Republic Square Paris

Place de la République sits at the junction of three Parisian districts and serves as a massive open stage for the city's political life. Before it became this grand pedestrian space, the site was defined by a practical, if unglamorous, purpose. In eighteen eleven, Napoleon Bonaparte installed a large fountain here called the Chateau d'Eau to celebrate the arrival of a new water supply for the city. This fountain was eventually removed to make way for urban modernization, and its original components were repurposed to water livestock at the La Villette slaughterhouses.