Place Vendôme’s formal façades and central column project an image of royal order, yet the square has repeatedly reflected political change. Designed at the end of the seventeenth century, it later became the revolutionary Place des Piques.
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The uniform façades around Place Vendôme were part of a planned royal image. Architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart designed the square in 1699, and its controlled architecture was intended to provide a grand setting for the monarchy. But the square’s name changed as political power shifted.
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UpgradeQuick facts
- Jules Hardouin-Mansart designed the square in 1699.
- The square was called Place des Piques from 1793 during the Revolution.
- The Vendôme Column was erected in 1810.
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