The Champ de Mars (French pronunciation: [ʃɑ̃ də maʁs]; English: Field of Mars) is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh arrondissement, between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the Campus Martius ("Mars Field") in Rome, a tribute to the Roman god of war. The name alludes to the fact that the lawns here were formerly used as drilling and marching grounds by the French military.
View southeast from the top level of the Eiffel Tower, down the Champ de Mars, with the Tour Montparnasse (Montparnasse Tower) in the distance. The École Militaire is one third down from the top of the picture.
Originally, the Champ de Mars was part of a large flat open area called Grenelle, which was reserved for market gardening. Citizens would claim small plots and exploit them by growing fruits, vegetables, and flowers for the local market. However, the plain of Grenelle was not an especially fertile place for farming.
The construction, in 1765, of the École Militaire designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, was the first step toward the Champ de Mars in its present form. Grounds for military drills were originally planned for an area south of the school, the current location of the place de Fontenoy. The choice to build an esplanade to the north of the school led to the erection of the noble facade which today encloses the Champ de Mars. The planners leveled the ground, surrounded it with a large ditch and a long avenue of elms, and, as a final touch, the esplanade was enclosed by a fine grille-work fence.
The Isle of Swans, formerly a riverine islet at the location of the northeastern foot of the Eiffel Tower, was, for the sake of symmetry and pleasing perspectives, attached to the shore. (Note that the Isle of Swans discussed here should not be confused with the Isle of Swans that sits in the middle of the Seine downstream and around the next bend in the river, between the fifteenth and sixteenth arrondissements.)
This place witnessed the spectacle and pageantry of some of the best-remembered festivals of the French Revolution. On 14 July 1790 the first "Federation Day" celebration (fête de la Fédération), now known as Bastille Day, was held on the Champ de Mars, exactly one year after the storming of the prison. The following year, on 17 July 1791, the massacre on the Champ de Mars took place. Jean Sylvain Bailly, the first mayor of Paris, became a victim of his own revolution, and was guillotined there on 12 November 1793.
The Champ de Mars was also the site of the Festival of the Supreme Being on 8 June 1794. With a design by the painter Jacques-Louis David,[2] a massive "Altar of the Nation" was built atop an artificial mountain and surmounted by a tree of liberty.[3] The festival is regarded as the most successful of its type in the Revolution.[4] During the Hundred Days a restored Napoleon held the Champ de Mai ceremony, during which he swore to uphold the Charter of 1815, at the Champ de Mars.[5]
In 2012, the United Buddy Bears exhibit was held on the Champ de Mars, an international art exhibition with more than 140 two-meter-tall bears representing individual countries. They promote peace, love, tolerance and international understanding and are displayed across the planet. They stand at Champ de Mars in Paris, fronting the Eiffel Tower.[6]
Use in film and television
Champ de Mars was used as a filming location in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill, in which Bond (played for the last time by Roger Moore) drove a Renault 11 taxi which he had hijacked at the Eiffel Tower in pursuit of a mysterious assassin, later revealed to be May Day (Grace Jones).[7]
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For other uses see Champ de Mars disambiguation The Champ de Mars French pronunciation ʃɑ de maʁs English Field of Mars is a large public greenspace in Paris France located in the seventh arrondissement between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the Ecole Militaire to the southeast The park is named after the Campus Martius Mars Field in Rome a tribute to the Roman god of war The name alludes to the fact that the lawns here were formerly used as drilling and marching grounds by the French military View southeast from the top level of the Eiffel Tower down the Champ de Mars with the Tour Montparnasse Montparnasse Tower in the distance The Ecole Militaire is one third down from the top of the picture The nearest Metro stations are La Motte Picquet Grenelle Ecole Militaire and Champ de Mars Tour Eiffel an RER suburban commuter railway station A disused station Champ de Mars is also nearby Contents 1 History 2 In art culture film and sport 2 1 Art and culture 2 2 Use in film and television 2 3 Sports 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 ReferencesHistory EditOriginally the Champ de Mars was part of a large flat open area called Grenelle which was reserved for market gardening Citizens would claim small plots and exploit them by growing fruits vegetables and flowers for the local market However the plain of Grenelle was not an especially fertile place for farming The construction in 1765 of the Ecole Militaire designed by Ange Jacques Gabriel was the first step toward the Champ de Mars in its present form Grounds for military drills were originally planned for an area south of the school the current location of the place de Fontenoy The choice to build an esplanade to the north of the school led to the erection of the noble facade which today encloses the Champ de Mars The planners leveled the ground surrounded it with a large ditch and a long avenue of elms and as a final touch the esplanade was enclosed by a fine grille work fence The Isle of Swans formerly a riverine islet at the location of the northeastern foot of the Eiffel Tower was for the sake of symmetry and pleasing perspectives attached to the shore Note that the Isle of Swans discussed here should not be confused with the Isle of Swans that sits in the middle of the Seine downstream and around the next bend in the river between the fifteenth and sixteenth arrondissements Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers launched the world s first hydrogen filled balloon from the Champ de Mars on 27 August 1783 1 This place witnessed the spectacle and pageantry of some of the best remembered festivals of the French Revolution On 14 July 1790 the first Federation Day celebration fete de la Federation now known as Bastille Day was held on the Champ de Mars exactly one year after the storming of the prison The following year on 17 July 1791 the massacre on the Champ de Mars took place Jean Sylvain Bailly the first mayor of Paris became a victim of his own revolution and was guillotined there on 12 November 1793 The Champ de Mars was also the site of the Festival of the Supreme Being on 8 June 1794 With a design by the painter Jacques Louis David 2 a massive Altar of the Nation was built atop an artificial mountain and surmounted by a tree of liberty 3 The festival is regarded as the most successful of its type in the Revolution 4 During the Hundred Days a restored Napoleon held the Champ de Mai ceremony during which he swore to uphold the Charter of 1815 at the Champ de Mars 5 The Champ de Mars was the site of Expositions Universelles in 1867 1878 1889 1900 and 1937 In art culture film and sport Edit Champ de Mars Paris Art and culture Edit In 2012 the United Buddy Bears exhibit was held on the Champ de Mars an international art exhibition with more than 140 two meter tall bears representing individual countries They promote peace love tolerance and international understanding and are displayed across the planet They stand at Champ de Mars in Paris fronting the Eiffel Tower 6 Use in film and television Edit Champ de Mars was used as a filming location in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill in which Bond played for the last time by Roger Moore drove a Renault 11 taxi which he had hijacked at the Eiffel Tower in pursuit of a mysterious assassin later revealed to be May Day Grace Jones 7 Sports Edit Champ de Mars contains both a basketball court and a football field and it will be the site of beach volleyball at the 2024 Summer Olympics and of five a side football at the 2024 Summer Paralympics As of March 2023 the basket at the northern end of the basketball court was damaged and hanging downward Gallery Edit Illustration of the Fete de la Federation at Champ de Mars July 14 1790 Musee de la Revolution francaise Illustration of massacre on the Champ de Mars 1791 Painting of The Festival of the Supreme Being June 8 1794 by Pierre Antoine Demachy 1794 Illustration of Fete de la Concorde May 21 1848 Photograph of Exposition Universelle 1867 Panoramic view of Exposition Universelle 1878 View of Exposition Universelle 1889 Illustration of Exposition Universelle 1900 Champ de Mars at night 2007 Champ de Mars view from the Montparnasse Tower 2010 The north end of Champ de Mars and Quai Branly As viewed from the Eiffel Tower 2016 See also EditList of world s fairs Champ de Mars Massacre Fete de la ConcordeReferences Edit Medal commemorating Charles and Robert s balloon ascent Paris 1783 from Science and Society 2010 Encyclopedia of the age of political revolutions and new ideologies 1760 1815 Gregory Fremont Barnes Greenwood Press CT 2007 p 237 A Cultural History of the French Revolution Emmet Kennedy Yale Univ Press 1989 p 345 Kennedy 1989 p 345 Thiers Adolphe 1865 History of the Consulate and the Empire of France Under Napoleon Lippincott p 553 Worldatlas United Buddy Bears in Paris in 2012 Worldatlas com Archived from the original on 31 March 2017 Retrieved 18 October 2014 A View to a Kill 1985 IMDb Retrieved 18 October 2014 Wikimedia 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