The statue of Lille
The northern stronghold of French Flanders — a fortified city of art and industry, the gateway to the North.
Among the eight monumental statues that crown the corners of Place de la Concorde, each representing a great French city as a seated woman wearing a mural crown, Lille was carved between 1836 and 1840 for the redesign of the square under King Louis-Philippe, led by the architect Jacques-Ignace Hittorff.
History & sculptor
Lille stands on the northern edge of the square, toward Flanders and the frontier of the North. Like Strasbourg, she was entrusted to James Pradier (1790–1852), one of the most celebrated sculptors of the July Monarchy, who gave his cities a serene, classical grandeur beneath their crown of towers.
A woman for a city
Like her seven sisters, Lille is a woman: the allegory of the city as a protective, sovereign figure. The mural crown she wears — a diadem shaped like city walls and towers — has symbolised a fortified city since Antiquity. She was placed on the north-east side of the square, turned toward her own region of France.
For the family behind VisitParis08.com, the statue of Lille carries a personal story. The city of Lille is associated in our family with Clotilde d'Orléans, of the House of Orléans — the royal line of King Louis-Philippe, under whom these eight statues were raised.
Descended from Marguerite de Navarre, Clotilde d'Orléans is remembered in our family as the twice-great-grandmother of our friend Johannes von Thurn und Taxis — a thread linking this northern city to one of Europe's great families.
- 🏛️City representedLille
- ⛏SculptorJames Pradier (1790–1852)
- 📅Period1836–1840 · reign of Louis-Philippe
- 📍LocationNorth-east side of Place de la Concorde, 75008 Paris
- 👑AttributeMural crown — emblem of a fortified city
- 🌐Part of
The eight statues on Place de la Concorde
The map is centred on the Luxor Obelisk so you can take in all eight city statues at once — the one you are viewing, Lille, is marked in red.