The Place d'Armes is a square in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Location and access

The Place d'Armes is a roughly fan-shaped square in front of the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

. It is approximately 300 m long and 150 m wide. On the side opposite the palace, three roads radiate eastwards: * to the north, Avenue de Saint-Cloud; * in the center,

Avenue de Paris Avenue de Paris is a seaside, palm-lined street in Beirut, Lebanon. The avenue, which forms with Avenue General de Gaulle the Corniche Beirut promenade, is popular with rollerbladers, cyclists and joggers. Benches The municipality of Beirut init ...

, in line with the palace; * to the south, Avenue de Sceaux.

Name origin

Generally located at the center of a fortification, a

place-of-arms A place-of-arms (, ) is any place in a fortification where troops can gather. The term has a number of meanings, but it generally refers to an enlarged area of the covertway designed as an assembly point for soldiers, or a Town square, square in ...

is a gathering place for small troops and a central space for important military ceremonies.

Historical background

In 1660, when

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

decided to extend his palace, there was only a small square in front of it, extending into an alley that joined the

Chemin de Saint-Cloud Chemin or Le Chemin may refer to: Arts and media * ''Le Chemin'' (Emmanuel Moire album), 2013 album by French singer Emmanuel Moire * ''Le Chemin'' (Kyo album), 2003 album by French band Kyo ** "Le Chemin" (song), title song from same-titled Kyo a ...

. Initially, the plan was to lay out three crow's-foot alleys starting from a half-moon-shaped square. But this project was too modest for the sovereign. It was decided to level and enlarge the Place d'Armes, and to radiate from it three wide avenues planted with trees. To achieve this, thousands of cubic meters of earth were removed from the top of the Montbauron hillock to level it, and used to fill in the square. On August 23, 1754, King

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

set off fireworks on the square from his balcony, using a "running rocket" to celebrate the birth of the Duc de Berry, the future

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

. On March 4, 1984, the "Free School Movement" (''mouvement de l'école libre'', in French) held a demonstration on the

, all the way to the Place d'Armes..

Remarkable buildings and places of remembrance

The Place d'Armes borders the following buildings: * to the west, the

Château de Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines Department of Île-de-France region in France. The palace is owned by the government of F ...

, where the Grille d'Honneur separates it from the

Cour d'Honneur A court of honor ( ; ) is the principal and formal approach and forecourt of a large building. It is usually defined by two secondary wings projecting forward from the main central block ('' corps de logis''), sometimes with a fourth side, co ...

; * to the east, the

Grande Écurie The Grande Écurie (, ) is a building located in Versailles (Yvelines), on the Place d'Armes, opposite the Palace, between the avenues of Saint-Cloud and Paris. Together with the Petite Écurie (literal French for "The Small Stable"), it formed t ...

; * to the east, the

Petite Écurie The Petite Écurie () is a monument located in Versailles, on the Place d'Armes, opposite the Palace of Versailles, between the Avenue de Paris and the Avenue de Sceaux. Together with the Grande Écurie, it formed the Écuries royales (an instit ...

. Since 2009, the square has also been home to the

equestrian statue of Louis XIV The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

, previously located in the

Operation

Currently, the Place d'Armes is used by

town council as a parking lot (530 spaces) and for buses(170 spaces).

References

{{Reflist

External links

Parking Place D'Armes
(www.placedarmesversailles.blogspot.fr/)

(www.sculpturesversailles.fr) Buildings and structures in Versailles