Tourist attractions in Paris : Place de la Bastille

The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris where once the Bastille prison existed. The Bastille was a fortress known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a crowd on 14 July 1789 in the French Revolution, becoming an important symbol for the French Republican movement, and was later completely demolished.

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In 1808, as part of several urban improvement projects for Paris, Napoléon planned to have a monument in the shape of an elephant built in its site. The Elephant of the Bastille, was designed to be 24 m (78 ft) in height, and to be cast from the bronze of cannons taken from the Spanish. Access to the top was to be achieved by a stairway set in one of the legs. However, only a full-scale plaster model was built. Victor Hugo immortalized the monument in the novel Les Misérables where it is used as a shelter by Gavroche. The monument was demolished in 1846.

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The notable feature of the Place de la Bastille is the July Column (Colonne de Juillet) which stands at the center of the square. The monument, in an elaboration of a Corinthian column, was designed by the architect Jean-Antoine Alavoine. It was built between 1835 and 1840 to commemorate the events of the Revolution of 1830. The square is home to concerts and similar events. The north-eastern area of Bastille is busy at night with its many cafés, bars, night clubs, and concert halls.

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Photo by Nick in exsilio

Photo by vx_lentz

Some 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 (the Square Henri-Galli) a few hundred meters away, where they are displayed today. 


Text Source : wikipedia