PLACE DES VOSGES, A SYMBOL OF MONARCHY
All important Parisian places* copy or adapt its design, as do certain provincial towns and foreign capitals.
* Places are urban spaces that express political power. These pages use the French term with italics.
Place Royale in 1709, no more information / zoom
First called place Royale,* it is so amiably grandiose that the New York Times chose it to announce the reopening of the European Union after the covid lockdowns.
*It became "place des Vosges" in honor of the first region to send taxes to the Revolutionary government (in 1791).
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Earlier open spaces (markets, cemeteries, the space in front of City Hall) had appeared spontaneously. This was the first to be created on purpose.
(Begun in 1605, inaugurated in 1612)
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Paris in 1530 / zoom |
It was built on empty land at the city's edge, which a demolished palace extended (Henri II's widow tore down the edifice where he had died, in 1559).
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Its design symbolizes empowered monarchy:
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The Carrousel at Place Royale in 1612 by Matthäus Merian / zoom (please scroll down) |
Inauguration (in 1612)
- The first straight street, glimpsed in the background, leads to the "king's pavilion:"
This photo and the next, Carolyn Ristau Rue de Birague (originally rue Royale)  |
Henri IV above the entrance (added at the Restoration)
- A public space toward which the streets converge: The king is at the heart of all.
- Straight streets: The king assures stability and order.
- Homogeneous facades: All are subject to the king.
- A power symbol is in the center: Until the Revolution, it is an equestrian statue of the reigning king.
This ancestor of all places
had no statue until 1643:
Please read on.
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