The burgers of Calais was the first public monument created by the famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin. He based the bronze group of figures on an actual event in medieval French history. In the year 1347, six citizens of the city of Calais volunteered to give their lives to save their city from destruction by besieging English forces. The group of figures portrays a powerful range of emotions. All the figures are dressed in loose robes and wear thick rope halters a symbol of their acceptance of their subjugation. Two of the men carry keys to the town gates to be surrendered to the English forces, who had laid siege to Calais for many months. Rodin portrayed each man's individual reaction to his upcoming death. Each man is shown facing his fate not as a symbol of fortitude, but as an individual alone. Some of the men even turned their heads in fear. The deep vertical folds of the drapery add weight to the figures and enhance the feeling of pathos and compassion. This expressive monument still stands outdoors in the city of Calais as a memorial to the six martyrs who gave their lives to save their fellow townspeople from a massacre.