| Revision as of 00:38, 24 November 2006 editJohn Broughton (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers35,683 edits Changing to redirect to Lille; some info was already there and remaining info from this article was added to that one.← Previous edit | Revision as of 10:05, 24 November 2006 edit undoClodomir17 (talk | contribs)349 edits Rebuild as an article of its ownNext edit → | ||
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| The '''Column of the Goddess''' is the popular name given by the citizens of ] (]) to the '''Memorial of the siege of 1792'''. | |||
| #REDIRECT ] | |||
| The siege of september ] was one of the many battles fought during the ]. An austrian army besieged the city of ]. For nine days and nights, the Austrians bombarded the city without intermission, but had ultimately to raise the siege. They had, in the meantime, destroyed many houses and the main church (Saint-Etienne) of the city, which was on the Grand' Place (today place du Général de Gaulle). The church was never to be re-builded and the Grand' Place of Lille is still one of the few central places without either a church or a belfry (unlike similar cities such as ], ]...). | |||
| Although historians now agree that the siege of ] in ] was, from a purely military perspective, not a significant event, it was considered as a major event of the history of the city by its inhabitants. | |||
| Some fifty years later, the local authorities became aware that nothing had been maid to commemorate the 50th birthday of this event. They decided the buiding of a memorial, just in time to lay the first stone in september 1842, but it was not before ] that the memorial was finished. | |||
| The memorial consists of a column topped by a statue. The column was designed by the architect Charles Benvignat, while the statue came form the scissors of Theophile Bra, a sculptor particularly tormented and utopian. The statue is an allegory of the besieged city, with the walls of the city as a crown. | |||
| The statue has been nicknamed the ''Goddess'' by the inhabitants of Lille soon after the erection of the memorial, as some local poems suggest. | |||
| The memorial is still in the center of the ''Grand' Place'' (central place) of ], and is surrounded by a fountain since around 1990. | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 10:05, 24 November 2006
The Column of the Goddess is the popular name given by the citizens of Lille (France) to the Memorial of the siege of 1792.
The siege of september 1792 was one of the many battles fought during the French Revolution. An austrian army besieged the city of Lille. For nine days and nights, the Austrians bombarded the city without intermission, but had ultimately to raise the siege. They had, in the meantime, destroyed many houses and the main church (Saint-Etienne) of the city, which was on the Grand' Place (today place du Général de Gaulle). The church was never to be re-builded and the Grand' Place of Lille is still one of the few central places without either a church or a belfry (unlike similar cities such as Bruges, Brussels...).
Although historians now agree that the siege of Lille in 1792 was, from a purely military perspective, not a significant event, it was considered as a major event of the history of the city by its inhabitants.
Some fifty years later, the local authorities became aware that nothing had been maid to commemorate the 50th birthday of this event. They decided the buiding of a memorial, just in time to lay the first stone in september 1842, but it was not before 1845 that the memorial was finished.
The memorial consists of a column topped by a statue. The column was designed by the architect Charles Benvignat, while the statue came form the scissors of Theophile Bra, a sculptor particularly tormented and utopian. The statue is an allegory of the besieged city, with the walls of the city as a crown.
The statue has been nicknamed the Goddess by the inhabitants of Lille soon after the erection of the memorial, as some local poems suggest.
The memorial is still in the center of the Grand' Place (central place) of Lille, and is surrounded by a fountain since around 1990.
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