The Statue of Napoléon I

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The Statue of Napoléon I
From August 4 to 8, 1858, Cherbourg had a visit from the Emperor Napoléon III and the Empress Eugénie. On their arrival, they opened the railway line linking the town to Paris.

The following day, they welcomed Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who attended the inauguration of the new Arsenal dock, the Napoléon III Dock. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert cut short their visit because the day of August 8 was set by for the unveiling of the equestrian statue of Napoléon I... a reminder of Franco-English conflicts of the past. It was made by the sculptor Armand Le Véel.

The pedestal of the statue that points to the naval port - and not England - bears the Emperor's following words (Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène - July 15, 1816): "I had resolved to renew the wonders of Egypt in Cherbourg", in other words raise a pyramid (that would become the Napoléon Battery, in the centre of the great sea wall) and dig Lake Moeris (the outer harbour).

Tribute was paid to Napoléon I during the stop-over in Cherbourg on December 8, 1840, of the ship "La Belle Poule" that was bringing the Emperor's ashes back to France after leaving Saint Helena on October 15, 1840.

Following this ceremony, the Place du Rampart was renamed Place Napoléon.