The Place de la République (known as the Place du Château d'Eau until 1879) is a

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

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. Si ...

, located on the border between the

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * H ...

10th 10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The re ...

and

11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first atteste ...

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

s. The square has an area of .Warner, p. 250 Named after the First,

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...

and Third Republic, it contains a monument which includes a statue of the personification of France,

Marianne Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed in ...

. The Métro station of République lies beneath the square, served by Line 3, Line 5, Line 8, Line 9 and Line 11. It is one of the network's main transfer points on the

Rive Droite The Rive Droite (, ''Right Bank'') is most commonly associated with the river Seine in central Paris. Here, the river flows roughly westwards, cutting the city into two parts. When facing downstream, the northern bank is to the right, and the so ...

History and architecture

The square was originally called the Place du Château d'Eau, named after a huge fountain designed by Pierre-Simon Girard and built on the site in 1811.Hazan, p. 84. Émile de La Bédollière wrote that the water came from la Villette and that the fountain was "superb" in character. In 1867, Gabriel Davioud built a more impressive fountain in the square, which (like the first fountain) was decorated with lions. The square took its current shape as part of Baron Hausmann's vast renovation of Paris. Haussmann also built new barracks on the cities, to garrison troops useful in times of civil unrest. At the center of the Place de la République is a bronze statue of

, the personification of the French Republic, "holding aloft an

olive branch The olive branch is a symbol of peace and victory associated with customs of ancient Greece and connected with supplication to gods and persons in power. It is found in most cultures of the Mediterranean basin and became associated with peace ...

in her right hand and resting her left on a tablet engraved with Droits de l'homme (the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen)."Kim Willsher
Paris mayor praises beauty of revamped Place de la République: Bertrand Delanoë says £20.4m renovation of French capital's historic square has allowed it to be reclaimed by the people
''Guardian'' (June 16, 2013). The statue sits atop a monument which is high. Marianne is surrounded with three statues personifying liberty, equality, and fraternity, the values of the French Republic.Michalski, p. 17. These statues also evoke the three medieval

theological virtue Theological virtues are virtues associated in Christian theology and philosophy with salvation resulting from the grace of God. Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally they ha ...

s.Michalski, pp. 17-18. Also at the base is a lion guarding a depiction of a ballot box. The monument has been described as "an ordinary one, acceptable to a committee in the 1880s and inoffensively unarresting today." The monument was created by the brothers Charles and

Léopold Morice Léopold Morice (1846, Nîmes - 1919, Paris) was a French sculptor. Life An apprentice in Auguste Bosc's studio then in François Jouffroy's studio, he was later admitted to the ''École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts'' aged 19. His tal ...

. Leopold executed the sculptural segments, while Charles executed the architectural segments. The monument was chosen as part of an art competition announced in early 1879 by the Paris City Council, which sought to create a "Monument to the French Republic" in honor of the 90th anniversary of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, to be erected on the Place de la République. The Morice statue was chosen by the

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England d ...

, but a "vociferous minority opinion among jury members claimed precedence for the second prize", the submission of

Jules Dalou Aimé-Jules Dalou (31 December 183815 April 1902) was a 19th-century French sculptor, admired for his perceptiveness, execution, and unpretentious realism. Early life Born in Paris to a working-class family of Huguenot background, he was raised ...

, who had just returned from exile in England. Dalou's statue, which was completely different in style, impressed the jury so much that it was decided in early 1880 to erect his monument to the Republic on the adjacent

Place de la Nation The Place de la Nation (formerly Place du Trône, subsequently Place du Trône-Renversé during the Revolution) is a circle on the eastern side of Paris, between Place de la Bastille and the Bois de Vincennes, on the border of the 11th and 12t ...

. Two inauguration ceremonies for the Morice monument took place, the first on 14 July 1880 with a

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywa ...

model, and the second on 14 July 1883 with the final version in bronze. The monument replaced the second fountain. Paris mayor

Bertrand Delanoë Bertrand Delanoë (; born 30 May 1950) is a French retired politician who served as Mayor of Paris from 2001 to 2014. A member of the Socialist Party (PS), he previously served in the National Assembly from 1981 to 1986 and Senate from 1995 unt ...

made a renovation of the Place de la République one of his

campaign promise An election promise or campaign promise is a promise or guarantee made to the public by a candidate or political party that is trying to win an election. Across the Western world, political parties are highly likely to fulfill their election ...

s in the 2008 campaign for re-election. The project involved the transformation of the square from a "glorified roundabout" into a

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

, with 70% of the square's 3.4 hectares and surroundings roads being reserved for pedestrians. The Paris City Council allocated twelve million euros for renovating the square in 2010, and the project began the same year.Réaménagement de la place de la République: Paris (France), 2013
Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona. The project was completed in 2013. The total cost of the project was 20.4

GBP Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...

, about 5 million GBP over budget. The renovation was a finalist for the

European Prize for Urban Public Space The European Prize for Urban Public Space is a biennial award established in 2000 to recognise public space projects. It is organised by the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona together with six other European institutions: The Architect ...

. The pedestrian area now occupies "some two hectares in the sunniest part on the north-eastern side" while the "other third, to be used by vehicular traffic, is the shadier part on the south-western side." The statue of Marianne was cleaned of

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

and footprints as part of the renovations. Nuit Debout - Place Commune, 2016

After terrorist attacks against France in January 2015, crowds gathered in the square to mourn and express solidarity against the threat of

Islamic extremism Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic un ...

.Liz Alderman & Dan Bilefsky
Huge Show of Solidarity in Paris Against Terrorism
''New York Times'' (January 11, 2015). The French Interior Ministry estimated that as many as 1.6 million people participated, making it the largest demonstration in modern French history. Crowds again rallied on the Place de la République following the

November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...

. In 2016 the Nuit debout movement, which opposed the labour reforms of the

El Khomri law The loi n° 2016-1088 du 8 août 2016 relative au travail, à la modernisation du dialogue social et à la sécurisation des parcours professionnels is a piece of national legislation in France relating to employment. It is commonly known as the E ...

, began from an occupation of the Place de la République. In April 2019, Yellow Vest demonstrators clashed with authorities in the square in their 23rd week of protests and dissatisfaction over President Macron's government, the weekend following the

Notre-Dame de Paris fire On 15 April 2019, just before 18:20 CEST, a fire broke out beneath the roof of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris. By the time the structure fire was extinguished, the building's spire had collapsed, most of its roof had been destroyed, an ...

Metro stations

The Place de la République is: It is served by lines 3, 5, 8, 9, and 11. Paris m 3 jms

Streets meeting at the Place de la République

Boulevard de Magenta The boulevard de Magenta is located in the Ninth and Tenth arrondissements of Paris, France. It begins at place de la République and 1, rue Beaurepaire, and ends at 1, boulevard de Rochechouart and 53, boulevard de la Chapelle. Etymology ...

*Rue Beaurepaire *Rue Léon-Jouhaux *Rue du Faubourg du Temple *Avenue de la République *Boulevard Voltaire *

Boulevard du Temple The Boulevard du Temple, formerly nicknamed the "Boulevard du Crime", is a thoroughfare in Paris that separates the 3rd arrondissement from the 11th. It runs from the Place de la République to the Place Pasdeloup, and its name refers to the ne ...

*Passage du Vendôme *Rue du Temple *Boulevard Saint-Martin *Rue René Boulanger

References

Sources

*Kathy Borrus, ''Five Hundred Buildings of Paris'' (Black Dog & Leventhal: 2003). *Eric Hazan, ''The Invention of Paris: A History in Footsteps'' (Verso: 2010; trans. David Fernbach). *Stephane Kirkland, ''Paris Reborn: Napoléon III, Baron Haussmann, and the Quest to Build a Modern City'' (Macmillan: 2013). *Sergiusz Michalski, ''Public Monuments: Art in Political Bondage 1870-1997'' (Reaktion: 1998). *Marina Warner, ''Monuments & Maidens: The Allegory of the Female Form'' (

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, University of Califor ...

: 1985).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Place de la Republique Republique Buildings and structures in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris Buildings and structures in the 10th arrondissement of Paris Buildings and structures in the 11th arrondissement of Paris Liberty symbols Sculptures of lions