Louis XIV Victory Monument

In 1678, the Duke of La Feuillade, wanting to earn the favor of Louis XIV, commissioned a statue in his honor. The work was created by the sculptor Martin Desjardins, and depicts King Louis XIV standing, dressed in classical attire, crowned with a laurel wreath and crushing his chained enemies depicted on the base. The monument was inaugurated in 1686 at Place des Victoires, celebrating the military victories of the absolute king in Europe (Treaties of Nijmegen) and in France, with the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which in 1685 abolished the freedom of worship granted to the Protestant minority in France. It was located near the Basilica of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires in Paris, built following a vow by Louis XIII during the Siege of La Rochelle (1627-1628) to suppress the Protestant stronghold.

During the French Revolution, on the day of August 10, 1792, the statue of the monarch was toppled. It was melted down to produce cannons. The statues on the base, with the four chained captives, were preserved and are now displayed at the Louvre Museum (Puget courtyard). The monument was replaced by a wooden pyramid bearing the names of the citizens who died on that day.

According to legend, Napoleon I gave the wood of the pyramid to a guardhouse, which used it for heating. In 1810, a statue of General Desaix was erected in the center of the square. He is depicted naked, like an ancient hero.

During the Restoration under Louis XVIII, the bronze of the revolutionary general was melted down to remake the equestrian statue of Henry IV on the Pont Neuf, also toppled during the Revolution. It was inaugurated in 1818.

The current statue was inaugurated on August 15, 1822, during the Catholic feast of the Assumption. It is the work of François-Joseph Bosio, cast by Auguste-Jean-Marie Carbonneaux (1769-1843).

For the posture of the rider and horse, the sculptor drew inspiration from the famous Bronze Horseman by Falconet depicting Tsar Peter the Great in St. Petersburg. The sculpture was restored in 2005.

The monument consists of a bronze equestrian statue depicting the King of France, Louis XIV, dressed in the manner of a Roman emperor, mounted on a rearing horse. This group rests on a pedestal designed by the architect Jean-Antoine Alavoine, adorned on its dexter and sinister sides with two bronze bas-reliefs, "The Crossing of the Rhine" and "The Establishment of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis in 1693," crafted by François-Joseph Bosio.