Paris Commune Square (Saigon)
Paris Commune Square
Công trường Công xã Paris | |
|---|---|
| City square | |
| Former name(s): Place Pigneau de Béhaine, Hòa Bình Square, John F. Kennedy Square | |
.jpg) Paris Commune Square in 2014 | |
| Dedicated to | Paris Commune (1789–1795) |
| Owner | Ho Chi Minh City |
| Location | Bến Nghé, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City |
 | |
| Coordinates: 10°46′46″N 106°41′58″E / 10.779344°N 106.699457°E | |
Paris Commune Square (Vietnamese: Công trường Công xã Paris) is a small square located in District 1, downtown Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It lies between Lê Duẩn Boulevard and Nguyễn Du Street and surrounds the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon. This is also the starting point of the famous Đồng Khởi Street. The square is surrounded by two remarkable architectural works: Notre-Dame Cathedral and Central Post Office. As the central post office is nearby, the square is also marked as the city's kilometre zero.
History
[edit]
The square was originally named Place de la Cathédrale (roughly translated "Cathedral Square") dated back to the French colonial period.[1] In 1903, the colonial government erected a bronze statue of French Catholic priest Pigneau de Behaine and juvenile Prince Nguyễn Phúc Cảnh[2] in the center of the garden in front of the cathedral, and the square is thus known as place Pigneau de Béhaine. It was brought down in October 1945[3] leaving behind an empty statue pedestal. There was no statue on the site until 1959 under the First Republic of Vietnam, when a new statue of Our Lady of Peace (Vietnamese: Tượng Đức Bà Hòa Bình) was erected in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.[4] The square itself was called Hòa Bình Square (Vietnamese: Công trường Hòa Bình, literally "Peace Square"). In May 1964, the South Vietnamese government renamed it President John F. Kennedy Square (Vietnamese: Công trường Tổng thống John F. Kennedy) honoring the assassinated U.S. President.[5] After the Fall of Saigon, the square was renamed Công trường Công xã Paris (literally means "Paris Commune Square") by the Provisional Revolutionary Government.
References
[edit]- ^ The Directory & Chronicle for China, Japan, Corea, Indo-China, Straits Settlements, Malay States, Sian, Netherlands India, Borneo, the Philippines, &c: With which are Incorporated "The China Directory" and "The Hong Kong List for the Far East". Hong Kong Daily Press Office. 1909. p. 1151.
- ^ Vietnam Business Magazine. Vol. 8. Ministry of Commerce (Vietnam). 1998. p. 24.
- ^ Edwards, Anastasia (2003). Saigon: Mistress of the Mekong : an Anthology. Oxford University Press. p. 166. ISBN 9780195906028.
- ^ Hỏi đáp về Sài Gòn Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh [Questions and Answers About Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City] (in Vietnamese). Vol. 6. Nhà xuất bản Trẻ. 2006. p. 121.
- ^ "Saigon Honors Kennedy, Square Named For Him". The New York Times. 31 May 1964. Retrieved 30 July 2019.