Philatelic Photograph: Place de la Concorde - Paris, France

Interesing Places I've Photographed

Place de la Concorde

Paris, France

Topic: Philatelic Photographs

South Fountain and the Obelisk of Luxor

Obelisk of Luxor

GPS: N48° 51.890; E002° 19.230

Quick Description: 

The Place de la Concorde is located at the east end of the Champs-Élysées. It is the largest public square in Paris.

Long Description:

The stamp and the photograph depict the Place de la Concorde as seen looking north with the Pont de la Concorde behind you. In the foreground are the south fountain and the Obelisk of Luxor. In the background are the Hôtel de Crillon, the Rue Royal leading to the Church of the Madeleine, and the Hôtel de la Marine. The Place de la Concorde was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel in 1755 to separate the Champs-Élysées to the west and the Tuileries Garden to the east.

There are two similar fountains in the Place de la Concorde both were constructed during the time of King Louis-Philippe. They were designed by Jacques Ignace Hittorff, and based on the fountains of Italy. Both fountains have a stone basin with six naiads holding fish that spout water, six seated allegorical figures with their feet on the prows of ships support the pedestal. Four statues above represent of different areas of the arts. The north fountain represents the European rivers the Rhone and the Rhine. The south fountain, shown here, is closer to the Seine and represented the Atlantic and the Mediterranean seas. The statues of the arts represented astronomy, navigation and commerce.

The Obelisk of Luxor is located between the fountains. This Egyptian obelisk was once located at the entrance to the Luxor Temple in Egypt. It is decorated with hieroglyphics dating from the reign of the pharaoh Ramesses II. It was given by the Egyptian government to the French in 1829 and arrived in Paris on December 21, 1833. On October 25, 1836, King Louis Philippe had it placed in the center of Place de la Concorde. The obelisk is made of yellow granite, is 75' high, and weighs over 250 metric tons.

In the background, to the north, are two buildings separated by the Rue Royal. The western building is the Hôtel de Crillon and the eastern building houses the French Naval Ministry. Deep in the background at the end of the Rue Royal is the Church of the Madeleine.

The stamp was issued by France in 1947 as part of a four stamp set to commemorate the 12th Congress of Universal Postal Union in Paris from May 7 to July 7, 1947.