Parks

Grand Rond

Toulouse

Grand Rond is a public garden in Toulouse, France, located southeast of the city center. It was constructed between 1752 and 1754 as part of a large urban project launched by Louis de Mondran in the 1750s. The project was accepted by the Capitouls and completed in 1754. In its original form, the garden had an oval layout with six alleys radiating from the center, each 10 meters wide. Today, it is described as a large roundabout shape with five main avenues: Jules-Guesde, Forain-François-Verdier, Paul-Sabatier, des Soupirs, and Frédéric-Mistral. Covering 4 hectares, it was later transformed into an English garden style. Grand Rond also includes several notable features and artworks, among them wrought iron gates dating from 1785, a Wallace fountain, sculptures by Pierre Louis Rouillard, Antonin Mercié, Alexandre Falguière, Léo Laporte-Blairsy, James Colomina, and the monument to Lucien Mengaud.

Map showing the location of Grand Rond in Toulouse
Location of Grand Rond in Toulouse

Nearby Objects

Layout and Historical Development

Grand Rond is a public garden in Toulouse, France, located southeast of the city center. It was constructed between 1752 and 1754 and covers an area of 4 hectares. The garden has a large roundabout shape and is organised around five main avenues: Jules-Guesde, Forain-Francois-Verdier, Paul-Sabatier, des Soupirs, and Frederic-Mistral. At an unspecified time, it was transformed into an English garden style, adding another layer to its design history.

Layout and Sculptural Features

Grand Rond was part of a large urban project launched by Louis de Mondran in the 1750s. The Capitouls accepted the project, and the work was completed in 1754. At that time, Grand Rond had an oval shape with six alleys, each 10 meters wide, radiating from the square. Its entrance is marked by wrought iron gates dating from 1785, which were originally installed at cours Dillon and are registered in the Palissy database.

The site also contains a notable group of sculptures and public installations. At the opening of the north side alley, Pierre Louis Rouillard placed La Chienne enchainee with her puppies and La louve with a stolen puppy, shown facing each other. Other works at Grand Rond include L'attrape-Coeur by James Colomina, the Wallace fountain, the statue of the Toulouse poet Louis Vestrepain by Antonin Mercie, Vainqueur au combat de coqs by Alexandre Falguiere, David vainqueur de Goliath by Antonin Mercie, Le Reveil de Morphee by Leo Laporte-Blairsy, and the monument to Lucien Mengaud by Laspagin.