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Origin and history

The column of the Great Army, also known as the Napoleon column, was erected between 1804 and 1841 in Wimille, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, under the direction of architect Éloi Labarre. At a height of 54 metres, it commemorates the gathering of the army of the coasts of the Ocean in 1804, which became the Great Army, and the first distribution of the Legion of Honour at Camp Boulogne on 16 August 1804. The project, initiated by Marshal Soult on behalf of the soldiers, was funded by their contributions (a half-day of monthly pay). The first stone was laid on 9 November 1804, but the work was interrupted in 1805 with the departure of the troops for Austerlitz.

At the fall of the Empire in 1815, the column, then 20 meters high, was abandoned and its sculptures destroyed, except the bronze lions. Work resumed in 1819 under the Restoration, and a royal globe ran the column in 1823. The monarchy of July (1830) revived the imperial project: a statue of Napoleon in the habit of sacred, carved by François-Joseph Bosio, was installed in 1841. Ranked a historic monument in 1905, the column underwent several restorations, notably after a lightning impact in 2002. The present statue, by Pierre Stenne (1962), depicts Napoleon in "little corporal" clothing, at the request of General de Gaulle.

The monument, managed by the National Monuments Centre, houses a small museum in one of the entrance pavilions, built in 1827. The column, symbolizing both the Napoleonic epic and the political vicissitudes of the 19th century, offers a panorama of Boulogne and the sea. Its local marble, discovered for the occasion, was named "Napoléon marble" in 1808. Today, it attracts 22,000 annual visitors, demonstrating its heritage and tourism importance.

The original statue, facing back to the sea, gave rise to various interpretations: some saw it as an affront to England, Napoleon's enemy, while others emphasized its alignment with the site's entry axis. After its restoration in 1984, Bosio's work was placed in a pavilion. The column, struck by lightning in 2002, was repaired to preserve its Boulonnais marble structure, an emblematic material of the region.

Participatory funding of soldiers, the reuse of materials under the Restoration, and the iconographic changes (royal body, imperial statue, and then "small corporal") illustrate the memorial tensions crossing this monument. Its ranking in 1905 and its current management by the State make it a national place of memory, while its ascent allows an exceptional view of the coast, enhancing its attractiveness for visitors.

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