"The Square du Vert-Galant is a square in Paris, located on the western tip of the Ile de la Cité, in the 1st arrondissement. The level of the square is located seven meters below the current level of the island, which is the level that it once had.
It was created by the union of several small islands, the island of Jews (which were burned the last Templars) and the island of Patriarch. The square is named after Henry IV, nicknamed the "Vert-Galant" because of his many mistresses despite his advanced age. The square is dominated by the equestrian statue of Henri IV based on the Pont Neuf (which separates the square from the rest of the island). A plaque recalls that it is in this place as the setting for the March 18, 1314, executions at the stake of the two highest dignitaries of the Order of the Temple, Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay.
Before hosting a square, the 2,665 m2 baths devolved to 1765, followed by a concert coffee in 1865. It was destroyed by a flood in 1879. The square hosts a Wallace fountain push.
On the occasion of the inauguration of the Expo Montreal, in April 1967, a friendly ceremony organized by the city of Paris takes place with Ambassador of Canada Jules Léger and his counterpart from the General Delegation du Québec à paris, Jean Chapdelaine. Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau came and he was represented by Jean Léon Lortie and Vinant, advertising exposure in France. A stone from the island of St. Helena (Montreal) was placed in the Square du Vert-Galant. According to the author Yves Jasmin The story of Expo 67, there were more than 30,000 spectators attended the event, when the boat arrived on the Saint Laurent platform where the stone was transported along with the prefect of Paris.
In 2007, the square was awarded the "ecological green spaces" award by ECOCERT."
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A historical marker at the entrance to the square provides the following information:
"Square du Vert-Galant Jusqu’à la construction du Pont-Neuf, l’île de la Cité se terminait par le Jardin du Roi, où fut édifiée la place Dauphine. La pointe actuelle de l’île est constituée de la réunion de trois îlots à la Cité, assise centrale du nouveau pont. L’îlot du nord, nommé île du Patriarche, se prolongeait à l’est par un minuscule îlot portant un moulin, dit de la Gourdaine puis de la Monnaie, car son énergie hydraulique était utilisée pour battre le monnayage royal. Celui du sud, le plus grand, était dit île aux Bureau, car il appartenait à Hugues Bureau à la fin du XVe siècle. Le 11 mars 1314, Jacques de Molay, grand maître de l’order du Temple, et Guy, commandeur des Templiers de Normandie, y furent brûlés vifs."
(English translation by Google Translate with modifications:)
Square of the green lover
Until the construction of the Pont Neuf, the Ile de la Cité ended in the Jardin du Roi, which was built in the Place Dauphine. The current peak of the island consists of a combination of three islands in the City, central seat of the new bridge. The island's north island named Patriarch, extended to the east by a tiny island with a mill, called the Gourdaine, then the Mint, because its waterpower was used to power the royal mint. The South, the largest, was called Bureau Island, because it belonged to Hugh Bureau at the end of the fifteenth century. On 11 March 1314, Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the order of the KnightsTemplar, and Guy, Commander of Knights Templar of Normandy, were burned alive.