Ruins of Bastille
In Ruins of Bastille once stood the Bastille Saint-Antoine, a medieval fortress built to guard Paris’s eastern approach during the Hundred Years’ War. Construction began while work was underway by 1357, then intensified from 1370 onward, creating a strong stronghold of eight towers that protected the strategic gateway of the Porte Saint-Antoine heading east. For centuries, the Bastille functioned as a state prison. It was declared a state prison in 1417, and its prison role expanded under later regimes—by the summer of 1789, 5,279 prisoners had passed through its gates. That figure becomes part of a turning point: on 14 July 1789, the fortress was stormed by a crowd during the French Revolution, transforming it into a symbol for the French Republican movement. Earlier, it had also shaped internal conflict, including the Battle of the Faubourg St Antoine on 2 July 1652 fought beneath its walls. …
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