The Champ de Mars (; en, Field of Mars) is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh ''arrondissement'', between the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "' ...

to the northwest and the

École Militaire École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

to the southeast. The park is named after the

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers ...

("Mars Field") in Rome, a tribute to the Roman god of war. The name alludes to the fact that the lawns here were formerly used as drilling and marching grounds by the French military. The nearest Métro stations are La Motte-Picquet–Grenelle,

, and Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel, an RER suburban-commuter-railway station. A disused station,

Champ de Mars The Champ de Mars (; en, Field of Mars) is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh ''arrondissement'', between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after th ...

, is also nearby.

History

Originally, the Champ de Mars was part of a large flat open area called Grenelle, which was reserved for market gardening. Citizens would claim small plots and exploit them by growing fruits, vegetables, and flowers for the local market. However, the plain of Grenelle was not an especially fertile place for farming. The construction, in 1765, of the ''

'' designed by

Ange-Jacques Gabriel Ange-Jacques Gabriel (23 October 1698 – 4 January 1782) was the principal architect of King Louis XV of France. His major works included the Place de la Concorde, the École Militaire, and the Petit Trianon and opera theater at the Palace of V ...

, was the first step toward the Champ de Mars in its present form. Grounds for military drills were originally planned for an area south of the school, the current location of the ''

place de Fontenoy The Place de Fontenoy () is a square in Paris, France, named after the victory of Maréchal Maurice de Saxe in the Battle of Fontenoy. At number 7 is the World Heritage Centre,UNESCOContact and visit Unesco/ref>the headquarters of the UNESCO ...

''. The choice to build an esplanade to the north of the school led to the erection of the noble facade which today encloses the Champ de Mars. The planners leveled the ground, surrounded it with a large ditch and a long avenue of elms, and, as a final touch, the esplanade was enclosed by a fine grille-work fence. The Isle of Swans, formerly a

riverine A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wat ...

islet at the location of the northeastern foot of the

, was, for the sake of symmetry and pleasing perspectives, attached to the shore. (Note that the Isle of Swans discussed here should not be confused with the Isle of Swans that sits in the middle of the Seine downstream and around the next bend in the river, between the

fifteenth In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...

and sixteenth arrondissements.) Jacques Charles and the

Robert brothers Les Frères Robert were two French brothers. Anne-Jean Robert (1758–1820) and Nicolas-Louis Robert (1760–1820) were the engineers who built the world's first hydrogen balloon for professor Jacques Charles, which flew from central Paris on ...

launched the world's first hydrogen-filled balloon from the Champ-de-Mars on 27 August 1783. This place witnessed the spectacle and pageantry of some of the best-remembered festivals of the French Revolution. On 14 July 1790 the first "Federation Day" celebration (''fête de la Fédération''), now known as

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...

, was held on the Champ de Mars, exactly one year after the storming of the prison. The following year, on 17 July 1791, the massacre on the Champ de Mars took place.

Jean Sylvain Bailly Jean Sylvain Bailly (; 15 September 1736 – 12 November 1793) was a French astronomer, mathematician, freemason, and political leader of the early part of the French Revolution. He presided over the Tennis Court Oath, served as the mayor of Par ...

, the first mayor of Paris, became a victim of his own revolution and was guillotined there on 12 November 1793. The Champ de Mars was also the site of the Festival of the Supreme Being on 8 June 1794. With a design by the painter Jacques-Louis David, a massive "Altar of the Nation" was built atop an artificial mountain and surmounted by a tree of liberty. The festival is regarded as the most successful of its type in the Revolution. During the Hundred Days a restored Napoleon held the

Champ de Mai The Champ de Mai (; "Field of May") was a public assembly held by Napoleon on the Champ de Mars, Paris, a large open area near the École militaire, on 1 June 1815. This was during the Hundred Days, the period between Napoleon's return from exi ...

ceremony, during which he swore to uphold the

Charter of 1815 The Charter of 1815, signed on April 22, 1815, was the French constitution prepared by Benjamin Constant at the request of Napoleon I when he returned from exile on Elba. More correctly known as the "Additional Act to the Constitutions of the Em ...

, at the Champ de Mars. The Champ de Mars was the site of Expositions Universelles in

1867 Events January–March * January 1 – The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It was renamed a ...

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Battle ...

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in th ...

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

, and

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Febr ...

In art, culture, film and sport

Art and culture

In 2012, the

United Buddy Bears ''Buddy Bears'' are painted, life-size fiberglass bear sculptures developed by German businesspeople Klaus and Eva Herlitz, in cooperation with sculptor Roman Strobl. They have become a landmark of Berlin and are considered unofficial ambassa ...

exhibit was held on the Champ de Mars, an international art exhibition with more than 140 two-meter-tall bears representing individual countries. They promote peace, love, tolerance and international understanding and are displayed across the planet. They stand at Champ de Mars in Paris, fronting the Eiffel Tower.

Use in film and television

Champ de Mars was used as a filming location in the 1985 James Bond film ''

A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film and the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted ...

'', in which Bond (played for the last time by

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 19 ...

) drove a Renault 11 taxi which he had hijacked at the

in pursuit of a mysterious assassin, later revealed to be May Day ( Grace Jones).

Sports

The Champ de Mars will be the site of Beach Volleyball at the

2024 Summer Olympics ) , nations = TBA , athletes = 10,500 ''(quota limit)'' , events = 329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines) , opening = 26 July 2024 , closing = 11 August 2024 , opened_by = , stadium = Stade de France Jardins du Trocadéro and River Seine , summe ...

and of five-a-side football at the

2024 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = TBA , athletes = TBA , events = 549 in 22 sports , opening = 28 August , closing = 8 September , opened_by = President Emmanuel Macron (expected) , cauldron = TBA , stadium = Stade de France P ...

Gallery

File:Fête de la Fédération 1790, Musée de la Révolution française - Vizille.jpg, Illustration of the ''Fête de la Fédération'' at Champ de Mars, July 14 , 1790 (

Musée de la Révolution française The Musée de la Révolution française (Museum of the French Revolution) is a departmental museum in the French town of Vizille, south of Grenoble on the Route Napoléon. It is the only museum in the world dedicated to the French Revolution. ...

). File:Jaures-Histoire Socialiste-I-p733.PNG, Illustration of massacre on the Champ-de-Mars, 1791. File:Fête de l'Etre suprême 2.jpg, Painting of ''The Festival of the Supreme Being'', June 8, 1794 (by Pierre-Antoine Demachy, 1794). File:Fête de la Concorde, arrivée des corporations au Champ-de-Mars.jpg, Illustration of Fête de la Concorde, May 21, 1848. File:Exposition Universelle 1867.jpg, Photograph of Exposition Universelle, 1867. File:Panorama des Palais.JPG, Panoramic view of Exposition Universelle, 1878. File:Tour Eiffel exposition universelle 1889.jpg, View of Exposition Universelle, 1889. File:Expo universelle paris 1900.JPG, Illustration of Exposition Universelle, 1900. File:Champ-de-Mars.jpg, Champ de Mars at night (2007). File:Eiffel Tower and Mars fields.jpg, Champ de Mars - view from the

Montparnasse Tower Tour Maine-Montparnasse (Maine-Montparnasse Tower), also commonly named Tour Montparnasse, is a office skyscraper located in the Montparnasse area of Paris, France. Constructed from 1969 to 1973, it was the tallest skyscraper in France until 2 ...

(2010) File:North end of Champ de Mars and Quai Branly - As viewed from the Eiffel Tower (2016).jpg, The north end of Champ de Mars and Quai Branly - As viewed from the Eiffel Tower (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champ De Mars Parks and open spaces in Paris World's fair sites in Paris Exposition Universelle (1900) Buildings and structures in the 7th arrondissement of Paris Venues of the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic volleyball venues