Place Bellecour, Lyon by sandra46

Photography • Architecture • posted on Mar 15, 2010

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Description

Place Bellecour is one of the largest squares in Europe. It is located between the rivers Rhone and Saone and it's really huge.Right in the center of the square you will find the statue of King Luis XIV on horseback created by the French sculptor, Francois Lemot.Another statue, representing the Petit Prince and Antoine de Saint-Exupery, is located at the west end of the square.This square forms the focal centre point of the city. In the backgroung there's a Ferris Wheel, but it isn't as famous as those in Vienna and London. During the French Revolution, Lyon rose up against the National Convention and supported the Girondins. In 1793, the city was under siege for over two months, assaulted by the Revolutionary armies, before eventually surrendering. Several buildings were destroyed, especially around the Place Bellecour.A guillotine was installed here, and more than 2,000 people were beheaded. A decade later, Napoleon himself ordered the reconstruction of all the buildings demolished during this period.The square was named Place Bonaparte, then Place Napoleon. During the Bourbon Restoration, in 1825, a new statue of Louis XIV was erected.It was only under the French Third Republic that the place took its current name, Place Bellecour. It was a return to the past: in fact, its 12th-century Latin name was Bella curtis (Beau jardin, in French)because here the archbishop of Lyon had a vineyard. Thank you for your kind comments.