on an existing plinth that had previously supported a bronze sculpture of Napoleon by Charles Émile Seurre, alongside the crossroads between Courbevoie and Puteaux. The location became the La Défense roundabout, but the statue was later removed. The surrounding area was subsumed into Paris as the city expanded later in the 19th and in the 20th centuries; the area became known as La Défense after the statue. The statue was removed to a new location about 1965, and then moved several times before it was placed at its current location near the Arche de la Défense in 2017.
Mohammed V Square is a public square of historical and symbolic significance located in central Casablanca, Morocco. It was established in 1916 at the beginning of the French protectorate in Morocco under Resident-general Hubert Lyautey, on a design by architects Henri Prost and Joseph Marrast.
A Statue of Heracles stands in the Parc Mauresque in Arcachon, in the southwestern French department of Gironde. The marble statue by local sculptor Claude Bouscau was installed in 1948 to commemorate the actions of the French Resistance in fighting German occupying forces during the Second World War. The statue of the ancient Greek hero Heracles stands 3.1 metres (10 ft) tall, nude except for the skin of the defeated Nemean lion.