PLACE ROYALE/KING'S SQUARE

After being successively named Place de la Cour, Place de Lorraine and Place Impériale, the square took the name of Place Royale despite the fact that no king had ever actually lived there. The square, notable for the symmetry of its architecture, is a typical example of the Louis XVI style, somewhat severe, of the neo-classicism of the 18th century and a style that took over from its baroque counterpart. When closed off, the rectangular courtyard allowed large deployments of corteges and equipment and enabled courtiers to move about easily. The centre of the square is dominated by the statue of Godefroid de Bouillon which, in 1848, replaced the "Liberty Tree" planted by French revolutionaries in 1794 on the site where the statue of Charles de Lorraine had once stood.

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