HD photographs of Le Petit Canon at Palais Royal in Paris - Page 1159



We were in the 1st Arrondissement of Paris at the Palais Royal, when we took these high definition photos showing Le Petit Canon, which was made by Monsieur Rousseau.

Paris Statues

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Le Petit Canon on its pedestal in Palais Royal gardens
This first HD photo shows Le Petit Canon positioned on a stone pedestal base, and literally meaning The Little Canon, this was produced by Monsieur Rousseau, who was a watch and clockmaker that had a shop in the Galerie de Beaujolais, within the grounds of the Palais Royal, which had been his base since 1786.
Le Petit Canon by Monsieur Rousseau at Palais Royal, Paris
The Little Canon was made of bronze and was placed on the Meridian Line of Paris in 1796 and was fired every day at noon, so that upper class strollers enjoying the Palais Royal could ensure that their own pocket watches were giving an accurate time, and according to the stories, there was a magnifying glass that utilised the rays of the sun to light the fuse.
The Little Canon in the Palais Royal gardens
In 1799 Le Petit Canon was moved to a flowerbed within the gardens of the Palais Royal and continued to fire at noon every day until the early part of the 1900s, and on the tourist information plaque you will see further below it states until 1914, however, another document produced by the Palais Royal states it ceased firing in 1911 when Greenwich Mean Time was imposed by law.
Palais Royal Le Petit Canon in bronze on metal base
Yet it 1990 The Little Canon was restored and in keeping with tradition, from 13th July that same year it started firing again every day at noon, much to the delight of tourists and locals who enjoy this historical site in the heart of Paris, but unfortunately it was stolen in 1998.
Palais Royal garden area with Le Petit Canon
However, an exact replica of the bronze Le Petit Canon originally designed and made by Monsieur Rousseau, was produced to ensure that the tradition and its historical importance for the Royal Palace was maintained, and this was installed within the garden in 2002, which is the canon you can see in the above photograph.
The Little Canon replica in the Palais Royal central garden
So here is a view looking past The Little Canon on its pedestal, looking along the central grass area of the Palais Royal garden bordered by flowerbeds and trees, and if you are lucky enough you may experience this legend and tradition, as since 2010 this has been fired at midday every Wednesday.
Tourist info plaque for Le Petit Canon at Palais Royal in Paris
But this photo shows the tourist information plaque located amongst the shrubs in the flowerbed at the edge of this garden area, a few metres from Le Petit Canon itself, which as you can tell, lists specific historical dates, a caption stating This legend was serious, along with a quote at the bottom.

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