Place de la Comédie

The Place de la Comédie is square in Montpellier, Hérault in Southern France. It is at the southeast point of the city centre, at 43°36′31.19″N 3°52′47.63″E, where the fortifications of the city were formerly located.

The Place de la Comédie, looking east

The Opéra Comédie and the Three Graces fountain on the Place de la Comédie.

History

The square is first mentioned in 1755 and is named after a theatre that burned down in 1785 and 1855.

The Place became the focal point of the city when, in the mid-19th century the railway station Gare de Montpellier Saint-Roch was built some 200 metres (660 ft) south of it. At that time, a smaller train going to the nearby beach at Palavas-les-Flots also had its provenance on the Place.

Location

At the centre of the square is a fountain, the Three Graces, built by sculptor Étienne d'Antoine in 1790. The original piece was placed in the Musée Fabre in 1989, but moved again during the refurbishment of the museum to the Opéra Comédie, which is at the square.

At its northeastern corner, the square continues into the Esplanade de Charles de Gaulle, a small park connecting the Place to the Corum, a large concrete and granite complex built by Claude Vasconi. At its southeastern corner it is linked to the Lycée Joffre, formerly the Citadel of Montpellier.