Mohammed V Square () is a public square of historical and symbolic significance located in central Casablanca,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. It was established in 1916 at the beginning of the

French protectorate in Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...

under

Resident-general A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indi ...

Hubert Lyautey Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey (17 November 1854 – 27 July 1934) was a French Army general and colonial administrator. After serving in Indochina and Madagascar, he became the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. Early in ...

, on a design by architects

Henri Prost Henri Prost (February 25, 1874 – July 16, 1959) was a French architect and urban planner. He was noted in particularly for his work in Morocco and Turkey, where he created a number of comprehensive city plans for Casablanca, Fes, Marrakes ...

and .

Name

The square is known officially as Mohammed V Square, in honor of the former king of Morocco Mohammed V. The square is known popularly as "Pigeons' Square" (, french: place aux pigeons) due to the heavy presence of pigeons. It used to be known by different names such as Main Square (french: grande place), Square of France (french: place de France), Square of Victory (french: place de la Victoire), Administrative Square (french: place administrative), and Marshal Lyautey Square (french: place du Maréchal Lyautey).

History

The area south of the

Medina quarter A medina (from ar, مدينة, translit=madīnah, lit=city) is a historical district in a number of North African cities, often corresponding to an old walled city. The term comes from the Arabic word simply meaning "city" or "town". Histori ...

that is now Mohammed V Square had been occupied by barracks of the

French colonial forces The ''Troupes coloniales'' ("Colonial Troops") or ''Armée coloniale'' ("Colonial Army"), commonly called ''La Coloniale'', were the military forces of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900 these troops were de ...

before the plan of

and to establish a large square there was implemented in 1916. It became the heart of the expanding "European city" () or modern expansion of Casablanca. Resident-general

, who was from Nancy, France, had that city's 18th-century Place Stanislas serve as inspiration for Prost's urban design. Buildings were erected around the square in the 1920s and 1930s, generally in the Moorish Revival architecture style championed by Henri Prost and his contemporaries. This style combined French design principles with traditional Mauro-Andalusian architectural traditions, which lent the colonial administrative buildings legitimacy. Clockwise from the square's eastern side: * Court House (, ), architect , 1923 * (former Military Circle, repurposed in 1956), architect Marius Boyer, 1925 *

Bank Al-Maghrib The Bank Al-Maghrib ( ar, بنك المغرب, ) is the central bank of the Kingdom of Morocco. It was founded in 1959 as the successor to the State Bank of Morocco (est. 1907). In 2008 Bank Al-Maghrib held reserves of foreign currency with an e ...

(, formerly the State Bank of Morocco's Casablanca branch), architect

Edmond Brion Edmond Brion (1885 Soissons - 1973) was a French architect active in Casablanca during the French Protectorate. Biography After World War I and after having studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the Paulin studio, Brion settled in ...

, 1937 * Central Post Office (, ), architect Adrien Laforgue, 1920 * Wilaya Building (, formerly City Hall), architect Marius Boyer, 1937 * French consulate-general (former Military Commander's Mansion, repurposed in 1956), architect

Albert Laprade Albert Laprade (29 November 1883 – 9 May 1978) was a French architect, perhaps best known for the Palais de la Porte Dorée. During a long career he undertook many urban renewal projects as well as major industrial and commercial works. A ski ...

, 1922 On August 8, 1943, Charles de Gaulle, accompanied by General Georges Catroux, commissary of the Coordination of Muslim Affairs and governor general of Algeria, and

Gabriel Puaux Gabriel Puaux (May 19, 1883 in Paris – January 1, 1970 in Kitzbühel, Austria) was a French diplomat and politician. Biography Puaux, son of the Protestant pastor Frank Puaux, earned a bachelor's degree in addition to his postgraduate educ ...

, resident general of France in Morocco, delivered a speech from the square, which was also broadcast by radio. The square was further transformed in 2020 with the construction on its western side of the Grand Theatre (french: Grand Théâtre de Casablanca), designed by architect

Christian de Portzamparc Christian de Portzamparc (; born 5 May 1944) is a French architect and urbanist. He graduated from the École Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris in 1970 and has since been noted for his bold designs and artistic touch; his projects reflect a ...

. On that occasion the square was entirely renovated and repaved.

Monuments and fountain

During the colonial era, the square was punctuated by two major works of

public sculpture Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically access ...

: on the eastern end, the Monument aux Morts, officially named , sculpted by

Paul Landowski Paul Maximilien Landowski (1 June 1875 – 31 March 1961) was a French monument sculptor of Polish descent. His best-known work is '' Christ the Redeemer'' in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Biography Landowski was born in Paris, France, of a Polish re ...

and inaugurated by Resident-general Lyautey on ; and further west in front of the courthouse, the equestrian statue of Hubert Lyautey by François Cogné, inaugurated in 1938. The former was relocated to France in 1961 and reerected in 1965 as the in

Senlis Senlis () is a commune in the northern French department of Oise, Hautes de France. The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. It is known for its Gothic cathedral and other ...

; the latter was moved at the time of independence to French ground in the front yard of the nearby , which in 1959 became the French Consulate-general. In 1976, a large circular fountain, also known as the “pigeons’ fountain” (french: fontaine aux pigeons), was erected at the center of the square, west of Hassan II Avenue. In 2020 with the construction of the Grand Theater on the square’s western end, the much-liked fountain was relocated to the other side of the avenue, close to the original position of the Lyautey statue.

References

{{Commons category, Place Mohammed V, Casablanca Casablanca All stub articles

Name

History

Monuments and fountain

See also

References