Squares

Square of Liberation

Dijon

Square of Liberation, known as Place de la Libération, is a historic square in Dijon. It was designed as Place Royale by Jules Hardouin-Mansart between 1686 and 1689 on the site of a small Saint-Christophe square and older buildings near the dukes’ palace. The square was planned to display the equestrian statue of Louis XIV by Étienne Le Hongre, the ordinary sculptor of the King’s buildings at the height of his career. The statue was commissioned in 1686, completed shortly before Le Hongre’s death in 1690, and later installed on the square with its marble pedestal, completed in 1742. The square has undergone several name changes, becoming Place d’Armes in 1831, Place du Maréchal-Pétain in 1941, and Place de la Libération in September 1944. It was pedestrianized and redesigned in 2005–2006 by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, with a surface of Comblanchien stone and three fountains.

Map showing the location of Place de la Libération in Dijon
Location of Place de la Libération in Dijon

Nearby Objects

Design, Monument, and Renamings

Place Royale was designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart between 1686 and 1689 and built on the site of a small Saint-Christophe square and older buildings near the dukes' palace. It was intended to display the equestrian statue of Louis XIV by Etienne Le Hongre, who was the ordinary sculptor of the King's buildings at the height of his career. Commissioned in 1686 and completed shortly before Le Hongre's death in 1690, the statue weighed 26 tons. Its transport to Dijon began in 1692 but was stopped by poor roads, and it remained in Auxerre for twenty-seven years before reaching Dijon with the help of engineer Pierre Morin. The move required twenty pairs of oxen and cost 30,000 livres. The statue was inaugurated on Place Royale on an unspecified date, and its marble pedestal, about 8 meters high, was completed in 1742.

The square was renamed Place d'Armes in 1831 under the July Monarchy, for the second and final time. It later served as the site of the inauguration of the 1858 Dijon Universal Exhibition on May 5, 1858. In 1941, the Dijon municipality renamed it Place du Marechal-Petain, and in September 1944 it became Place de la Liberation after a debate between Gaullists and Communists. The square was pedestrianized and redesigned by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte in 2005-2006, including a new ground surface of Comblanchien stone and the installation of three fountains.