Again, for the story, It took me a while , worse when you have family about an hour from the city. But often said, living and visiting are two different things . When in the area stay with family and this time again,however, did it in reverse order, when to see Lille and its sights, (stay tune for posts), and then went to see family. Therefore, let me tell you about the Grand Place et al of Lille !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The Place du Général-de-Gaulle aka Grand Place is the historic and main square of the city. Considered until the 21C as part of the forum cited in 1066 in the act of founding the Saint-Pierre Collegiate Church, the square would have originated from the desire of the city’s aldermen to make it a market, in the 14C. The Deûle is canalized, the ground is gradually raised by embankments, then paved to create a market square. In the 17C, the construction of the Commercial Exchange divided the square into Grand-Place and Petite-Place (currently Place du Théâtre). After the liberation of Lille during WWII, it was renamed in homage to Charles de Gaulle in September 1944. The square is locally called “Grand’Place” It is still the heart of the Braderie de Lille.
The square is bordered by various buildings; including the Théâtre du Nord (former Grande Garde) and the Vieille Bourse (former stock exchange). In the center of the square sits the Colonne de la Déese or column of the goddess.
The Vieille Bourse or Old Stock Exchange of Lille, so called since the construction right in front of the new Chamber of Commerce (or New Stock Exchange), is one of the city’s most prestigious monuments. Located between the Grand’Place and the Place du Théâtre, it is one of the witnesses to the intense economic activity that took place in Lille during the Grand Siècle. It was built in 1653. The Stock Exchange remained in operation until 1920, when the new Stock Exchange was inaugurated.
The Colonne de la Déese is a memorial column of the siege of 1792, commonly called the goddess column, has occupied the center of the square since 1845 to commemorate the city’s resistance to the Austrian siege of 1792, The first stone was laid on October 8, 1842; the statue was inaugurated three years later, on October 8, 1845. The statue with a wall crown symbolizes the city, which defends itself with a blaster in its hand.
The Grande Garde, built in 1717, to accommodate the royal guard corps. The facade of the building, of classical architecture, in white stone and sandstone. It has become the Théâtre du Nord, which is located at no. 4. Lille’s first theatre, the Comédie, was inaugurated in 1702. It had a permanent troupe and gave four weekly performances. In 1741, Voltaire attended the premiere of Mahomet there. Deemed insufficient, a larger building, the new comedy, was inaugurated in 1787, it was destroyed by fire in 1903. Today, the Théâtre du Nord, 4 Pl du Général de Gaulle a national dramatic center located on the Grand’Place, housed in a building erected in 1717 which then served as a guardhouse for the city garrison. Reorganized in 1989, it includes a large room, the Roger Salengro room, with around 460 seats, a small room with around a hundred seats and a rehearsal room.
More than two hundred years later, in 1936, on its right side was built the building of the local newspaper La Voix du Nord. The neo-Flemish style facade which features the coats of arms of the region’s main towns is topped by a bronze statue of the Three Graces symbolizing the three ancient provinces of the region: Flanders, Artois and Hainaut. Its ground floor houses a shopping gallery. It is located at number 8
The Grand Place as I always have call it is almost rectangular in shape, it measures 155 meters in length and 72 meters in width. Three sides form right angles between them, while the last is convex in shape with Rue Esquermoise. Place du Général-de-Gaulle is paved in a checkerboard pattern of blue granite from Lanhélin and pink granite from La Clarté, The square is accessible from rue des Manneliers exclusively. The passage for cars is now one way. Vehicles can exit via rue Esquermoise towards the northwest and via rue Nationale towards the southwest. For pedestrians, the main square is also accessible by these streets, but also by rue Neuve and by place Rihour to the south; by the streets of Sept-Agaches, of Petit-Paon and of the Bourse to the east and by the rue des Débris-Saint-Étienne to the north.
The bourgeois house at nos. 64-66 dates from 1455. Two hundred and twenty years later, the new owner completely razed it to rebuild it identically and modify its cellar. In 1828, a third floor was raised there then topped by a pediment with a sun. The date of construction of the Hôtel Bellevue is not known. The hotel hosted Mozart during his European tour in 1765. Located in an old bourgeois residence and accessible from rue Jean-Roisin, the hotel offers a view of the square, The Grand’Place was painted by François Watteau, known as Watteau de Lille. The painting named « The Procession of Lille « is exhibited at the Comtesse Hospice Museum (see post). In this painting, the Grand Guard is defended at the bottom by a row of horsemen in red uniforms and another of infantrymen on the first floor.
The Lille tourist office on the Grand Place:https://en.lilletourism.com/la-grand-place.html
The City of Lille on the Grand Place: https://www.lille.fr/Nos-equipements/La-Grand-Place
There you go folks, a dandy city of the Nord that is North of France. I was finally back to Lille and it was great with many family memories flashing but glad I did it now. Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Grand Place et al of Lille as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 