Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Place de la Concorde

Place de la Concorde is an area situated between the Tuileries and the Champs-Elysées. Octagonal in shape and it is about 20 acres big.

In 1792, during the French revolution, the square was called Place de la Révolution. A guillotine was installed at the center of the square and in a time span of only a couple of years, 1119 people were beheaded here.

Amongst them many famous people like King Louis XVI, Marie-Antionette, evolutionary Robespierre, just to name a few. After the revolution the square was renamed several times until 1830, when it was given the current name 'Place de la Concorde'.


Trying to pose and keep warm at the same time

Brrrrr....cold....



This 3200 years old obelisk from the temple of Ramses II at Thebes was installed in the 19th century at the center of the Place de la Concorde.

It is a 23 meters (75 ft) tall monolith in pink granite and weighs approximately 230 tons. In 1831, it was offered by the Viceroy of Egypt to Louis Philippe. Three obelisks were offered by the Viceroy, but only one was transported to Paris.

The obelisk - sometimes dubbed 'L'aiguille de Cléopâtre' or Cleopatra's Needle - is covered with hieroglyphs picturing the reign of pharaohs Ramses II & Ramses III.


Giving lil sister an uplift for better look of the bronze fountain

'La fontaine des Mers' was added to the square in 1836 Jacob Ignaz Hittorf.

It got even colder as we continued our walking tour

Berkerut-kerut menahan sejuk....

In the background is Hôtel de Crillon - a masterpiece of French 18th-century architecture.
Okay that's it...let's take the HOHO bus now!!

1 comment:

Wan Sharif said...

Nice .. not to be confused with the French town "Nice"