King Henry IV of France - Paris, France
N 48° 51.425 E 002° 20.464
31U E 451666 N 5411777
An equestrian statue of King Henry IV of France is located at the Pont Neuf, a stone arch bridge over the river Seine in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
Waymark Code: WMMXCN
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 11/19/2014
Views: 25
ABOUT THE STATUE:
The one half again larger than life-size bronze statue portrays King Henry IV of France riding a horse. The bronze statue rests on an oblong marble base. On the sides of the base are bronze bas-reliefs depicting actions of the king. The horse's left front and right hind legs are raised. The king appears to be dressed in armor with a laurel wreath on his head. He holds the horse's reins in his left hand and a scepter in his right hand.
"At the point where the bridge crosses the Île de la Cité, there stands a bronze equestrian statue of King Henry IV of France, originally commissioned from Giambologna under the orders of Marie de Médicis, Henri’s widow and Regent of France, in 1614. After his death, Giambologna's assistant Pietro Tacca completed the statue, which was erected on its pedestal by Pietro Francavilla, in 1618. It was destroyed in 1792 during the French Revolution, but was rebuilt in 1818, following the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. Bronze for the new statue was obtained with the bronze from a statue of Louis Charles Antoine Desaix and cast from a mold made using a surviving cast of the original. Inside the statue, the new sculptor François-Frédéric Lemot put four boxes, containing a history of the life of Henry IV, a 17th-century parchment certifying the original statue, a document describing how the new statue was commissioned, and a list of people who contributed to a public subscription."
--Wikipedia (
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ABOUT THE MAN:
"Henry IV (13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), Henri-Quatre, also known by the epithet "Good King Henry", was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 to 1610 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first French monarch of the House of Bourbon.
Baptised as a Catholic but raised in the Protestant faith by his mother Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre, he inherited the throne of Navarre in 1572 on the death of his mother. As a Huguenot, Henry was involved in the French Wars of Religion, barely escaping assassination in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, and later led Protestant forces against the royal army.
As a French "prince of the blood" by reason of his descent from King Louis IX, he ascended the throne of France upon the death of his childless brother-in-law Henry III in 1589. In accepting the throne, he found it prudent to abjure his Calvinist faith. Regardless, his coronation was followed by a four-year war against the Catholic League to establish his legitimacy. As a pragmatic politician (in the parlance of the time, a politique), he displayed an unusual religious tolerance for the time. Notably, he promulgated the Edict of Nantes in 1598, which guaranteed religious liberties to Protestants, thereby effectively ending the Wars of Religion. He was assassinated by François Ravaillac, a fanatical Catholic, and was succeeded by his son Louis XIII.
Considered as a usurper by Catholics and as a traitor by Protestants, Henry was hardly accepted by the population and escaped at least 12 assassination attempts. An unpopular king during his reign, Henry's popularity greatly improved posthumously. The "Good King Henry" (le bon roi Henri) was remembered for his geniality and his great concern about the welfare of his subjects. He was celebrated in the popular song Vive le roi Henri and in Voltaire's Henriade."
--Wikipedia (
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