User talk:Anderdons

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[edit] Statue of Henry IV in Paris

In response to your message on my discussion page: I called the mention of the Pont Neuf Henry IV statue's preservation during the French Revolution a gross error because it is a well known fact for anyone with some knowledge of Paris history and architecture that it was destroyed. The Revolutionaries even destroyed the hour and minute hands of the big medieval clock at the entrance of the Parliament of Paris because the tip of the hands had some fleur de lis, mind you! There are many references that back up what I said. A quick search on the net retrieved this webpage [1] which states that the statue was melted during the revolution and replaced with a perfect copy in 1818. If I recall corectly, there is an inscription in Latin at the base of the statue that is dated 1818 (MCCMXVIII) and that says that King Louis XVIII had the statue re-erected. Don't believe everything that is written in American or English books about France, there are lots of inacuracies and myths. Hardouin 12:34, 10 November 2005 (UTC)