Napoleon's Fountain
As French troops were occupying the east of the Rhine after 1792, the citizens of Blieskastel were inspired with revolutionary zeal to construct an obelisk with a snake around it in honour of the new French ruler. The inscription reads: A NAPOLEON premier Empereur des Francais. Le Canton de Bliescastel le 28e floréal an XII. That date is May 18, 1804 when Napoleon was declared Emperor.
Clever idea.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting!
ReplyDeleteGreat capture. The shadow is perfect.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog.
Greetings from Roberto
Why a snake?
ReplyDeleteA snake!!! so different!
ReplyDeleteHave a nice weekend,
Hugs
Léia
So much history there.
ReplyDeleteAh, I like this fountain, it's really special.
ReplyDeleteInteresante! entonces Napoleon se asocia con serpiente?
ReplyDeleteExtraordinario obelisco!
Thanks for the comments.
ReplyDeleteJoan Elizabeth: I thought so, too.
JM: Obrigado.
Roberto M. Alves: Obrigado.
joo: Good.
Hilda: Both the obelisk and the snake are Egyptian symbols that Napoleon made famous in Europe after his Egyptian campaign. The snake would seem to be a symbol for a ruler. King Tut has one on his head.
Cezar and Léia: No snake fountains in the Grand Duchy?
Sandra: So true.
Martina: I was surprised that a monument to a Frenchman survived the century and a half of Franco-German hostilities that followed. I guess the citizens of Blieskastel thought it was special, too.
Helena RH+: Simbolismo egipcio.
yikes! a hissing snake. ^0^
ReplyDeletereally unique and interesting.
;) ;)Very interesting!
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