A Bird's Eyeview of Paris

Place de la Concorde with obelisk seen in  the front

La Madeiline Church

Hotel de Crillon

 We had a casual bird's eyeview of Paris from our bus as our tour manager mentioned the names of important monuments and buildings we were passing by. We had a brief halt at Place de La Concorde, the largest plaza square (86,400 square meters in area) in Paris where during french revolution King Louis VI, Queen Marie Antoinette and other leading royal figures were beheaded by guilottine. Originally this octagonal spacious place was named after the French king Louis as Place Louis XV in 1772. It was built as a compliment to the equestrian statue of Lois XV which was set up in 1763 to celebrate his recovery from ill-health. Around this square many historic buildings and monuments are seen. Champs de Elysees is seen on the west and Tuilleries garden on the eastern side. To the north of this square two big mansions are seen; the french naval ministry is housed in one mansion and the other one is Hotel de Crillon, once the home of Louis Marie Augustin, the famous patron of French arts. In 1788 the Count of de Crillon acquired this building for his home. During French Revolution this building was confiscated by the Government. But after the execution of Louis XVI in 1793 the building was given back to descendants of  Crillon who stayed there nearly for more than one century.In 1907 Society du Louvre acquired this building and transformed it into a hotel. Between these two buildings lies the famous Rue Royal , a street connecting Place de la Concorde and Place de la Madeleine.

statue of Strausbourg

Rue Royal

  At each of the eight angles of this octagonal palace. a statue representing an important French city was installed : Bordeux, Brest,Lyon,Lille,Nantes,Roven, Marseille,and Strausbourg. During  French Revoultion the statue of Louis XV was removed and a guillotine was erected and the place was re-named as Place de la Revolution. After French Revolution the name was modified as Place de la Concorde to represent reconciliation between revolutionaries and royalists. After the Bourbon Revolution in 1814 the name was changed back as Louis XV Square. In 1826 it was renamed as Louis XVI square. After July revolution the place was again renamed as place de la Concorde. Though Shakespeare philosophized "What is in a name?", in this mundane world, names are multi-dimensional codes carrying so many historical, political and status-linked connotations. A seventy-five foot monumental pillar of yellow granite was erected in the center of this square in 1836. This 23-meter high Egyptian obelisk made of red granite was one of the twin pillars at the entrance to the temple of Luxor. A tribute to the Pharaoh Ramses II was engraved on this 3300-old monolith weighing about 230 tons. This obelisk  often nicknamed as "Cleopatra's Needle" was gifted to the French king Charles X by the Viceroy of Egypt in 1833.  This pillar has replaced the statue of Louis XV in the square and it represents peace and harmony. A gold-leafed pyramid cup was added to the top of this pillar in 1998.

Fontaine des Mers (South Fountain)

Ocean God Flanked by Astronomy and Navigation

             

River Goddesses of North Fountain

Nereides at the base of the fountain

Just beside this obelisk we saw two ornamental fountains with carved figures of angels, Nereides,and mermaids. These fountains were built during the time of Louis Phillipe between 1836 and 1840.  They were designed by Jacques Ignace Hitroff in the architectural style of the Roman fountains, Piaza Navona and Piaza San Pietro. Hitroff's two fountains dealt with the theme of rivers and seas. Both fountains have the same design with a stone pedestal and two tiers of vasques (bowls in the fountains which receive flowing water) crowned with a mushroom-shaped top or apex. The northern fountain is devoted to the theme of rivers like the Rhone and the Rhine along with representative figures of navigation, agriculture and crops of France like wheat, grapes, flowers and fruits.

The southern fountain represents the seas, maritime industry and commerce.  The semi-nude figures supporting the vasque are the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean. other figures beneath the vasque are coral, fish, shells and pearls,representing the maritime enterprise. These figures are seated on the prow ( front part of a ship)  (symbol of Paris) surrounded by dolphins spraying water. Above the vasque supporting the mushroom-shaped cap are figures representing the spirits of maritime navigation, Astronomy and Commerce. Next to them are swans spouting water into the basins below. In the basin Tritons (sea-gods holding a twisted conchs in hand) and Nereids (sea-nymphs) hold fish which spout water towards the rim of the vasque. In both these fountains six seated allegorical figures with their feet on the prows of the ships are seen supporting the pedestal of the circular base.

  Paris may be called the city of artistically molded water fountains which emphasize the importance of water as the source of life and which satisfied the  needs of the city people. Besides these structures symbolically represent and glorify the dominant and vital role played by rivers and seas and also the main professions of the people. The large figures of the fountains were made of cast iron and painted in dark green with golden borders.The small figures of Tritons and Nereids were made of bronze and painted with a bronze shade. These fountains in the city square add more charm and enhance the splendor of this historic city.

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 2nd April, 2016                                                          Somaseshu Gutala