Place d'Armes (Metz)
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The Place d'Armes is the parade ground of the garrison town of Metz . The paved, rectangular square lies between St. Stephen's Cathedral and the town hall. It is an important testimony to urban life in the eighteenth century and was designed by Jacques-François Blondel as part of the town hall design as a center of power . Today the square is the urban center for festivities and gatherings of all kinds, the symbolic heart of the city.
Historical background - the four powers
Prince-bishop power in the diocese of Metz
The Gothic cathedral of Metz , as a bishop's church, has always symbolized the spiritual and religious center of the city and the diocese . The Bishop of Metz had sovereignty over the county of Metz and since 1065 also over the county of Saarbrücken. The independence of the city of Metz from 1189 and the loss of the county of Dagsburg significantly reduced the influence of the bishop. Bishop Bertram , who obtained his episcopate with the help of the emperor, formulated a charter called Grand Atour de Metz, with which he formally recognized the existence of a Metz commune.
Urban violence as an imperial city
Between 1180 and 1210 Metz became a free imperial city , created a territory, the Pays Messin , which rose to become the largest imperial city in terms of area in the 14th century.
Military violence
After the Treaty of Chambord in 1552, the King of France exercised his acquired imperial vicariate over the city through the interposition of a military governor, governor of the Trois-Évêchés , who he installed directly on site. The arrival of the French put an end to the spiritually determined period. The new power transformed the formerly religious city into a military bulwark against the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation .
Building history
The redesign of the Place d'Armes began in 1754 on behalf of Governor Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet de Belle-Isle . Louis XV demanded the creation of a place around which all powers were represented. The old square was enlarged by the demolition of the monastery buildings and the cloister on the left side of the cathedral. The Palace of the Thirteen (French: Palais des Treize ), seat of the medieval magistrate opposite the cathedral, was destroyed in 1765. The New Town Hall was completed in 1788.
During the French Revolution, the square was renamed the Place de la Loi in 1792 . It was dedicated to Napoleon in 1806 and renamed several times over the following years, depending on current political events. Colloquially it is most often called the Town Hall Square (French: Place de l'Hotel de Ville ), confirmed by a municipal decree of July 1, 1816. At the time of the German administration of the realm of Alsace-Lorraine , the functional name "Paradeplatz" was used.
architecture
On the long eastern side of the square is the Hôtel de ville de Metz , the town hall built by Blondel. The facade of the town hall runs parallel to the facade of the Gothic cathedral and was originally flanked by a low gallery with arcades, which should create the aesthetic unity of the place.
In the south, behind a regular facade, a parliament was planned as an emanation of the king's justice. Ultimately, there were houses and shops in the gallery that were set up in place of Parliament due to the French Revolution . A similar fate met the bishop's palace, which remained unfinished in the adjacent square. The Place de la Cathédrale , today Place Jean-Paul II , is one of three squares that make up Blondel's development plan. It is surrounded by a building that has been converted into a covered market hall.
On the opposite narrow side is the Hôtel du District, adorned with trophies on the gable . It housed the old main guard , the central military guard of the city, today "office de tourisme".
The square underwent a restoration in 1974, which consisted of a simple cleaning. In 2007 , the facades of the town hall and the office de tourisme were completely cleaned and a new lighting system was installed under the direction of the head architect for the preservation of monuments, Christophe Bottineau. This lighting project also included the bronze statue of Marshal of France Abraham de Fabert .
Individual evidence
- ^ Gallica - Plan of the area around the Saint-Étienne de Metz cathedral, 64 × 97.5 cm.
- ^ Gallica - François-Michel Chabert, Dictionnaire topographique, historique et étymologique des rues, places, ponts, et quais de la ville de Metz , 3e éd., Metz, 1878, 83 p.
Coordinates: 49 ° 7 ′ 11.2 ″ N , 6 ° 10 ′ 33.5 ″ E