Historic Military Parade Grounds
WHS containing a surviving open area once used primarily as a Military Parade Ground = "A large area of firm ground, formerly usually adjacent to fortifications.......where soldiers present(ed) themselves for inspection ("parade") and practice(d) marching and close-order drills". Excluding areas within forts/castles and city streets/squares used occasionally for ceremonial parades.
Connected Sites
| Site | Rationale | Link |
| Ayutthaya | There is a large empty area outside the wall of royal palace ruins called Sanam Chai or "Victory Field". In historical record there was a small royal hall built on the palace wall for the king to see military parades and drill practices on Victory Ground. | |
| Bridgetown | Savannah "The Garrison was constructed at the south end of Carlisle Bay, ........ It covers about 60ha. It consists of three main areas: the open grass parade grounds.........The former grass parade-grounds are now known as the Garrison Savannah, and used as a horse racing circuit." (AB Eval) | |
| Lower German Limes | Xanten-Fürstenberg: "In addition to the two double-legionary fortresses, there are at least two large parade grounds within the property, (so-called campi, which offered the legionaries space for training and marching)". (Nomination file, p. 71) | |
| Melaka and George Town | Esplanade in George Town: "..it was here where Captain Francis Light, the founder of George Town, first landed on 17 July 1786. Upon claiming possession of Penang Island (then Prince of Wales Island), for the British Empire, the Esplanade became the first area to be cleared by Light. The cleared field was then used as a military parade ground, prior to its recreational and sports use beginning in the mid-19th century. " (wiki) | |
| Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles | The Piazza Capitaniato was the ancient parade ground of the Reggia Carrarese, the palace of the Carraresi family. | |
| Paris, Banks of the Seine | Champ de Mars "The construction, in 1765, of the École Militaire designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, was the first step toward the Champ de Mars in its present form. Grounds for military drills were originally planned for an area south of the school, the current location of the place de Fontenoy. The choice to build an esplanade to the north of the school led to the erection of the noble facade which today encloses the Champ de Mars" (Wiki) | |
| St. Petersburg | Field of Mars (Russian: Ма́рсово по́ле, tr. Marsovo Polye) "During the reigns of Emperor Paul I and his son Alexander I, the square took on more of a martial purpose, with the construction of military monuments in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In acknowledgement of this, and its role in hosting military reviews and parades, it was renamed the "Field of Mars" in 1805". After the Revolution it "was for a time renamed the "Victims of Revolution Square", and was sometimes called "The Square of the Graves of the Victims of the Revolution" (Wiki). It regained its earlier name in 1944. |
Suggestions?
Do you know of another WHS we could connect to Historic Military Parade Grounds?
A connection should:
- Not be "self evident"
- Link at least 3 different sites
- Not duplicate or merely subdivide the "Category" assignment already identified on this site.
- Add some knowledge or insight (whether significant or trivial!) about WHS for the users of this site
- Be explained, with reference to a source