Place de la Concorde by Fam_Stoica
Place de la Concorde (the largest square in Paris) was created between 1757 and 1779 by Jacques-Ange Gabriel on land donated by the king in 1743.During the Revolution, this square became the site of the guillotine, under whose blade many great figures of the time lost their heads : the king Louis XVI, the queen Marie Antoinette, Madame Roland, Robespierre.
The square became Place de la Concorde in 1795. In the centre stands an Egyptian obelisk (75 feet high, covered with hieroglyphics which illustrate the glorious deeds of the pharaoh Ramses II) from the Temple of Luxor, donated to Louis Philippe in 1831 by Mehmed-Ali. Eight statues, symbolising the main cities of France stand at the corners of the square. To the north are two gemini colonnaded buildings (designed by the same Gabriel) : Hotel Crillon and Hotel de la Marine (Ministry of the Navy).
