Place Stalingrad – La Rotonde in the nineteenth arrondissement opens to the Public
La Rotonde in Place Stalingrad is part of the 19th century landscape of Paris. For the first time, its doors are opening to the public with a restaurant and a cultural center.
La Rotonde and its columns have stood here for the last 220 years. The architect, Claude Nicolas Ledoux, one of the fathers of the Neo-classical movement designed La Rotonde. It took two years to build and was completed just before the French Revolution.
It was part of the tax collection system set up around Paris. This wall, called Les Fermier Généraux encircled Paris. One of these entry points, La Rotonde, was a collection point for taxes on merchandise entering the city.
After the Revolution, the building was abandoned and became a barracks and then a salt depository. Made a property of the city of Paris in 1804, it was burned during the Commune of 1871.
Eventually it was restored. The Metro Line 2 takes a windy turn near La Rotonde. During the line’s construction this was necessary in order to preserve the building. It was classified as an historical monument in 1907.
From 1960 to 2004, it was home to the Commission of Old Paris (Commission du Vieux Paris).
Watch the video presented by France 3 Television.