La Place De La Bastille

Place de La Bastille

La Prise De La Bastille in Paris occured on 14 July 1789,during the French Revolution.
The attackers were wanted to acquire a large quantities of arms and ammunitions stored there.
The Bastille contained only seven prisoners,its fall was the flashpoint of The French Revolution and it become an icon of the French Democratie.
In France,Le Quatorze Juillet (14 July) is a National holiday,formally known as the Fête Nationale ("National Day").
It is usually called Bastille Day in English.
The Storming of the Bastille signalled the first victory of the people of Paris against a symbol of the Ancien Regime ("Old Regime")
The Fête Nationale("National Day") held on July 14,1790,celebrated with great pomp the first Anniversary of the Insurrection.
The edifice was razed in the months that followed.


La colonne de juillet

The July column is on the Place de la Bastille. It was built after “Les Trois Glorieuses”, which are three days of revolution in 1830, the July 27, 28 and 29. On a tablet on the bottom of the column is written :

« À la gloire des citoyens français qui s'armèrent et combattirent pour la défense des libertés publiques dans les mémorables journées des 27, 28, 29 juillet 1830 ».

This monument was imagined by the architect Jean-Antoine Alavoine in 1833 and really built and decorated by Louis Duc in 1840. The column stays on a round base realized under the First Empire to put a fountain with a elephant in the middle but the scuplture was never built. The July Column is surmonted by a statue of an angel called “Le génie de la Bastille” or “Le génie de la liberté “ .

504 victims of July, 1830 and 200 of corpses of the Revolution of 1848 can be found beneath it.

Today we can still see the ruins of la Bastille on the metro at the Bastille stop.


Some books and song were written about the Bastille:*
"histoire de la Bastille" by J.Deloret, the song "La bastille"by J.Brel and a district from St jean de Maurienne.

Activities Place de la Bastille:
La Place de la Bastille is the regular place of various concerts, fairs, and markets (every Saturdays, on the boulevard Richard Lenoir, near the Place De La Bastille is amenaged a marché de la création (market of the creation) where artisans can sell their productions) . This place is very appreciated on week-ends (Friday-Saturday) evenig by the Parisian youth for his numerous cafes, restaurants, cinemas and night clubs.
This place is also an huge place where a lot of people can gather during demonstrations (social demonstrations, and cultural demonstrations).

We have chosen this monument because it seems to us the most interesting :
It reprensents the old Paris and both Paris !

Amel, Thomas, Ahmed, Manon and Melissa