Place de la Concorde
Locateion: Paris. Work began on place Louis XV in 1755. It broke with the tradition of enclosed royal squares, to open up the perspective to the Tuileries gardens. The fine mansion houses - the Hotel de la Marine and the Hotel Crillon underlined the axis of the statue of the monarch – were demolished after thirty years. Place de la Revolution is where Louis XVI, Marie-Antoanette, Danton and robespierre were guillotined.
However, place de la Concorde spells reconciliation. Louis Philippe sought a monument that would cool revolutionary and royalist passions, which he found in the 3,300 – years-old Obelisk, a gift from the pasha of Egypt. Erected in 1836, its 23 meters and 230 tons of pink granite took four years to travel from Luxor! Two fountains, embellished with golden mermaids and fish, enliven the grey, green and golden decor of the square.
