The Place de l'Odéon (; English: Odeon Square) is a semicircular

square In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...

in the Odéon quarter in the

6th arrondissement The 6th arrondissement of Paris (''VIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le sixième''. The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in a reference to the seat of ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France.

Description

The 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 * Northeast: Rue Casimir-Delavigne * East: Rue Racine To the south, on either side of the theatre, two parallel streets run perpendicular to the square: the Rue Rotrou to the west and the Rue Corneille to the east. The Café Voltaire stood at no. 1, frequented by the likes of Barrès, Bourget, Mallarmé, and

Verlaine Verlaine (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Verlaine had a total population of 3,507. The total area is 24.21 km2 which gives a population density Population density (in ag ...

in the 19th century.

History and notable residents

The square was built in 1779, and has concave-fronted buildings. It was opened by

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

on August 10, 1779, on the site of the Condé Hotel under the name of the Place du Théâtre-Français ("French-Theater Square"). It was later renamed to the Place de la Comédie-Française ("French-Comedy Square"), before taking its current name in 1807. The

Café Voltaire Café Voltaire, named after the writer and philosopher Voltaire, was a former café and restaurant located on the Place de l'Odéon in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. The café was open from the early 19 ...

, named after the philosopher and writer

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

, was once located in the square. It was frequently visited by Voltaire and his friends.

Camille Desmoulins Lucie-Simplice-Camille-Benoît Desmoulins (; 2 March 17605 April 1794) was a French journalist, politician and a prominent figure of the French Revolution. He is best known for playing an instrumental role in the events that led to the Stormin ...

, 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 wa ...

, 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 o ...

lived at 2, Place de l'Odéon, until they were arrested and subsequently executed at the

Place de la Révolution The Place de la Concorde (; ) is a public square in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées. It was the s ...

. 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 leading figure of the French Revolution. A modest and unknown lawyer on the eve of the Revolution, Danton became a famous orator of the Cordeliers Club and was raised to gove ...

. 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 (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Charles X, the French B ...

of the July Revolution of 1830, the route was the site of confrontation between insurgents and troops.

Notable sites

* The 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

References

{{reflist 6th arrondissement of Paris Odeon