Place de la République
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is on the Place de la République in Paris. For squares named Place de la République in other towns and cities, see Place de la République (disambiguation).
The Place de la République is a square in Paris, located on the border between the IIIe, Xe and XIe arrondissements. It is named after the First, Second and Third French Republics. Under it is situated the République Metro station.
[edit] History
It corresponds to the bastion of the gate of the Temple onto the enceinte de Charles V that dates back to the 14th century. Decorated in 1811 with a fountain called the Château-d'Eau, designed by Girard, it took its current shape under the Second French Empire, when boulevard de Magenta was extended onto it, of which the boulevard des Amandiers (which became avenue de la République) and of the boulevard du Prince-Eugène, today named after Voltaire. Most of the theatres of boulevard du Temple were demolished for this project.
The "caserne" de Prince Eugène, later named de la Château d'Eau then the caserne Vérines, was erected by Degrove, in 1854, to replace the former Wauxhall of summer and the famous diorama where Daguerre, one of the inventors of the photograph, had given his fifteen minute demonstrations. Built with the foresight to house 3200 men, it has since 1947 housed the French Republican Guard.
Gabriel Davioud, Paris's official city architect, added to the Place, building the Magasins réunis along its whole north side in 1866 and a second fountain decorated with bronze lions (Girard's fountain having been judged insufficient and re-erected in the market of la Villette) in 1867.
In 1879, a competition to design a great monument devoted to the newly-proclaimed Republic, was won by the Morice brothers, Léopold for the sculptor and Charles for the base. The plaques of historic scenes around the statue's base are by Aimé-Jules Dalou. Two inauguration ceremonies took place, the first on July 14 1880 with the gypsum model, and the second on July 14 1883 with the final version in bronze.
[edit] Streets joining Place de la République
Moving clockwise:
- boulevard de Magenta,
- rue Léon-Jouhaux,
- rue du Faubourg du Temple,
- avenue de la République,
- boulevard Voltaire,
- boulevard du Temple,
- rue du Temple,
- boulevard Saint-Martin,
- rue René Boulanger.
[edit] Source
- This page is a translation of its French equivalent.
