Originally called the Austerlitz Column, the Vendome Column is dedicated to the soldiers of Napoleon’s Grand Army. Its stone structure is covered with 425 sculpted plaques made from the molten bronze of Russian and Austrian cannons taken from the enemy during the Battle of Austerlitz. The bas-reliefs, designed by Pierre Bergeret, represent the main episodes of the 1805 military campaign, from the Boulogne camp to the Emperor’s return in 1806. In 1810, Napoleon inaugurated the 44-metre high Vendome Column, clearly inspired by the Trajan Column in Rome (113 AD).