Place Jussieu, Square in the Saint-Victor neighborhood, 5th arrondissement, Paris, France
Place Jussieu is a triangle-shaped pedestrian square in the Saint-Victor neighborhood of the 5th arrondissement of Paris. It is framed by 19th-century buildings in the neo-Renaissance style, some of which feature carved stone sculptures on their facades.
The square was created in 1838 on land of the former Saint-Victor Abbey and was first called place Saint-Victor, after that abbey. On 26 February 1867 it was renamed Jussieu in honour of the Jussieu family, botanists of note. It lies in the Saint-Victor quarter of the 5th arrondissement.
The square honours the Jussieu family, botanists including Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu, author of the 1789 classification Genera Plantarum. Its name was given in 1867, replacing Saint-Victor, the name of the abbey that once stood on the site. The square opens onto the Jussieu campus of Sorbonne Université.
The square is easy to reach on foot, as it sits right next to the Jussieu metro station serving lines 7 and 10. Walking around the surrounding streets is the best way to take in the area, since the whole zone is designed for pedestrians.
The sculptures on the neo-Renaissance buildings at numbers 5–7 were made by Adolphe-Paul Giraud; the buildings themselves were designed by the architects Totrain and Vigreux and built in 1842. Look up at the facades on that side of the square to spot the carved stone figures.
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