King Louis XVI of France, Louisville, Kentucky
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Saureus
N 38° 15.259 W 085° 45.610
16S E 608478 N 4234759
This almost 200 year old statue of the French king stands in the city named after him.
Waymark Code: WM77KY
Location: Kentucky, United States
Date Posted: 09/14/2009
Views: 26
This marble representation of Louisville's namesake was commissioned by the king's daughter, Marie-Therese. It was crafted by the French sculptor Achille-Joseph Valois and originally unveiled in the 1820's in Montpellier, France, 36 years after the execution of King Louis XVI.
The statue, at 12 feet tall and weighing 9 tons, came to Louisville in 1967 as a gift from Mayor Francois Delmas of Montpellier, France. The two cities had recently become "sister cities" and the statue was presented as a gift of friendship between the two cities.
So why is a city in Kentucky named after a French king? Louis XVI was king of France during the American Revolution, and had a vested interest in seeing the colonies gain their freedom, not so much in the name of freedom and liberty, but rather to greatly reduce the size of the British Empire. In 1778 Louis reached a deal with Ben Franklin to send assistance to the fledgling United States. That backing, in the form of supplies and soldiers, helped secure America's independence.
To give thanks for the French contribution, a new settlement in what was then Virginia was named in his honor. The town of Louisville was officially chartered by the Virginia Legislature in 1780, and became part of Kentucky upon the commonwealth's statehood in 1797. By that time reforms in the French government had already led to Louis' capture and execution in 1793.
The statue of Louis XVI in Louisville holds a unique status as one of a man for whom a US city was named, coming from a French city where it had been commissioned by the man's daughter. And Louisville holds a unique status as one of the few cities in the world named for an executed criminal.
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