Jill
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Member # 3096
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posted 06-26-2006 02:40 AM
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The site of his execution:
http://www.crusader.org.uk/jdm/index.html"For a long time the western tip of the Ile de la Cite gave way to a muddy marshy area broken by the river currents.
In 1314 Philip le Bel had a stake errected on one of the mounds of ground for the Grand Master of the Order of the Templars, Jacques de Molay, watching him burn from his palace window.
At the end of the 16C Henri III decided to reorganise this untidy no-mans-land: the mud ditches were in-filled consolidating the patches of solid ground, a great earth bank was amassed to support the future Pont Neuf, and the south bank was raised by some 6m - 20ft. By about 1580 the new terrain was ready for the developers.
In 1607 Henri IV ceded the land between the Conciergerie and the Pont Neuf for a triangular square to be built. The Square ('Place Dauphine') was named after the Dauphin, in honour of the future Louis XIII.
Down the stairs behind the Henri IV statue is the 'Square du Vert-Gallant'. This serene stretch of green, below the hum of traffic, is at its natural ground level, before the land was build up by Henri III. It's name derives from the nickname given to Henri IV, alluding to his reputation as an amorous gentleman despite his age!"
(Michelin Green Guide to Paris)
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Posts: 112 | From: the Midwest | Registered: May 2006
