Description of the attraction
Place des Vosges is the oldest of the Parisian squares and, perhaps, the only one that has survived in its original form. But she is already 400 years old.
At one time, the Tournelian Palace stood here, near which King Henry II was mortally wounded by a spear during a knightly tournament. The widow, Catherine de Medici, ordered the demolition of the palace. For some time it housed an equestrian market, but in 1605, King Henry IV began the construction of the Royal Square.
For Paris of that time, this was new: saving every meter of expensive land, the city got by with narrow, crooked streets. The monarch, however, was imbued with the Renaissance ideas of urban planning, under him the appearance of Paris began to change for the better. However, the reformer did not live to see the completion of construction: he was stabbed to death by a religious fanatic.
The only street, Fran-bourgeois, crosses the square, which has the shape of an almost regular square. Its perimeter is formed by buildings built in the same style. There are arches along the facade of each gallery, so that the square can be bypassed in any weather, hiding from the sun and rain.
Louis XIII opened the Royal Square, celebrating his engagement to Anne of Austria. The event was celebrated in two buildings - the pavilions of the king and the queen, which stand out from a number of similar buildings with their high mansard roofs. Since then, the square has become one of the favorite places of festivities for the townspeople. Wealthy Parisians were eager to buy real estate here. One of the mansions belonged to Cardinal Richelieu. In due time, apartments were rented here by Victor Hugo, Alphonse Daudet, Théophile Gaultier.
Napoleon Bonaparte renames the square in tribute to the residents of the Vosges department, who were the first to voluntarily pay tax on the upkeep of the revolutionary army. Napoleon ordered to restore the equestrian statue of Louis XIII, melted down by the order of Robespierre into a cannon, but in a marble version. In the 20th century, a cement copy of the statue was installed on the square, and the original was sent to the museum.
Not so long ago, the local buildings were cleared of age-old layers, the square took on the appearance of the beginning of the 17th century. A significant part of it is occupied by lush linden trees; chic shops are located along the perimeter.
