Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Place Gambetta, former Dauphine Square, was created in 1746 by the Marquis de Tourny, intendant of Bordeaux, to embellish the city. The works, entrusted to architects André Portier and Michel Voisin, began in 1758 and ended in 1770. The square adopts a classic style, with ordered facades in stone from Aquitaine, arcades on the ground floor and carved mascarons on the first floor. It became a Bordeaux urban model, inspired by the French royal squares.

During the French Revolution, the square was renamed Place Nationale (1790) and welcomed the guillotine from October 1793. It was the scene of 302 executions, including those of girondin deputies like Elie Guadet in 1794. After Terror, she took on successive names (place of the King of Rome under Napoleon I) before being dedicated to Léon Gambetta in 1883, in tribute to the Republican politician.

In the 19th century, the square retained its central role in Bordeaux life, despite the abandonment of projects such as a monumental fountain or a monument to the Girondins. In 1857, a building replaced the old structure housing the guillotine, marking the final completion of its development. The square remains a major hub of transport, served by bus and tram lines from the 2000s onwards.

Between 2018 and 2021, a redevelopment led by West 8 urban planners and landscaper Sabine Haristoy transformed the square into a pedestrian and vegetated space. Historical chestnut trees are partially replaced by 73 new trees, and a water mirror replaces the old basin. The facades, classified as historical monuments since 1927, are enhanced by modern lighting, giving back its 18th century prestige.

The house of 22 Gambetta Square, like all the buildings bordering the square, reflects classic Bordeaux architecture. Its commercial ground floor, its noble floor with sling windows and its pediment mansard illustrate the stylistic unit wanted by Tourny. Classified for its facade and roof, it bears witness to the urban golden age of Bordeaux, between Enlightenment and Revolution.

Today, Gambetta Square combines heritage and modernity: a place of revolutionary memory, it is also a space of contemporary, pedestrian and ecological life. Its history, marked by figures like Tourny, Gambetta or the Girondins, makes it a symbol of the political and urban transformations of Bordeaux since the 18th century.

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