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Place Charles de Gaulle
by Serban Brebenel
It took a century to complete the Arch of
Triumph in the center of Place Charles de Gaulle-Etoile (today, the
"Etoile", which comes from the star-like shape of the Place, has been
dropped) and the surrounding mansions.
During Louis XVI's reign, late in the 18th
century, the Champs-Elysees avenue came to a rather abrupt end in a
remote field outside the city. Several projects for laying out this
part of Paris were put forward. One of the first and most unusual
included a giant elephant-fountain topped by a statue of Louis XV. But
the idea was dropped when the equestrian statue of Louis XV in Place de
la Concorde was built.
Several years later, one project featured a
white marble obelisk. It was never erected, but the idea had a direct
consequence on what came later: an embankment was built to facilitate
installing the monument.
At the beginning of the First Empire
(Napoleon I), four main avenues started at the Etoile: the
Champs-Elysees, Avenue de Neuilly, Avenue de Saint-Cloud and the future
Avenue Wagram. In 1806, Napoleon began building an Arch of Triumph to
glorify the victories of the French armies. Interior Minister Champagny
chaired the committee of architects and sculptors and Jean-Francois
Chalgrin began work, drawing inspiration from the Arch of Titus in
Rome. On his return from the glorious 1807 campaign, Napoleon wanted to
pass under the arch (a wooden model had been built), like the Roman
emperors returning victorious to Rome. The committee that welcomed him
was asleep…and Napoleon is said to have named them
“sleepiest of all”.
Work on the arch was not finished until
1836, when it was inaugurated by Adolphe Thiers, President of the
Council of Ministers. The final masterpiece is the largest monument of
this type in the world. It is bigger than the Arches of Constantine and
Septimus Severus in Rome, and weighs approximately 50,000
tons—seven times more than the Eiffel Tower. The foundations are
8 meters deep.
Baron Haussmann, Napoleon III's prefect of
Paris, played an important role in the history of Place Charles de
Gaulle. He reorganized the street plan and built several straight new
avenues radiating from the arch. Most were named after First Empire
marshals and their victories, and the large mansions surrounding the
circle are known as the “marshals' mansions” (hotels des maréchaux). However, since they were built sixty years later, obviously none of the First Empire heroes ever owned any of them.
Click here to read Serban Brebenel's feature on Place Vendôme.
Click here to read Serban Brebenel's feature on Place de la Concorde.
Copyright (c) 2007 - www.paris-hotel-by-district.com CH. All rights reserved.
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