Description of the attraction
There are several monuments to Jeanne d'Arc in Paris, the most famous of them is installed in the small square of the Pyramids on Rivoli. The square opposite the entrance to the Tuileries Garden is named in memory of Napoleon's expedition to Egypt. On the eve of the Franco-Prussian War of 1871, the republican government commissioned the sculptor Emmanuel Fremier to install an equestrian statue of Jeanne d'Arc here. The monument was ready by 1874 and fell just as soon as possible - after the defeat in the war, a patriotic upsurge began in the country, every city wanted to have a monument to the Virgin of Orleans.
At first, an incident happened with the equestrian statue: the sculptor did not take into account the laws of optics, according to which the figure of the rider seems smaller to the people standing below than it actually is. The figure of the warrior had to be enlarged to fit the size of the horse.
The place for the installation of the monument was not chosen by chance: not far from here, Jeanne was wounded during the unsuccessful siege of Paris. There are two more equestrian statues of Jeanne in the city - in front of the Church of Saint-Augustin and on the square at the tower of Saint-Jacques, as well as a pedestrian monument at the Museum of the Virgin. In addition, there is a sculptural image of the saint in almost every Catholic cathedral in the country. The monument on Pyramids Square is the most famous and at the same time has the least artistic merit.
Jeanne is depicted in armor, with a banner in her hand, the figures of a rider and a horse are covered with sparkling gilding. Today, the monument is a center of attraction for all kinds of patriotic actions.
Jeanne d'Arc, a simple peasant girl, saved France from the British occupation during the Hundred Years War of the XIV-XV centuries. After a series of amazing victories, she was captured by the Burgundians, who handed her over to the British. Burned at the stake like a witch Subsequently rehabilitated and canonized - canonized by the Catholic Church. National heroine of the French people. Every year on May 8, all of France celebrates Jeanne d'Arc Day. A helicopter carrier cruiser and an asteroid are named after the savior of the country.
