The Conciergerie of Paris, located in the heart of Paris, is a majestic historical monument integrated into the Palais de la Cité. This Gothic masterpiece constructed by Louis IX includes the Palace of Justice and the Sainte-Chapelle. The kings of France resided and reigned in the resplendent main stronghold from the 10th to the 14th century.
During the reign of Philippe Auguste, medieval architecture lost its status as a political power. He decided to build the Louvre Palace and surround the city with a new rampart. He also carries out important work in the Palace. The “letters patent of the King” mentions for the first time the Conciergerie of the Palace, which exercised judicial functions.
Charles Quint and his successors settled in the Louvre and Vincennes in 1370. After the abandonment of the Palace, judicial activities developed, and the Conciergerie became a state prison. During the French Revolution, a revolutionary tribunal was established in the Prison of Terror. The antechamber of death condemned 2768 people to death, including its most famous prisoner, Queen Marie-Antoinette. Transferred on August 2, 1793, she remained imprisoned in her cell until her execution on October 16, 1793.
In 1370, Charles Maximilien Robespierre, Louis-Philippe d’Orléans, and other notable figures condemned to the guillotine were also present in the medieval prison. Charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the future Emperor Napoleon III, was also imprisoned after perpetrating a coup d’État in the 19th century.
The historic site of Parisian heritage possesses four towers: Bon-bec, named the chamber of torture of the prisoners. César, in honor of the Great Roman dictator. Argent, named for its presumed use as a warehouse for the royal treasury. Clock, a 47-meter-high tower, built around 1350-1353. The Clock Tower houses the first public clock in Paris, a masterpiece created by the Lorraine clockmaker Henri de Vic.