Lion de Denfert (Le)

A sculpture by Bartholdi

Address:

Place Denfert-Rochereau - 75848 Cedex 17
75014 - 14th Arrondissement
Paris

Nearest Bus or Train:

Denfert-Rochereau

Open Hours:

Not available

Place Denfert-Rochereau, located at the intersection of Avenue du Général Leclerc, Boulevard Raspail, Boulevard Arago and Boulevard Saint-Jacques, is named after a colonel who led the French troops in defending the city of Belfort against Prussian attacks during the War of 1870. In the middle of the square sits a big bronze lion, a replica of the huge Lion de Belfort (Lion of Belfort) sculpted in 1880 by Auguste Bartholdi, father of the Statue of Liberty. The original work - a tribute to the French troops' courage - was carved directly into a mountainside in Belfort. The artist himself did the replica. A medallion representing Colonel Denfert-Rochereau was added to the lion's pedestal in the 1970s.

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