Description of the attraction
From above, the Place Vendome looks like a casket - it has an unusual octagonal shape. The reason for this was the economy.
In 1680, King Louis XIV bought the palace of the Duke of Vendome located here and the nearby Capuchin monastery. The Royal Superintendent of Buildings has been ordered to create an area worthy of the Sun King on this site. The Superintendent invited the famous architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart.
According to the plan of the monarch, the square was to be framed by luxurious mansions, the Academy, the mint, and the library. In the center is the equestrian statue of the king. Louis demanded that the square be unique and majestic, like himself.
The facades of buildings in the style of classicism were built quickly. However, the parallel construction of Versailles and constant wars depleted the treasury - work stopped. For a while, the square with the equestrian statue of the king was surrounded only by facades!
To grow houses here, it was necessary to find buyers. There were no volunteers. The situation was saved by the Scotsman John Lowe, the inventor of paper money. Houses on the square were the first objects in the world to be paid for not with metal coins, but with paper. It has become fashionable to build here.
The architect Mansart also pondered over the economy. He changed the plan of the square, cutting corners and thus increasing the building area. It was Mansart who thought of arranging additional housing under the very roof. He boldly highlighted the attic windows with exquisite stucco moldings, and the world received the later famous attic.
During the French Revolution, a huge guillotine was installed instead of the equestrian statue of the Sun King. In 1810, by decree of Napoleon, the Vendome Column was erected on the square. This imitation of the Roman Trajan's Column is made from the metal of 1,250 cannons captured by the French army from the Russians and Austrians.
The famous Ritz hotel is located on the Place Vendome, where Proust, Hemingway and Coco Chanel stayed. It was from the Ritz Hotel that Princess Diana set off on her last trip to the D'Alma Tunnel.
An interesting feature of the square for tourists is the huge number of luxury jewelry stores.
