PLACE VENDÔME

This square has witnessed great historical events since its construction under Louis XIV. It was originally part of a vast urban plan designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart. According to his plans, the square was to house prestigious public buildings overlooking the esplanade where the king's equestrian statue is enthroned. However, the project was soon abandoned for lack of funds. The greatest fortunes then flocked to the site, taking possession of the buildings already erected and building sumptuous private mansions. With the arrival of the Revolution, the square, symbol of the ancien régime and the privileges that went with it, was renamed Place des Piques (a bloody name recalling a troupe of women who dismembered and carried around the bodies of several murdered royalists). The statue of the monarch was also removed. Following this, Danton installed the provisional government of the Republic in the square. A few years later, in 1810, Emperor Napoleon had the Vendôme column erected here, in the image of the Trajan column in Rome, as a tribute to his great army. This work of art was overturned during the Commune on the initiative of the painter Courbet. Courbet would pay the price for the rest of his life, as he was ordered to finance its reconstruction. He died long before seeing the column rise again. Today, the square is a mecca for French and international jewellers. The showcases display the finest and most precious contemporary creations.