Imagine an enormous bronze elephant, towering over the Place de la Bastille. This is not a figment of imagination but a forgotten piece of Paris’s history. This is the story of the Eléphant de la Bastille.
Napoleon I dreamed it up in 1808. He envisioned a colossal statue to showcase his military victories. The Eléphant de la Bastille was meant to be grand and awe-inspiring. The elephant’s design included a tower on its back styled as a howdah.
Jacques Cellerier was initially the architect. Work began in 1810. Vaults and underground pipes were completed by 1812. Jean-Antoine Alavoine then replaced Cellerier. He completed the main pool.
To showcase the project Alavoine hired Pierre-Charles Bridan. Bridan built a full-size plaster model over a wooden frame. The Eléphant de la Bastille model stood 24 meters tall. It quickly became a recognizable structure in Paris.
The Eléphant de la Bastille was planned as a fountain. Water would spout from its trunk. Cannons captured at the Battle of Friedland would be melted down for its bronze. A spiral staircase in one leg would lead to an observation platform.
But the Eléphant de la Bastille never reached its full potential. Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815 halted construction. The project was abandoned. Yet, Alavoine sought support to finish it as late as 1833.
Victor Hugo immortalized the Eléphant de la Bastille in his novel Les Misérables. He described the decaying plaster model. In the novel, the street urchin Gavroche used it as a shelter. Fact and fiction intertwined giving the Eléphant de la Bastille a lasting legacy.
Locals began complaining about rats infesting the Eléphant de la Bastille. These rats would search for food in their homes. Petitions for its removal began in the late 1820s.
The Eléphant de la Bastille model stood for many years despite its poor condition. It suffered wear and tear. The city finally demolished it in 1846.
Today only the circular basin remains. It now supports the base of the July Column. The column commemorates the victims of the July Revolution of 1830.
The dream of the Eléphant de la Bastille remains a curious footnote in Parisian history. A giant bronze elephant replaced by a column. It stands as a reminder of changing ambitions and the passage of time. So next time you visit the Place de la Bastille remember the giant elephant that almost was.