- Place de la Bastille
Paris_streetbox
arr_num=4,11,12e
streetname=Place de la BASTILLE
x=156
y=99
paris_
arr1=IVe
arr2=XIe
arr3=XIIe
quarter=Arsenal . Roquette . Quinze-Vingts .
begins=
ends=
length=215
width=150
width2=(average)
creation= 27th June 1792
denomination=
area_
caption= July ColumnThe Place de la Bastille is a square inParis , where the Bastille prison stood until the 'Storming of the Bastille ' and its subsequent physical destruction betweenJuly 14 ,1789 andJuly 14 ,1790 during theFrench Revolution ; no vestige of it remains.The square straddles 3 "arrondissements" of Paris, namely the 4th, 11th and 12th. The square and its surrounding areas are normally called simply "Bastille".
The
July Column ("Colonne de Juillet") which commemorates the events of theJuly Revolution (1830) stands at the centre of the square. Other notable features include the Bastille Opera, the Bastille subway station and a section of theCanal Saint Martin . Prior to 1984, the former Bastille railway station stood where theopera house now stands.The square is often home to concerts and similar events. The north-eastern area of Bastille is busy at night due to many cafés, bars, night clubs, and concert halls.
As a consequence of its historical significance, the square is often used for political demonstrations, including the massive anti-CPE demonstration of March 28, 2006.
History
In June 16, 1792, the area occupied by the
Bastille was turned into a square celebratingliberty , and acolumn would be erected there. The first stone was laid by Palloy, however construction did not commence. A fountain was built in 1793.In 1808, as part of several urban improvement projects for
Paris , Napoléon planned to have a monument in the shape of an elephant built here. It was designed to be 24 m (78 ft) in height, and to be cast from the bronze ofcannon s taken from the Spanish. Access to the top was to be achieved by a stairway set in one of the legs. However, only a . The monument was demolished in 1846.In 1833,
Louis-Philippe decided to build theJuly Column as originally planned in 1792. It was inaugurated in 1840.Early history of the Bastille
The Bastille was built between 1370 and 1383 as part of the defences of Paris, the structure was reputedly converted into a prison in the 17th century by
Charles VI of France . At that time it primarily housedpolitical prisoners , but also religious prisoners, "seditious " writers, and young rakes held at the request of their families. It began to acquire a poor reputation when it became the main prison for those taken underlettres de cachet issued by the King of FranceBy the late 18th century, the building was made up of eight close-packed towers, around 24 m (80 ft) high, surrounding two courtyards and the armoury. The prisoners were held within the 5-7 story towers, each having a room around 4.6 m (15 ft) across and containing various articles of furniture. The infamous cachots (dungeons), the oozing, vermin-infested subterranean cells were no longer in use, due to the disgusting nature of the Lower cells. The governor of the prison was given a daily allowance per prisoner, the amount depending on their status—from nineteen
livres per diem for scientists and academics down to three for commoners. In terms of standards, there were many worse prisons in France, including the dreadedBicêtre , also in Paris. However, in terms of popular literary accounts, the Bastille was a place of horror and oppression, a symbol of autocratic cruelty.Storming of the Bastille The confrontation between the commoners and the
ancien régime ultimately led to the people of Paris storming the Bastille onJuly 14 ,A crowd of around 1,000 people gathered outside around mid-morning, calling for the surrender of the prison, the removal of the guns and the release of the arms and gunpowder. Two people chosen to represent those gathered were invited into the fortress and slow negotiations began.
In the early afternoon, the crowd broke into the undefended outer courtyard and the chains on the drawbridge to the inner courtyard were cut. A spasmodic exchange of gunfire began; in mid-afternoon the crowd was reinforced by mutinous
Gardes Françaises of the Royal Army and two cannons. De Launay ordered a ceasefire; despite his surrender demands being refused, he capitulated and the victors swept in to liberate the fortress at around 5:30.The area today
The former location of the fort is currently called the Place de la Bastille. It is home to the
Opéra Bastille . The large ditch "(fossé)" behind the fort has been transformed into amarina for pleasure boats, theBassin de l'Arsenal , to the south, and a coveredcanal , theCanal Saint Martin , extending north from the marina beneath the vehicular roundabout that borders the location of the fort.On weekdays a large, open-air market occupies part of the park to the north of the Place de la Bastille, along the Boulevard Richard Lenoir. Consumers can find fresh fruit, fish, meat, cheese and bread along with clothing and typical flea market items. On weekends the market is made up of artists and craftmakers.
Some undemolished remains of one tower of the fort were discovered during excavation for the
Métro (rail mass-transit system) in 1899, and were moved to a park a few hundred metres away, where they are displayed today. The original outline of the fort is also marked on the pavement of streets and sidewalks that pass over its former location, in the form of special paving stones. A cafe and some other businesses largely occupy the location of the fort, and the rue Saint Antoine passes directly over it as it opens onto the roundabout of the Bastille.ee also
*
Bastille
*Bastille Day External links
* [http://www.cityzeum.com/en/bastille-place-de-la Audio tour for Place de la Bastille]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=paris,+france&ll=48.853230,2.369152&spn=0.003005,0.010274&t=h&hl=en Satellite image from Google Maps]
* [http://www.insecula.com/oeuvre/photo_O0012305.html Images of the July Column] (Insecula )
* [http://community.webshots.com/photo/521237726/1521367708041169831iQEDXa# Gilded statue, Génie de la Liberté, at the summit of the Column] (Webshots user photo - links to bigger version)
* [http://www.france-pittoresque.com/anecdotes/84.htm L'Éléphant de la Bastille]
* [http://paris1900.lartnouveau.com/paris12/la_bastille_actuelle.htm Place de la Bastille] current photographs and of the years 1900
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.