Place des Quinconces

The Place des Quinconces, located in Bordeaux, France, is one of the largest city squares in Europe (approximately 31 acres or 126,000 m).

It was laid out in 1820 on the site of Château Trompette, intended to prevent rebellion against the city. The guns were turned towards the center. Its current shape (lengthened rectangle rounded off with a semicircle) was adopted in 1816. The trees were planted (in quincunxes, hence the name of the square) in 1818.

The two rostral columns (21 metres in height) facing the Garonne were erected by Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau in 1829. One of them symbolises commerce, while the other stands for navigation. The white-marble statues of Montaigne and Montesquieu (by sculptor Dominique Fortuné Maggesi) were added in 1858.