Vercingétorix monument


The Vercingetorix Monument is a statuary monument dedicated to the Gaulish chieftain Vercingetorix, defeated by Julius Caesar in the Gallic Wars. It is designated as a monument historique.
The monument was commissioned by Emperor Napoleon III from the sculptor Aimé Millet and installed in 1865 on Mont Auxois, near Alise-Sainte-Reine in the Côte-d'Or department in the Burgundy region of eastern France. The site was the supposed site of Alesia. Napoleon III erected the seven-meter-tall statue to commemorate Vercingetorix as a symbol of Gallic nationalism. The architect for the memorial was Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. The base has an nationalistic inscription installed by Viollet-le-Duc, translating into French the words of Julius Caesar:
La Gaule unie
Formant une seule nation
Animée d'un même esprit,
Peut défier l'Univers.