Place Denfert-Rochereau
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2015) ) |
Length | 220 m (720 ft) |
---|---|
Width | 145 m (476 ft) |
Arrondissement | XIV |
Quarter | Montparnasse Petit Montrouge |
Coordinates | 48°50′3.66″N 2°19′56.62″E / 48.8343500°N 2.3323944°E |
Construction | |
Completion | 1863 |
Denomination | 1879 |
Place Denfert-Rochereau, previously known as Place d'Enfer, is a public square located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, France, in the Montparnasse district, at the intersection of the boulevards Raspail, Arago, and Saint-Jacques, and the avenues René Coty, Général Leclerc, and Denfert-Rochereau [fr], as well as the streets Froidevaux, Victor-Considérant and de Grancey. It is one of the largest and most important squares on the left bank of the Seine.
The square is named after
The square is the location of the
History
- "How did those children come there? Perhaps they had escaped from some guardhouse which stood ajar; perhaps in the vicinity, at the barrière d'Enfer, or on the esplanade de l'Observatoire, or in the neighboring carrefour, dominated by the pediment on which could be read: invenerunt parvulum pannis involutum ["they discovered the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes"], there was some mountebank's booth from which they had fled […]."
Here, astride the opening in the wall, the architect Claude Nicolas Ledoux constructed two tollhouses to be used for the collection of the octroi, a local tariff levied on products entering Paris. At the center of the present square, these two pavilions once framed the opening in the wall, and now, oddly, the entrance to the underworld of the catacombs lies next to the western one of them, the pavilion at the barrière d'Enfer ("barrier of Hell").
Former name
Traditionally called by the rather unattractive name of Place d’Enfer (Place of Hell), the square had the name of Denfert-Rochereau ascribed to it through a sort of "municipal pun". The Franco-Prussian War had demoralized the French populace, and there was widespread damage all over northeastern France and to Paris itself. Anxious to put a positive spin on the defeat, the French authorities were looking for heroes to glorify. (At this time, for example, the village of Bitche, located near the German border on the Orne, had a Parisian square named for it because it had put up a spirited defense against the Prussians).
Denfert-Rochereau was a courageous man and an authentic hero, but whether his grandiose nickname, "The Lion of Belfort", was deserved is a matter of some debate. Nonetheless, since "Denfert" (of Denfert-Rochereau) is pronounced exactly the same as "d'Enfer" (of Place d'Enfer), this coincidence was too perfect for the mairie (city hall) to ignore. They renamed the square Place Denfert-Rochereau, and they could plausibly deny that they were ignoring Paris's ancient traditions in so doing. The name has remained Place Denfert-Rochereau ever since.
Places of interest
The main square, Place Denfert-Rochereau, is planted with trees, mostly
The section of the main north–south boulevard running through the centre of the square is named for French Resistance leader Henri Rol-Tanguy. It is just one block in length, and connects the Avenue Denfert-Rochereau in the north to the Avenue General Leclerc in the south. The entrance to the
Metro station
The Place Denfert-Rochereau is served by lines
It is also served by the
, the entrance to which is to the east of the square.The Place is the Paris terminus of Orlybus, the RATP shuttle bus service between the city and Orly Airport.
Notes
References
External links
- In the neighborhood of the Place Denfert-Rochereau Illustrations of the 14th arrondissement
- Place Denfert-Rochereau The official nomenclature concerning public roads, etc. in Paris
- Le Lion de Belfort Photos from 1900