Place de la Bastille, 1841

The Place de la Bastille was created in 1792 on the spot where the Bastille Prison was located. The Bastille was built in 1370 as a fortress, and became a prison under the reign of Louis XIII. In 1789, the Bastille was stormed by a mob and dismantled, an event often cited as the start of the French Revolution. Today, only a few stones from the prison remain in the Place de la Bastille.

The Colonne de Juillet, also found at the Place de la Bastille, was erected in the honor and in memory of 500 men who fell in the Revolution of 1830. Their names are inscribed on the side of the column. On the top of the column is a golden statue. The Column also marks the place where the (in)famous Bastille stood.