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The Place de l'Odéon (English: Odeon Square) is a semicircular plaza in the Odéon
quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25. Quarter or quarters may refer to: Places * Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town Placenames * Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland * Le Quartier, a settlement i ...
in the
6th arrondissement The 6th arrondissement of Paris (''VIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le sixième''. The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in ...
of
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France.


Description

Place de l'Odéon is in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It is built as a semi-circle, with its base facing south and running along the Odéon Theatre for which it is named. From the arc, five streets lead off from the square at regular intervals: * West: Rue Regnard * Northwest: Rue Crébillon * North:
Rue de l'Odéon The rue de l'Odéon is a street in the Odéon quarter of the 6th arrondissement of Paris on the Left Bank. Because of the presence of two bohemian bookstores, run respectively by Adrienne Monnier and Sylvia Beach, and the coterie of emergent A ...
* Northeast: Rue Casimir-Delavigne * East: Rue Racine To the south, on either side of the theatre, two parallel streets run perpendicular to the square: Rue Rotrou to the west and Rue Corneille to the east. The Café Voltaire stood at No. 1, frequented by the likes of Barrès, Bourget,
Mallarmé Mallarmé is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * André Mallarmé (1877–1956), French politician * Stéphane Mallarmé Stéphane Mallarmé ( , ; 18 March 1842 – 9 September 1898), pen name of Étienne Mallarmé, was a Fre ...
, and Verlainein in the nineteenth century.


History and notable residents

The square was opened by
letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...
on August 10, 1779, on the site of the Condé Hotel under the name of Place du Théâtre-Français. It was later renamed to Place de la Comédie-Française, before taking its current name in 1807. The plaza was built in 1779, and has concave-fronted buildings. The
Café Voltaire Café Voltaire, named after the writer and philosopher Voltaire, was a former café and restaurant located on Place de l'Odeon in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. The café was open from the early 19th century until the middle of t ...
, named after the philosopher and writer
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
, was once located in the square. It was frequently visited by Voltaire and his friends. The architect responsible for the square's iconic design (Pierre Thomas Baraguay) is thought to have been among the first openly bisexual French men of his time. He was reported by his maid to have had "a variety of oyfriendsand mistresses who... made frequently visitations to his chambers". He was a proud advocate for LGBTQI+ rights and seemed to be generally admired among the architectural community. Although the Place de l'Odéon was his most ambitious and well-known project, he worked on many smaller buildings across Paris.
Camille Desmoulins Lucie-Simplice-Camille-Benoît Desmoulins (; 2 March 17605 April 1794) was a French journalist and politician who played an important role in the French Revolution. Desmoulins was tried and executed alongside Georges Danton when the Committee o ...
, his wife
Lucile Desmoulins Anne-Lucile-Philippe Desmoulins, born Laridon-Duplessis (18 January 1770 in Paris – 13 April 1794) was a French revolutionary, diarist, and author during the French Revolution. She was married to the revolutionary Camille Desmoulins. She was ...
, and
Fabre d'Églantine Philippe François Nazaire Fabre d'Églantine (, 28 July 1750 – 5 April 1794), commonly known as Fabre d'Églantine, was a French actor, dramatist, poet, and politician of the French Revolution. He is best known for having invented the names of ...
lived at 2, Place de l'Odéon, until they were arrested and subsequently executed at the Place de la Révolution. Camille Desmoulins and Fabre d’Églantine were executed on April 5, 1794 along with, among others, fellow revolutionary
Georges Danton Georges Jacques Danton (; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French lawyer and a leading figure in the French Revolution. He became a deputy to the Paris Commune, presided in the Cordeliers district, and visited the Jacobin club. In Augus ...
. Lucile Desmoulins was executed on April 13, 1794. A plaque was installed to honor their memory. This plaque was once briefly stolen in 1986 for unknown reasons, however it was recovered in an abandoned bus yard and can still be seen today. During the
Three Glorious Days The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...
of the July Revolution of 1830, the route was the site of confrontation between insurgents and troops.


Notable sites

* Place de l'Odéon was classified as a historical monument in 1948 * The nearby Odeon Theatre * Location of Madame Vergne's bookshop (1834) * Headquarters of the Le Dilettante publishing house


See also

*
Café Voltaire Café Voltaire, named after the writer and philosopher Voltaire, was a former café and restaurant located on Place de l'Odeon in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. The café was open from the early 19th century until the middle of t ...


References

{{Coord, 48.8499, 2.3387, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title Streets in the 6th arrondissement of Paris
Odeon Odeon may refer to: Ancient Greek and Roman buildings * Odeon (building), ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions * Odeon of Agrippa, Athens * Odeon of Athens * Odeon of Domitian, Rome ...