Origin and history
The Place de la Concorde, originally named "Place Louis XV", was designed in 1755 by architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel on a swampy esplanade west of Paris. It was conceived as a monumental space for a statue of Louis XV, inaugurated in 1763. This project is part of a network of royal squares designed to glorify the monarch, with neoclassical facades framed by a vast octagon open to the Tuileries and the Champs Elysées. The square, completed in 1772, became a place of gathering and feasting, but also the theatre of dramas like the "great choking" of 1770, where 132 people perished during a fireworks fire.
During the French Revolution, the square was renamed "place de la Révolution" and became a symbol of political upheaval. The statue of Louis XV was overthrown in 1792, and the guillotine was installed there, including for the executions of Louis XVI (21 Jan. 1793) and Marie-Antoinette (16 Oct. 1793). Between 1793 and 1794, 1,119 people were guillotined, including figures such as Danton, Robespierre and Charlotte Corday. In 1795, the square was renamed "Place de la Concorde" to mark national reconciliation after the Terror, and Marly's Horses were installed there.
In the 19th century, the square underwent important transformations under the monarchy of July. In 1836 the obelisk of Luxor, offered by Egypt, was erected in the center, surrounded by two monumental fountains designed by Jacques-Ignace Hittorff between 1836 and 1840. These fountains celebrate river and sea navigation, while eight allegorical statues representing French cities (Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille, etc.) are placed at the corners of the square. In 1854, the ditches were filled to facilitate traffic, and in 1937 the whole was classified as a historic monument. The square, now emblematic, remains a place of national celebrations and a major crossroads of the capital.
Buildings bordering the square, such as the Navy Hotel (former Royal Warden) and the Hotel de Crillon, illustrate the neoclassical architecture of the eighteenth century. Their facades, designed by Gabriel, frame the perspective towards the Seine and the Tuileries. The Hotel de Crillon, transformed into a palace in 1907, hosted major diplomatic events, such as the drafting of the League of Nations Pact in 1919. The symmetry of the square, originally planned with four hotels at the north angles, was fully realized only in the twentieth century, with the reconstruction of the US Embassy (1931-1933) replacing the Grimod Hotel in La Reynière.
The Place de la Concorde is also a place of memory and controversy. The statue of Strasbourg, veiled in black after 1871 as a sign of mourning for Alsace-Lorraine annexed, became a symbol of French revanchism. In the 20th century, the square hosted historical events such as the concert of Jean-Michel Jarre in 1979, the celebration of the bicentenary of the Revolution in 1989, or political gatherings (1934, 1968, 1995). Ranked since 1937, it is the subject of contemporary projects, such as its transformation into a "place garden" planned for 2025, reintroducing ditches and lawns.
Today, the Place de la Concorde remains a high place in Parisian life, marked by its obelisk, its fountains and its role in national celebrations, such as the parade of July 14. It embodies both the architectural fascist of the Enlightenment, the torments of the Revolution, and the urban transformations of the 19th and 20th centuries. Its classification as historical monuments in 1937 guarantees the preservation of this unique ensemble, a witness to the history of France.
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