Vercingétorix monument
The Vercingetorix Monument (1865) is a statuary monument dedicated to the Gaulish chieftain Vercingetorix, defeated by Julius Caesar in the Gallic Wars. It is designated as a monument historique.[1]
| Monument à Vercingétorix | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 47°32′18.82″N 04°29′25.84″E |
|---|---|
| Location | Alesia, near Alise-Sainte-Reine, Côte-d'Or department, Burgundy, France |
| Designer | Aimé Millet |
| Type | Monument |
| Height | 6.6 metres (22 ft) |
| Completion date | 1865 |
| Opening date | 1865 |
| Dedicated to | Vercingétorix |
The monument was commissioned by Emperor Napoleon III from the sculptor Aimé Millet and installed in 1865 on Mont Auxois, near Alise-Sainte-Reine in the Côte-d'Or department in the Burgundy region of eastern France. The site was the supposed site of Alesia. Napoleon III erected the seven-meter-tall statue to commemorate Vercingetorix as a symbol of Gallic nationalism. The architect for the memorial was Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.[2] The base has an nationalistic inscription installed by Viollet-le-Duc, translating into French the words of Julius Caesar:
La Gaule unie
Formant une seule nation
Animée d'un même esprit,
Peut défier l'Univers.(Gaul united,
Forming a single nation
Animated by a common spirit,
Can defy the Universe.)
Monument from afar
Statue atop monument
References
- Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA21000061 Vercingétorix Monument
- Statue of Vercingetorix, Art and Architecture, 2006