The July Column (French: Colonne de Juillet) is a monument in Paris, France, located in the Place de la Bastille. Designed by the architect Jean-Antoine Alavoine and constructed by Joseph-Louis Duc, the monument was inaugurated on 28 July 1840. It stands 47 meters high and is composed of twenty-one cast bronze drums, resting on a base of white marble ornamented with bronze bas-reliefs, including a noted lion by Antoine-Louis Barye.
In the foundation of the monument, a columbarium was arranged to receive the remains of 615 victims of the July Revolution. A further 200 victims of the Revolution of 1848 were later interred in the space. The column is engraved in gold with the names of those who died during the July 1830 revolution.
The sculpture includes roosters by Barye at the corners and is topped with a gallery surmounted by a gilded globe and a colossal gilded figure, Augustin's Génie de la Liberté, the "Spirit of Freedom." This star-crowned nude figure brandishes the torch of civilisation and the remains of his broken chains. The July Column is a historic monument with an official website and images available online via Insecula.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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