Über diesen Ort
Place Rihour is the sociable square that opens in front of the Palais Rihour, today lined with cafe terraces and busy with markets and events throughout the year. Its emotional centre is the Monument aux Morts, Lille's memorial to the dead of the First World War. The old town hall that once stood here burned down in 1916 while the city endured almost four full years of German occupation. When Lille came to honour its dead, the council chose in 1924 a design, unveiled in 1927, that was strikingly pacifist, dedicated to those who died for peace rather than for the fatherland. Sculpted by Edgar Boutry, it carries three allegorical figures, the Captives, the Refugee and Peace, along with reliefs of exhausted soldiers and civilians bowed under occupation, a sober reflection of what this northern city actually lived through.
Wissenswertes
- 1927 year — The Monument aux Morts was inaugurated on Place Rihour
- 1916 year — Fire destroyed the old town hall that stood on the square
- 3 figures — Allegories of the Captives, the Refugee and Peace adorn the memorial
📍 Place Rihour, 59800, Lille