The Square of the Guillotine - Place de la Concorde
During the French Revolution this square, then called Place de la Revolution, was the main stage of the guillotine: King Louis the Sixteenth was beheaded here on 21 January 1793, Marie Antoinette on 16 October 1793, and more than 1,300 people in all before Robespierre himself was executed in July 1794 and the square was renamed Concorde in 1795.
Su questo luogo
Place de la Concorde is the largest square in Paris, a vast expanse of fountains and statues with a 3,000-year-old Egyptian obelisk at its heart. But its serene name hides the darkest chapter in the city's history. During the French Revolution it was renamed Place de la Revolution, and the guillotine was set up here as an instrument of state. On 21 January 1793 King Louis the Sixteenth was executed on this ground before a huge crowd, and his queen, Marie Antoinette, followed on 16 October of the same year. Through the Reign of Terror the blade fell again and again, taking more than 1,300 lives on this square alone, until the Terror consumed its own architect, Maximilien Robespierre, in July 1794. In 1795 the square was given the name Concorde, meaning harmony, in a deliberate effort to bury the memory of what had happened here.
Fatti principali
- 1300 people executed — More than 1,300 people were guillotined on this square during the Revolution.
- 1793 year — King Louis the Sixteenth was beheaded here on 21 January 1793 and Marie Antoinette on 16 October 1793.
- 1795 year — The square was renamed Place de la Concorde, meaning harmony, to move past its violent past.
📍 Paris 8e Arrondissement, 75008, Paris