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Column of the Grande Armée

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365: 804: 290: 1387: 31: 1396: 252:"What gave the chance to discover this marble was this column that the troops of the camp de Saint-Omer voted to be erected to the glory of the Emperor at Boulogne, on the sea edge, after a great victory; then they searched to find the right materials and after several searches, Monsieur Piron discovered this marble" 377:
he gathered 10,000 troops on the Boulogne coast and held a major troop review in the famous Terlincthun valley and plain on 30 September 1854 before the newly restored stela or "pierre napoléone" of the monument to the Légion d'honneur (inaugurated by Boulogne's société d'agriculture et des arts on 3
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to Paris on 15 December 1840 and exhibited on the banks of the Seine, leaving Paris for Wimille on 21 July 1841. It arrived at the Column amidst great celebration on 26 July - old soldiers were seen to weep and touch the statue's hands - and placed on its top by the future Napoleon III on 15 August
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informed the emperor of the army's wish to erect such a column and for its site the town of Boulogne bought the estate of the old royalist, the widow Delahodde-Fourcroy, who reluctantly ceded her field for a monument to the man she called "the usurper". The commission created for its construction
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on 16 August 1804 and left Boulogne, work on the column became slow and erratic. On 3 December 1811, with the statue and bas-reliefs still waiting in Paris and the column having reached only 20 of its planned 50 metres, the building site had to close since the project had run out of funds and was
413:, a troop detachment and a large crowd. The column's top was struck by lightning on 19 November 1999 (causing very severe cracks and the fall of some blocks of marble, though the statue survived) and again 2002. The restoration is now complete making it possible once again to climb the Column. 269:
140,000 francs in debt (1 million francs had already been used up, and another million would be spent before completion). Work stopped completely in 1814 on Napoleon's fall and the statues and bas-reliefs were broken up and melted down with the bronze of the Napoleon statue from the
329:, having not seen the column since 1805. In a failed coup of 1840 Louis-Napoleon landed a small body of his supporters at Boulogne, and ended up taking refuge in the park around the column and raising the imperial flag atop it, before fleeing to the beach, where he was arrested. 421:
There is a pavilion to either side of the statue's base, and in the right-hand one is a free museum, housing the 1841 statue, now restored. The bas-relief on one side of the base, by Bra, shows the presentation of the plans for the column to Napoleon by Soult, with
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on 31 March 1905 and survived the First World War intact. The column and the 1841 statue were seriously damaged by bombing in 1944, with the park around the column being turned into a German naval cemetery (with burials including that of
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Napoleon III and his empress arrived at Boulogne on 27 September 1853 and he immediately gave orders to build an avenue leading up to the column (though this was demolished in the 1970s). In anticipation of the
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Work restarted in 1819 when the minister of the interior allocated it 30,000 francs, with additional credits granted in 1820. The platform on the top was put in place in 1821 and a royal globe crowned with
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Le site du Général Schmitz, général premier empire vous présente la ville de Wimille, connue pour la colonne de la Grande Armée (premier empire), ville de la Côte d'Opale, dans le Pas-de-Calais.
244:, year 13 (9 October 1804), amidst great festivities and awards of decorations. The stone was sourced from local Marquis marble. The descriptions by C.P. Brard (1808) of the marbles of the 943: 237:
for the bas-reliefs, and the army, flotilla, soldiers, sailors and sous-officiers all gave a half-day's pay to the project (with the officers giving a full day's pay) once a month.
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In the meantime Bosio's statue of Napoleon in his coronation costume (costing 60,000 francs and weighing 7,500 kilos) was completed in time for the
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behind Soult. The bas relief on the other side, by Lemaire, shows the first award of the Légion d'honneur on 16 August 1804, and also shows Soult,
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in the presence of 50,000 people, with a special medallion being cast for the occasion (though the bas-reliefs were not added until 1843).
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on 28 August 1841 noted that the new statue had "been turned, by design or accident, with its back to England" and commented:
1428: 599: 306:, in 1831 the column was voted 10,000 francs for maintenance, the crown was removed and the fleurs de lys replaced by stars. 1290: 466:
In the 1821 edition, this phrase was changed to "their chief", or "leur chef", which was politically correct at that time.
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new bas-reliefs - and in June that year marshal Soult was officially received at the column by the Boulogne
938: 860: 409:). The new statue and the completed restoration works were inaugurated on 24 June 1962, in the presence of 1065: 981: 309:
In 1831 the column was first named the Column of the Grande Armée and (also that year) it was climbed by
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December 1809, vandalised by ultra-royalists in 1815 and reinaugurated on 24 October 1830).
1059: 926: 213: 1083: 450:, and the base is surrounded by railings decorated with the golden French Imperial eagle. 8: 1362: 1112: 894: 832: 691: 388: 206: 205:(an invasion that never occurred), but it now commemorates the first distribution of the 540:"The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tragedy Of St. Helena, by Sir Walter Runciman, Bart" 1369: 1356: 1350: 1335: 1300: 1285: 1199: 1134: 1095: 911: 884: 783: 731: 702: 507: 278: 177: 1390: 1155: 1107: 1047: 1020: 1002: 957: 788: 644: 410: 1009: 933: 1323: 1265: 1189: 1025: 900: 837: 765: 760: 752: 401:, in 1944). The original statue was replaced by a 4.75m high statue of Napoleon in 339: 185: 169: 322: 289: 270: 1340: 1234: 1177: 1172: 1129: 1071: 873: 865: 793: 770: 443: 303: 217: 157: 726: 394: 302:
and a royal crown placed on top of that in 1823. After the regime change of the
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Colonne de la Grande Armée à Wimille en NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS / PICARDIE
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Colonne de la Grande Armée à Wimille - Centre des monuments nationaux
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was charged with casting a new statue of the emperor and Lemaire and
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and other triumphal columns in Rome) on the Rue Napoleon in
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The Column of the Grande Armée, with its flanking pavilions
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In the 1808 edition he adds that Monsieur Piron then
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The column was intended to commemorate a successful
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In 1838 it was decided to complete the works - 1410: 1459:Monuments of the Centre des monuments nationaux 368:The top of the Column of the Grande Armée today 652: 240:The first stone was put in place by Soult on 1434:Monuments and memorials in the Pas-de-Calais 659: 645: 29: 363: 288: 1419:Columns related to the Napoleonic Wars 1411: 890:Planned invasion of the United Kingdom 1444:Military history of the Pas-de-Calais 640: 355:His back still turned upon that land 1395: 508:"Napoleon III A Great Life In Brief" 264:After the invasion force became the 248:includes the following quotation: 1449:Neoclassical architecture in France 145:https://www.colonne-grande-armee.fr 13: 1032:French campaign in Egypt and Syria 313:and her son Louis-Napoléon (later 14: 1470: 1331:"China is a sleeping giant" quote 573: 495:Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne 1394: 1386: 1385: 802: 492:A costume also seen in Ingres's 246:Département of the Pas-de-Calais 1273:Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker 381: 347:Upon its lofty column's stand, 561:This page is a translation of 532: 514: 500: 486: 469: 460: 416: 212:at the "camp de Boulogne", by 1: 453: 1429:Monumental columns in France 666: 284: 7: 1066:War of the Fourth Coalition 10: 1475: 1424:National symbols of France 1375:Symphony No. 3 (Beethoven) 1240:Column of the Grande Armée 1102:War of the Sixth Coalition 1078:War of the Fifth Coalition 1054:War of the Third Coalition 563:Colonne de la grande Armée 554: 386:The column was declared a 334:return of Napoleon's ashes 196: 191: 162:Colonne de la grande Armée 154:Column of the Grande Armée 23:Colonne de la Grande Armée 17:Column of the Grande Armée 1383: 1299: 1227: 1205:Saint-Domingue expedition 1143: 1090:French invasion of Russia 991:French Revolutionary Wars 980: 811: 800: 701: 674: 350:Napoleon takes his place; 140: 130: 122: 114: 106: 98: 90: 82: 72: 62: 44: 40: 28: 21: 1118:Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube 714:Joséphine de Beauharnais 623:50.7411889°N 1.6183333°E 358:That never saw his face. 1250:Palace of Fontainebleau 522:"Punch, 28 August 1841" 216:to the soldiers of the 1454:Sculptures of Napoleon 1038:Battle of the Pyramids 843:Assassination attempts 745:Carlo Maria Buonaparte 369: 294: 225:took on the architect 628:50.7411889; 1.6183333 528:on February 17, 2012. 480:www.geologie-info.com 448:Jean-Guillaume Moitte 440:archbishop of Cambrai 367: 319:François Joseph Bosio 292: 235:Jean Guillaume Moitte 168:) is a 53 metre high 102:13,000 (in 2022) 1060:Battle of Austerlitz 917:Weaponry and warfare 271:Place Vendôme column 229:, the bronze-caster 227:Étienne-Éloi Labarre 115:Completion date 67:Étienne-Éloi Labarre 1319:Cultural depictions 1113:Battle of Vauchamps 833:Coup of 18 Brumaire 692:First French Empire 619: /  389:monument historique 203:invasion of England 107:Beginning date 18: 1357:Retour des cendres 1336:German Romanticism 1286:Rue de la Victoire 1200:Law of 20 May 1802 1135:Battle of Waterloo 1096:Battle of Borodino 784:Caroline Bonaparte 732:Alexandre Walewski 370: 295: 279:Henry IV of France 16: 1406: 1405: 1301:Legacy and memory 1245:Equestrian statue 1228:Homes and honours 1156:Concordat of 1801 1108:Battle of Leipzig 1084:Battle of Eckmühl 1048:Battle of Marengo 1021:Battle of Bassano 1003:French Revolution 885:Sale of Louisiana 789:Pauline Bonaparte 544:www.gutenberg.org 426:beside Soult and 411:Charles de Gaulle 397:, son of admiral 166:Colonne Napoléone 150: 149: 131:Dedicated to 123:Opening date 1466: 1439:Boulogne-sur-Mer 1398: 1397: 1389: 1388: 1324:Napoleon complex 1266:Maison Bonaparte 1220: 1190:Organic Articles 1026:Battle of Rivoli 982:Battles and wars 966: 952: 901:Mesures usuelles 829: 806: 776:Jérôme Bonaparte 766:Lucien Bonaparte 761:Joseph Bonaparte 753:Letizia Ramolino 661: 654: 647: 638: 637: 634: 633: 631: 630: 629: 624: 620: 617: 616: 615: 612: 600:62-Pas-de-Calais 580:Official website 567:French Knowledge 548: 547: 536: 530: 529: 524:. 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Index


Wimille
Pas-de-Calais
France
Étienne-Éloi Labarre
Victory column
Grande Armée
https://www.colonne-grande-armee.fr
French
Corinthian order
column
Trajan's Column
Wimille
Boulogne-sur-Mer
invasion of England
Imperial
Légion d'honneur
Napoleon
Army of England
Marshal Soult
Étienne-Éloi Labarre
Houdon
Jean Guillaume Moitte
18 Brumaire
Département of the Pas-de-Calais
Grande Armée
Place Vendôme column
Pont Neuf
Henry IV of France

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