The "Grands Hommes"
is known to the people of Bordeaux
as "the Triangle", the
formed by the Allées de
Tourny, cours Clemenceau and cours
de l’Intendance. It was built
during the period of the revolution.
In 1789, the area was made up of convents:
the Récollets and the Jacobins
whose church, Saint-Dominique (Notre
Dame since the Concordat) was built
by Duplessy-Michel (1684-1707).
Bordeaux faced the revolution with relative
serenity, and after the requisition
of the clergy's belongings, found itself
with vast tracts of vacant land that
were used to remodel the quarter.
At that time, in July 1790, architects
such as Laclotte, Bonfin and Lhôte
made proposals for projects, although
none of them were selected. However,
the architect Chalifour who proposed
a compilation, undertook the works:
a circular central square with radiating
streets. The works (sales, demolition
of exiting convent buildings, creation
of streets) started around 1792, were
quickly stopped due to the Terror (1793-94)
and did not start again until 1797.
At the same time, the Sainte-Geneviève
Church in Paris became the Panthéon
des Grands Hommes. In Bordeaux, the
great minds responsible for the Revolution
were (Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaire).
Very few monuments were built during
this period: The Hôtel Meyer,
built in 1796 for the Consul of Hamburg,
and the Théâtre Français
(1800) by Dufart. |
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