PLACE DES MARTYRS (FORMER GOVERNMENT SQUARE)
The Place des Martyrs took on the appearance of a cosmopolitan forum, where Algerians, Jews and military personnel met..
After many years of work of all kinds (for the metro, for archaeological digs...), the Place des Martyrs has finally had a facelift, and was inaugurated with its new look in 2018. The vast, uncluttered square opens onto the port and the sea. It is bordered by arcaded buildings to the west and south, by the El-Djedid mosque to the east and extended by Place du 8 mai 1945 (formerly Place de la Régence) to the north. Airy and pleasant, it's a breath of fresh air in Algiers' urban landscape.
History. When the French occupied Algiers, it became necessary to create a parade ground. The Es-Saïda mosque, the Djenina palace, the streets of the teinturiers, bijoutiers and armuriers and no fewer than 420 old houses were demolished to make way for the Place du Gouvernement in 1841. Soon planted with bellombras, orange trees and plane trees, the square became the center of the new colonial town. A meeting place for Algerians, Jews, soldiers, sailors, colonists and others, it took on the appearance of a cosmopolitan forum. It was the scene of banquets, processions and parades. On October 28, 1845, the bronze equestrian statue of the Duc d'Orléans by Marchetti, 5 m high and weighing 8 tons, was inaugurated. The square remained the heart of Algiers until the city moved south at the beginning of the 20th century. It was renamed "Place des Martyrs" after Independence, to pay tribute to the victims of the war.
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