Square Dode de la Brunerie

The Square Dode de la Brunerie is a small, quiet green space pressed against the stone wall of the former Thiers Wall, the fortification that once encircled Paris. It is named for Guillaume Dode de la Brunerie, a general and engineer who served under Napoleon. A bronze bust of the general sits inside the square, peering out toward the traffic. He oversaw the construction of these very fortifications in the nineteenth century, a project intended to defend the city that ultimately became its boundary.