The Place de la Comédie is square in

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.Southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French language, French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi ...

. It is at the southeast point of the city centre, at , where the fortifications of the city were formerly located.

History

The square is first mentioned in 1755 and is named after a theatre that burned down in 1785 and 1855. The ''Place'' became the focal point of the city when, in the mid-19th century the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

Gare de Montpellier Saint-Roch Saint-Roch is the main railway station in Montpellier, France. The station was formerly known as Gare de Montpellier, but since March 2005 it has been named after Saint Roch, a native of the city who was born in the 14th century. Saint-Roch is on ...

'' was built some south of it. At that time, a smaller train going to the nearby beach at

Palavas-les-Flots Palavas-les-Flots (; Languedocien dialect, Languedocien: ''Palavàs'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region in southern Fra ...

also had its provenance on the ''Place''.

Location

At the centre of the square is a fountain, the '' Three Graces'', built by sculptor Étienne d'Antoine in 1790. The original piece was placed in the

Musée Fabre The Musée Fabre is a museum in the southern French city of Montpellier, capital of the Hérault ''département''. The museum was founded by François-Xavier Fabre, a Montpellier painter, in 1825. Beginning in 2003, the museum underwent a 61.2 mi ...

in 1989, but moved again during the refurbishment of the museum to the Opéra Comédie, which is at the square. At its northeastern corner, the square continues into the ''Esplanade de Charles de Gaulle'', a small park connecting the ''Place'' to the Corum, a large

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

and

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

complex built by

Claude Vasconi Claude Vasconi (24 June 1940 - 8 December 2009) was a French architect. Vasconi was born in Rosheim, and was educated at the ''Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et de l'Industrie'' in Strasbourg. In 1964, he set up office in Paris. After desi ...

. At its southeastern corner it is linked to the Lycée Joffre, formerly the

Citadel of Montpellier The Citadel of Montpellier is an Early modern Europe, Early Modern fortification in the city of Montpellier, in the Hérault département of southern France. It was built between 1624 and 1627, after several rebellions under the orders of Loui ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Place De La Comedie Buildings and structures in Montpellier Tourist attractions in Montpellier Squares in France