The Place Vendôme - a hidden attraction of Paris

Above, the square of Vendôme looks like an open precious casket. Octagonal in layout, decorated in the middle of a column, it strikes a thoughtful symmetry and luxurious style of mansions around. And this magnificence is quite understandable. After all, built the square on the orders of the connoisseur of all luxury "king-sun" of Louis XIV. The column in the middle was conceived to perpetuate the monarch himself, whose sculpture depicted him proudly seated on a horse and had to bear witness to the numerous victories of the sovereign. But this landmark did not stand the test of time, or rather, revolution. She was demolished together with the Bastille. But the square itself remained. But who is now depicted in the center? We will discuss this in our article.

Vendôme Square in Paris: address

Do not think that a haphazard walk through the French capital will lead you to this city's landmark. Despite the fact that the Place Vendôme is located in the very center of Paris, in the first district, it is not easy to find it. It is hidden, as it were, and stands apart from the dense urban development. Through it passes only one large street - Rue de la Paix (Mira). If you search for Vendôme Square on the tourist map of Paris, then you need to focus on the Opera Garnier. This landmark is very close. By the way, if you prefer to travel around the city quickly and do not depend on perpetual traffic jams, then take the metro. You should leave at the station "Opera". Through it pass lines 3, 7 and 8 of the Paris subway. If you are closer to branch number 1, then you should go to the station "Tuileries". Next you need to walk north. You can come to the square and from the church of San Madeleine. If you are on the streets of Saint-Anne and Saint-Roche (they are easily recognized by the abundance of Japanese restaurants and eateries), head west.

Prehistory

Not even all Parisians know that the Place Vendôme owes its existence to banal land speculation. At the end of the 17th century, a group of financiers, including the architect Arduen-Mansar, bought the residence of the Duke of Vendôme, one of Henry IV's sons, where he lived with his beloved Gabriel d'Estre. The buyers planned to demolish the buildings in the entire area of the quadrangular area, completely re-equip it, and then resell the land for their own benefit. But this area of Paris was for some reason unclaimed, and there were no buyers. And the money was somehow needed to be returned. The case was decided by a bribe given to a superintendent of royal residences named Louvois. He managed to persuade the king to purchase a plot of land to perpetuate his victories with a horse monument. And the frame of the great monarch was to become a new square. "King Sun" for a long time did not give rest to the laurels of his ancestor, Henry IV, who did a lot for the arrangement of Paris. And then there was a wonderful opportunity to immortalize the beloved in bronze. Therefore, money from the royal treasury migrated into the pockets of financiers. Construction began.

Vendôme Square in Paris: history, description

The king himself benefited from this land fraud. In 1698, he sold the land to the city authorities, but on the condition that Arduen-Mansar would be engaged in the improvement of the square, and that the center of this structure would decorate the equestrian monument to the monarch. And the king wanted to see the result of the works in a year. Therefore, the square of Vendome (in those days it bore the name of Louis the Great) was built in an unprecedentedly short time. To satisfy the monarch's whims, the architect first erected a monument. By 1699 the houses that served as a backdrop to him had only facades. All the rest was completed quite a long time - until 1720. But the main thing was achieved. The quadrangular parade ground with dark extremities was replaced by a graceful octagon. Approximation of the area on a plan to the circle shifted the viewer's attention to the center, where the equestrian statue rose. Mitigating the sharp corners gave the whole complex elegance and refinement.

Modern view of the square

Alas, we will no longer see the statue of the "sun king", who sits proudly on his horse in antique robes. She was bent by the revolutionary winds as a symbol of absolute monarchy. Only a fragment of the monarch's left foot miraculously survived and is now exhibited in the Louvre. However, the center of the square did not remain empty for long. In honor of the victory of Napoleon under Austerlitz, there was installed a column, a copy of Trajan in Rome. It was cast from re-melted war booty - Austrian and Russian cannons. At the top of the column was a statue of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Restoration, it was demolished and a royal oriflammus with lilies was planted. But later the monument was repaired to the great commander. Now the work of sculptor Surre decorates the top of the column. The organic ensemble is surprising, which is the Place Vendome in Paris. The photo shows how the surrounding houses of the same type with the colonnades are, as it were, framing a giant pillar with a statue of the emperor.

sights

It would seem that, in addition to the monument to Napoleon, Vendôme Square is of no interest to tourists. The sights of this corner of Paris, meanwhile, are enclosed in the surrounding houses. At number 11 was the house of Poisson. In order not to get into the Bastille, this rich man gave his luxurious mansion to the state, and now the Ministry of the Chancellery is located. The facade of the building is decorated with a marble plate, which is the standard meter, which as a measure of length was introduced in 1795. House number 12 was the place of death of Frederic Chopin. On the Place Vendome there is also a well-known hotel "Ritz", where lived Charlie Chaplin, Coco Chanel, Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Marcel Proust and other celebrities. It was from this hotel that Dodi al-Fayed's car drove with Princess Diana on the day of their tragic death.

Connection with Russia

Tourists from the Russian Federation will be particularly interested in the Place Vendôme. At number 12, before the apartments in the house began to be rented, the diplomatic mission of Russia was located. Buildings 17 and 19 owned a family of French bankers Crozza. One of them sold a collection of paintings by Rubens, Rembrandt and Titian to Catherine II. So these pictures have got to the Hermitage.