Built between 1755 and 1775, the square began its life as place Louis XV, named for the statue it contained of the king. The statue was later replaced by the guillotine, which claimed Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and revolutionary leaders Danton and Robespierre among its numerous victims. Renamed place de la Concorde and marked by the 19th-century addition of an ancient Egyptian obelisk, presented to Charles X by the Viceroy of Egypt, it is considered one of the most beautiful squares in Paris.