Obelisk in Place de la Concorde - Paris, France

The Place de la Concorde is the largest public square in Paris. Situated along the Seine in the 8th arrondissement, it separates the Tuileries Gardens from the beginning of theboulevard Champs-Elysées. Originally named Place Louis XV, the square was designed by Jacques-Ange Gabriel, Louis XV's architect, for the purpose of showcasing an equestrian statue of the King — which had been commissioned in 1748 by the city of Paris and sculpted by Edmé Bouchardon.

Construction of the square began in 1754 and was completed in 1763. It is actually in the shape of an octagon, and was once bordered by large moats which no longer exist. The square marks an intersection of two axes: The major axis is that of the Voie Triomphale (Triumphal Way) which extends east-to-west in a perfectly straight line from the former royal palace (now the Louvre Museum), past the Arc du Carrousel and through the Tuileries Gardens, up the Champs-Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe, and beyond — now culminating at the Grande Arche in the Paris suburb of La Défense. The second (minor) axis is formed by the line between Place de la Madeleine, down rue Royale through the square and across the Pont de la Concorde, culminating at the Palais Bourbon.

Several decades after its construction, this square was to serve as a focal point for the bloodiest political upheaval in the history of France: the French Revolution. When the hordes of revolutionaries seized power, they renamed the square Place de la Révolution, tore down the statue of Louis XV and replaced it with a guillotine. Between 1793 and 1795, more than 1300 people were beheaded in public executions, including Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Danton and Robespierre. It is said that the scent of blood was so strong here that a herd of cattle once refused to cross the grounds.

Following the Revolution, the square suffered a series of transformations and several changes of name: place de la Concorde, place Louis XV(again), place Louis XVI, place de la Chartre, and once again place de la Concorde — symbolizing the end of a troubled era and the hope for a better future.

Today, the open-air square still looks quite similar to the way it did in the 1700s, save the actual ground — which now consists of tarmac and cement. Supplanting the guillotine is the powerful Obelisk of Luxor, a pink granite monolith that was given to the French in 1829 by the viceroy of Egypt, Mehemet Ali. The edifice, which once marked the entrance to the Amon temple at Luxor, is more than 3,300 years old and is decorated with hieroglyphics portraying the reigns of the pharaohs Ramses II and Ramses III. Gilded images on the pedestal portray the monumental task of transporting the monolith to Paris and erecting it at the square. Installed in 1833, the Obelisk — weighing 230 tons and standing 22.83 meters (75 ft) high in the center of the Place — is flanked on both sides by two fountains constructed during the same period. Having survived more than 33 centuries, the Obelisk has suffered the greatest damage during the past half-century by air pollution from industry and motor vehicles.