Square Hector-Berlioz, Urban park in Saint-Georges, 9th arrondissement of Paris, France
Square Hector-Berlioz is a 897 m² urban park in the 9th arrondissement, laid out in the middle of Place Adolphe-Max. At its centre stands a stone statue of the composer, a robed figure with a bare head holding a small rectangular object at chest level, set against dense greenery.
The space originated between 1841 and 1844 from the former Tivoli gardens of the La Bouëxière estate. A bronze statue of the composer was installed in 1886 and replaced with a stone version in 1948.
The square is named after Hector Berlioz (1803–1869), the French composer, conductor, critic and writer. Its central stone statue, carved by Georges Saupiquet in 1948, replaced an 1886 bronze by Alfred Lenoir that was melted down in 1941. The square was originally called square Sainte-Hélène, after a willow said to have been grown from a cutting of the tree shading Napoleon's grave on Saint Helena.
The square lies on Place Adolphe-Max, near Place de Clichy. It is served by metro lines 2 and 13 at Place de Clichy station and by line 2 at Blanche station. The 897 m² garden has trees and benches.
A marble statue of Napoleon depicted as Prometheus once occupied this spot but was removed due to objections about its nude representation. This controversial monument is now forgotten history but reveals how changing public tastes shaped the space.
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