2010-08-20

fountain, obelisk, snake

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.

11 comments:

  1. Great capture. The shadow is perfect.

    Thank you for visiting my blog.

    Greetings from Roberto

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  2. A snake!!! so different!
    Have a nice weekend,
    Hugs
    Léia

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  3. Ah, I like this fountain, it's really special.

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  4. Interesante! entonces Napoleon se asocia con serpiente?
    Extraordinario obelisco!

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  5. Thanks for the comments.

    Joan 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.

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  6. yikes! a hissing snake. ^0^
    really unique and interesting.

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  7. ;) ;)Very interesting!

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