Monday, July 6, 2009

Street scene, looking toward Place Vendome


"Place Vendome was originally laid out by architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart in 1702 and centered on a statue of the Sun King on horseback. After this statue was destroyed in 1782 it was replaced by the Colonne de la Grande Armee by Napoleon, a column fashioned from 1,250 cannon captured from the Austrians and Russians at Austerlitz. After this too was pulled down in a Communard uprising of 1871, it was replaced with a replica."

(from Timeless Paris by Madelaine Mautord, Chartwell Books, Inc., Edison, New Jersey, 2007).

2 comments:

Starman said...

Love the translator widget.

Louis la Vache said...

This shot really captures the bustle of the area around Place Vendome. It makes «Louis» wish he were in Paris again!