View source for Place de la Bastille

{{short description|Square in Paris, France}}
{{other uses|Bastille (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed |date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox street
| name = Place de la Bastille
| image = Place de la Bastille, avril 2021.jpg
| image_size = 280px
| image_alt = 
| caption = The [[July Column]], with the new pedestrian area at the south side following removal of the large road between 2019 and 2021
| map_type = France Paris
| map_size = 265
| coordinates = {{coord|48|51|11|N|2|22|9|E|scale:5000_region:FR|display=inline,title}}
| arrondissement =  [[4th arrondissement of Paris|4th]], [[11th arrondissement of Paris|11th]], [[12th arrondissement of Paris|12th]]
| quarter = Arsenal, Roquette, Quinze-Vingts 
| metro = [[Bastille (Paris Métro)|Bastille]]
| terminus_a = 
| terminus_b = 
|length = {{convert|215|m|abbr=on}}
|width = {{convert|150|m|abbr=on}}&nbsp;average
| completion_date = 27 June 1792
| inauguration_label = Denomination
| inauguration_date = 
}}
The '''Place de la Bastille''' ({{IPA|fr|plas d(ə) la bastij}}) is a [[Town square|square]] in [[Paris]] where the [[Bastille|Bastille Prison]] once stood, until the [[storming of the Bastille]] and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the [[French Revolution]]. No vestige of the prison remains.

The square straddles three ''[[Arrondissements of Paris|arrondissement]]s'' of Paris, namely the [[4th arrondissement of Paris|4th]], [[11th arrondissement of Paris|11th]] and [[12th arrondissement of Paris|12th]]. The square and its surrounding areas are normally called simply ''Bastille''. The [[July Column]] (''Colonne de Juillet'') which commemorates the events of the [[July Revolution]] (1830) stands at the center of the square.  Other notable features include the [[Opéra Bastille|Bastille Opera]], the [[Bastille (Paris Metro)|Bastille subway station]] and a section of the [[Canal Saint Martin]].  Prior to 1984, the former [[Gare de La Bastille|Bastille railway station]] stood where the [[opera house]] now stands.
 
The square is home to concerts and similar events. The north-eastern area of Bastille is busy at [[nightlife (activity)|night]] with its many cafés, bars, night clubs, and concert halls. As a consequence of its historical significance, the square is often the site or point of departure of political demonstrations, including the massive [[2006 labor protests in France|anti-CPE demonstration of 28 March 2006]].

== History ==
=== Early history of the Bastille ===
{{main|Bastille}}
The Bastille was built between 1370 and 1383 during the reign of [[Charles V of France|Charles V]] as part of the defenses of Paris; the structure was converted into a state prison in the 17th century by [[Cardinal Richelieu|Richelieu]], [[Louis XIII]]'s chief minister. At that time, it primarily housed [[political prisoner]]s, but also religious prisoners, "[[seditious]]" writers, and young rakes held at the request of their families. It began to acquire a poor reputation when it became the main prison for those taken under [[lettres de cachet]] issued by the King of France.

By the late 18th century, the building was made up of eight close-packed towers, around 24&nbsp;m (80&nbsp;ft) high, surrounding two courtyards and the armoury. The prisoners were held within the 5–7 story towers, each having a room around 4.6&nbsp;m (15&nbsp;ft) across and containing various articles of furniture. The infamous cachots (dungeons), the oozing, vermin-infested subterranean cells were no longer in use, since the respective reigns of [[Louis XV]] and [[Louis XVI]], who both worked on reforming the penal system in France. The governor of the prison was given a daily allowance per prisoner, the amount depending on their status—from nineteen [[Livre tournois|livres]] [[per diem]] for scientists and academics down to three for commoners. Although its prisoners' conditions were better than in many other prisons in France, including the dreaded [[Bicêtre]] in Paris, popular literary accounts focused on the Bastille as a place of horror and oppression and a symbol of autocratic cruelty.

=== Storming of the Bastille ===
{{main|Storming of the Bastille}}
{{inline citations needed|section|date=November 2025}}
[[File:Prise de la Bastille.jpg|thumb|''[[Storming of the Bastille]]'' (1789), by [[Jean-Pierre-Louis-Laurent Houel]]]]

The confrontation between the commoners and the [[Ancien Régime]] ultimately led to the people of Paris storming the Bastille on 14 July 1789, following several days of disturbances. At this point, the prison was nearly empty, with only seven inmates: four counterfeiters, two madmen, and a young aristocrat who had displeased his father. The regular garrison consisted of about 80 '[[invalides]]' (veteran soldiers no longer capable of service in the field) under Governor [[Bernard-René de Launay]]. They had however been reinforced by a detachment of 32 [[grenadiers]] from one of the [[Swiss mercenary]] regiments summoned to Paris by the Monarchy shortly before 14 July. 

A crowd of around 600 people gathered outside around mid-morning, calling for the surrender of the prison, the removal of the guns and the release of the arms and gunpowder. Two people chosen to represent those gathered were invited into the fortress and slow negotiations began.

In the early afternoon, the crowd broke into the undefended outer courtyard and the chains on the drawbridge to the inner courtyard were cut. A spasmodic exchange of gunfire began; in mid-afternoon the crowd was reinforced by mutinous [[Gardes Françaises]] of the Royal Army and two cannons. De Launay ordered a ceasefire; despite his surrender demands being refused, he capitulated and the victors swept in to liberate the fortress at around 5:30.

=== Later history ===
[[File:Place de la Bastille 1800.jpg|thumb|left|Initial project for the Place de la Bastille's redevelopment, with [[Elephant of the Bastille|an elephant sculpture]] to be built in its center]]
[[File:Place de la Bastille amidst Commune destruction.jpg|thumb|Place de la Bastille amidst [[Paris Commune|Commune]] destruction, by [[Alphonse Liebert]], 1871]]
[[File:Postcard of the Place de la Bastille.jpg|thumb|Postcard of the Place de la Bastille, 19th c.]]

On 16 June 1792, the area occupied by the [[Bastille]] was turned into a square celebrating [[liberty]], and a [[column]] was erected there. The first stone was laid by [[Pierre François Palloy|Palloy]]; however, construction never took place, and a fountain was built instead in 1793.

In 1808, as part of several urban improvement projects for Paris, [[Napoleon]] planned to have a monument in the shape of an elephant built here, the [[Elephant of the Bastille]]. It was designed to be 24&nbsp;m (78&nbsp;ft) in height, and to be cast from the bronze of [[cannon]]s 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]] immortalised the monument in the novel ''[[Les Misérables]]'' where it is used as a shelter by [[Gavroche]]. The monument was demolished in 1846.

In 1833, [[Louis Philippe I]] decided to build the [[July Column]] as originally planned in 1792. It was inaugurated in 1840.

The area was damaged during the events of the [[Paris Commune]] in spring 1871.

== The area today ==
The current Place de la Bastille is located on the former fort's site. In addition to the July Column, it is also home to the [[Opéra Bastille]]. The large ditch (''fossé'') behind the former fort has been transformed into a [[marina]] for pleasure boats, the [[Bassin de l'Arsenal]], to the south, which is bordered by the [[Boulevard de la Bastille]]. To the north, a covered [[canal]], the [[Canal Saint-Martin]], extends north from the marina beneath the vehicular roundabout that borders the location of the fort, and then continues for about 4.4 kilometers to the [[Place de la Bataille-de-Stalingrad]].

On Thursdays and Sundays, a large, open-air market occupies part of the park to the north of the Place de la Bastille, along the [[Boulevard Richard-Lenoir]]. Consumers can find fresh fruit, fish, meat, cheese and bread along with clothing and typical flea market items.

Some undemolished remains of one tower of the fort were discovered during excavation for the [[Paris Métro|Métro]] rapid transit system in 1899, and were moved to a park (the [[Square Henri-Galli]]) a few hundred metres away, where they are displayed today. The original outline of the fort is also marked on the pavement of streets and pathways that pass over its former location, in the form of special paving stones.  A café and some other businesses largely occupy the location of the fort, and the [[rue Saint-Antoine (Paris)|Rue Saint-Antoine]] passes directly over it as it opens onto the roundabout of the Bastille. The nearest Métro station is [[Bastille station (Paris Métro)|Bastille]], which is served by [[Paris Métro Line 1|Line 1]], [[Paris Métro Line 5|line 5]], and [[Paris Métro Line 8|line 8]]

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed" caption="New situation after the relayout and the removal of the large road south of the monument (2021)">
Place de la Bastille, Paris 25 April 2020.jpg|Place de la Bastille in 2020
Place Bastille - Paris IV (FR75) - 2021-05-23 - 2.jpg|Now with a pedestrian space at the south side of the monument
Traces Sol Bastille Place Bastille - Paris IV (FR75) - 2021-11-26 - 1.jpg|The contours of the former [[Bastille]] fort  
Opéra Bastille.jpg|The [[Opéra Bastille]]
Sapins Noël Place Bastille - Paris IV (FR75) - 2021-12-21 - 5.jpg|Christmas trees on the square
</gallery>

<gallery mode="packed" caption="Old situation with the large road south of the monument (before the relayout of 2019–2021)">
Place Bastille 20040914 A.jpg
P1290434_Paris_IV-XI-XII_place_de_la_Bastille_rwk.jpg
Place Bastille 20040914 B.jpg
Colonne juillet de nuit.jpg
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|France}}
* [[Bastille]]
* [[Bastille Day]]

==External links==
{{commons|Place de la Bastille|Place de la Bastille}}
*[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=paris,+france&ll=48.853230,2.369152&spn=0.003005,0.010274&t=h&hl=en Satellite image from Google Maps]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930195123/http://www.insecula.com/oeuvre/photo_O0012305.html Images of the July Column] ([[Insecula]])
*[http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110628054016/http://community.webshots.com/photo/521237726/1521367708041169831iQEDXa Gilded statue, Génie de la Liberté, at the summit of the Column] ([[Webshots]] user photo - links to bigger version)
*[http://www.france-pittoresque.com/anecdotes/84.htm L'Éléphant de la Bastille]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071229023653/http://paris1900.lartnouveau.com/paris12/la_bastille_actuelle.htm Place de la Bastille]  current photographs and of the years 1900
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb5V2sS6-DA The 1974 Bastille day Parade onf the Place de la Bastille], full video broadcast by the French [[Institut national de l'audiovisuel|National Audiovisual Institute]]

{{Visitor attractions in Paris |state=collapsed}} 
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Place de la Bastille| ]]
[[Category:1792 establishments in France]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1792]]
[[Category:Squares in Paris|Bastille]]
[[Category:Storming of the Bastille]]
[[Category:Bastille]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the 4th arrondissement of Paris]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the 11th arrondissement of Paris]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the 12th arrondissement of Paris]]