Place Denfert-Rochereau: Place d’Enfer is a historical square that highlights monuments such as the Lion de Belfort, Farmers General Wall Toll houses, and the entrance to the Catacombs of Paris.
Place Denfert-Rochereau is one of the largest public squares on the left bank. It is located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris and was formally known as Place d’Enfer. The old name comes from the Rue d’Enfer, translated as Gate of Hell, which was changed to Rue Denfert-Rochereau.. Scholars speculate that the name refers to the general uneasiness associated with the area whose lowlife inhabitants included thieves and other unsavory characters. Others believe the name is associated with the iron door (en fer- iron) part of the Philip Augustus Wall.
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Named after the French commander Pierre Denfert-Rocheeau who organized the defense during the France-Prussian War at the Siege of Belfort, the Place dates back to the 18th century through a series of letters that refers to the site as being part of the old Farmers General Wall. The Wall of the Farmers General wall was authorized in 1782 by Charles Alexander de Calonne, the Finance Minister, and financed by the Farmers General, a syndicate of tax "farmers" or collectors who contracted with the government for the authority to collect taxes on behalf of the king. The wall had 47 gates and 16 toll houses that were built in order to oversee the collection of funds. Only four of the toll houses still stand today; these include, Rotonde de Monceau, Rotonde de la Villette, the Barriere du Trone, and the Barriere d’Enfer. These Toll Houses were stationed as a point of entry in and out of the city to collect import duties on goods entering into Paris. Opposition to these unpopular taxes in the 18th century helped fuel the French Revolution. The gate takes the name of Barriere d’Enfer and is comprised of two toll houses on the Avenue du Colonel-Henri-Roi-Tanguy designed by architect Claude Nicolas Ledoux and built in 1787. One of the two toll houses is currently the entrance to the catacombs. The other former toll house houses the Direction de la Voirie et des Deplacements (Directorate of Roads and Transport).
In the center of the Place Denfert-Rochereau stands a large bronze statue, the Lion de Belfort, by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi who is best known as the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty. In 1880, the statue was placed in the middle of a traffic circle. to commemorate the resistance against the Prussians during the Siege of Belfort led by Colonel Denfert-Rochereau. The Lion de Belfort symbolizes courage and opposition during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).
Place Denfert-Rochereau is located at the intersections of Boulevard Raspail, Boulevard Argo, and Boulevard Saint-Jacques. Currently, Place Denfert-Rochreau serves as a Paris metro stop and train station. Metro lines 4 and 6 lines are accessible here as well as the RER B line.
Files
Place Denfert-Rochereau avec la réplique du Lion de Belfort en son centre - Paris XIV
The Place Denfert-Rochereau highlighting the large traffic circle with the Lion de Belfort in the center. Here stands the one-third scale replica of the Lion de Belfort by Bartholi in 1880. The statue is inscribed: “A LA DEFENCE NATIONAL 1870-1871” commemorating the Franco-Prussian War. | Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23899148 | Date: unknown
Photo of Pierre Marie Philippe Aristide Denfert-Rochereau (1823-1878)
French officer and member of the French Parliament. Known as a leader of the French-Prussian War. | Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11007261 | Date: Unknown
Image of the Wall of the Farmers General.
The Wall of the Farmers General that is outlined in red marks the exterior of the city in the 18th century. This wall was built as a means to control goods that entered into the city of Paris. | Source: Rice, Howard C.; Thomas Jefferson's Paris; NJ, Princeton University Press | Date: 1989
The original Lion de Belfort
The original Lion de Belfort was sculpted by Bartholi from red sandstone. Located in Belfort, France, the statue is 22 meters long (72 feet long) and 11 meters high (36 feet high). | Source: ComputerHotline, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7348793 | Date: Unknown date.
Barrière d'Enfer, a former toll in Paris, before the French Revolution, Denfert-Rochereau square, Paris, France.
The toll houses are comprised of two buildings with the street running through the middle. The one situated to the left is the entrance to the Catacombs of Paris. These toll houses were once part of the Farmers General Wall. | Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8972326 | Date: Unknown date.