In the heart of Paris, on the city’s ile (ile de la cité) is the first royal residence of the kings of France dating from the fourteenth century. The building currently presents a part of the palace of the Capetians. Still there today one can see the magnificent gothic style armory that could accommodate up to two thousand people. When King Charles V left the palace, he maintained there a judicial seat and appointed a concierge with policing power.
The concierge became a prison for terror from the fifteenth century for Ravaillac (the murderer of Henry IV), the bandit Cartridge, the Comtesse du Barry, Charlotte Corday (murderess), Queen Marie Antoinette, Robespierre and many others who are spent their last days here in the dark hours of the French Revolution. The prison conditions were particularly harsh there. Today, we can now see restoration of the cells during this revolutionary era.
See also the Holy Chapel, a jewel built by Saint Louis to serve as a backdrop to the relics of the Passion of Christ.
© Karen Gallo
© Karen Gallo
