The designer of the monument is Alphonse Dumilâtre, born in Bordeaux in 1844, and it is the perseverance of the architect Victor Rich that will allow the whole to be completed. In fact, it took no less than 8 years, between 1894 and 1902, to build this ensemble at Place des Quinconces on the former site of the "Château Trompette". For the monument itself, we therefore find in the center the column on which rests a "bird woman" celebrating the "triumphant Republic". This 11-meter bronze statue turned towards the city center of Bordeaux represents the Genie of liberty breaking his shackles (chains). Further down the aisles of Tourny, you can see three women. The highest symbolizes Bordeaux the other two the Garonne and the Dordogne. On the other hand, on the Garonne side, we notice in the center the Gallic Rooster flanked by two other women, this time representing Eloquence and History. While the two sides of the Grand Théâtre and Jardin public were initially to receive the representation of the Girondins, budget limits did not allow this. The paradox of this monument erected in memory of the Girondins therefore lies in their absence.

After more than a century of existence, the signs of wear were becoming glaring, and in 2004 the whole was the subject of a spectacular maintenance operation. For several months the column was surrounded by an immense scaffolding and the Genius of Liberty even left its pedestal to be restored in the workshop. On this occasion, just like the Gallic rooster, it will change from a "verdigris" color to a new patina highlighting it all the more as the column itself has regained its whiteness.

Tram C and D "Place des Quinconces" Stop