Barrière du Trône - Philippe Auguste

The Barrière du Trône, Philippe Auguste, marks Paris’s eastern entrance to the Cours de Vincennes, beside Place de la Nation. The square formerly carried the name Place du Trône.

Claude-Nicolas Ledoux designed this octroi barrier for the Fermiers généraux’ wall, and construction took place in 1787. Its original purpose was taxing goods entering Paris. Two monumental columns dominate the structure, each rising 28 metres above the surrounding Avenue du Trône in Paris. Their great height gives the gateway its scale. Allegorical statues first crowned the columns, before statues of Philippe Auguste and Saint Louis replaced them there in 1845. Auguste Dumont sculpted Philippe Auguste for one column. Antoine Étex created Saint Louis for the other, linking the gateway’s architecture with two royal figures in monumental stone.

The French Revolution brought a guillotine to this site. More than 1,300 victims died there, adding a severe chapter to the history of this Parisian entrance. In 1814, École polytechnique students defended Paris here. Their battery contained 28 artillery pieces, recording the barrier’s military role during the Battle of Paris. Corneille Theunissen’s 1914 statue preserves the site’s memory. Restoration work addressed structural degradation between 2008 and 2010. The pavilions house social housing managed by Paris Habitat. France classified the Barrière du Trône as a historical monument in 1907, recognising its architectural and historical importance. The gateway still marks Paris’s eastern Cours de Vincennes entrance.