Sunset sur la Place de la Concorde à Paris - stock photo

Place de la Concorde, with 8.64 hectares, is the largest square in Paris. The name was selected by the Management Board to mark the reconciliation of the French after the excesses of the Terror. Place was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel in 1755 as an octagon bordered by the Champs Elysees and the Tuileries Gardens. Fountains, added by Hittorff are inspired by those of the Basilica of St. Peter's. The main feature of the Place de la Concorde is that it is limited by the "empty" on three sides (unlike most places that are surrounded by buildings on all sides): the Champs Elysées, the garden of Tuileries and the Seine. The Egyptian Obelisk of Luxor, 3300 years old (thirteenth century BC. AD), was transported to France in 1836, offered by Egypt in recognition of the role of the French Champollion was the first to translate hieroglyphs. The King Louis-Philippe had it placed in the center of the square at its layout by architect Hittorff. Top of 22.86 meters, the monolithic, pink granite of Syene, weighs 227 tonnes. It is built on a base of 9 meters and is topped with a golden capstone of more than three and a half meters. Hieroglyphics that cover celebrate the glory of the Pharaoh Ramses II. The top of this obelisk is topped with a capstone of more than 3.50 m, added in July 1998 as sharp qu'étincelant, made of bronze and gold leaf. It is intended to replace a previous summit ornament, carried away during invasions in the sixth century in Egypt. The obelisk is on the line of the Paris historical axis that runs from the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel at the Arch of Defense through the Tuileries Gardens and the Champs Elysees. The obelisk is also used as a gnomon sundial with roman numerals and lines are drawn on the ground with metal inlays in the coating of the center of the square.