Place de la Concorde is famous for its questionable role in the French Revolution. Located between the Champs Elysées and the Tuileries Garden, Place de la Concorde is one of the city’s most iconic public squares in Paris.
It is one of the main public squares in Paris. Place de la Concorde is the second largest square in France, after Place de Quinconce in Bordeaux. The square covers an area of 8.64 hectares and is the main square in Paris. You can find this square in the eighth arrondissement of the city.
It is located at the east end of the Champs Elysées. The Madeleine Church bisects the square, bounded by the Seine, the Champs Elysées, and the Tuileries Garden.
It was the site of many famous public executions, including those of King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and Maximilien Robespierre during the French Revolution, during which time the square was temporarily renamed Place de la Revolution. (“Revolution Square”). It received its current name in 1795 as a conciliatory gesture in the late stages of the Revolution.
History of the Place de la Concorde
The square was designed between 1757 and 1779 and named Place Louis XV. It is an octagon outside a moat, located between the Tuileries Garden to the east and the Champs Elysées to the west. In the center stands an equestrian statue of King Louis XV, made to celebrate his good health after a long illness.
The square contains an equestrian statue of the king, commissioned by the city of Paris in 1748. In 1792, the statue was torn down and melted down, and the square was renamed Place de la Révolution.
The statue was primarily sculpted by Edmé Bouchardon, but after Bouchardon’s death, Jean-Baptiste Pigalle completed the statue. The combination of blue stone and lime forms the stone element. Due to its chemical composition, it can survive for so long even under acid rain.
There are two magnificent identical stone buildings at the north end. Separated by the Rue Royale, these buildings remain the best examples of Louis XV-style architecture. Originally, the building to the east housed the French Admiralty.
The building to the west soon after its completion became the luxurious residence of the Duke of Aumont. It was later purchased by the Comte de Crillon and the family lived there until 1907.
During the French Revolution, the statue of Louis XV of France was removed and the name was changed to “Place de la Revolucion”. The new revolutionary government then erected the guillotine. King Louis XVI was executed here on January 21, 1793. Also executed before cheering crowds were more popular figures such as Princess Elizabeth of France, Charlotte Corday, Madame Du Barry, Antoine Lavoisier, Camille Desmoulins, and Marie-Anne Queen Toinette.
In 1826, it was again renamed Place Louis XVI in honor of the fallen king. The Luxor Obelisk that stands today in the center of the square was presented to France in 1829. Within a year, the royal family was overthrown in the country’s second revolution, and by the time the obelisk arrived in Paris, the square had been renamed Place Concorde.
Place de la Concorde Nowadays
The Place de la Concorde was renovated between 1836 and 1840, and a giant 3,000-year-old Egyptian obelisk from Luxor, donated by the Egyptian Khedive, was placed in the center of the square.
Aligned with the obelisk are two river- and sea-themed fountains influenced by Roman fountains.
The north side of the square is adjacent to the French Admiralty building and the Hôtel Crillon, one of the oldest and most elegant hotels in Paris.
The view of Paris from the obelisk is breathtaking. On one side are the Tuileries Gardens with the Louvre Museum in the background, and on the other are the Champs Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe.