The Conciergerie: The Ante-Chamber to the Guillotine
Why is it significant?
Stand right before the formidable twin cylindrical stone towers of the Conciergerie along the Quai de l'Horloge, their conical roofs reaching into the sky. You are looking at the oldest surviving royal palace of the Capetian kings of France.
Key Facts
| Place | The Conciergerie: The Ante-Chamber to the Guillotine |
|---|---|
| Address | 2 Bd du Palais, 75001 Paris |
| Geo Coordinates | 48.85600, 2.34580 |
| Part of Walk | Islands of the Seine: Pont Neuf, Royal Courts, and Gothic Splendor |
| Generated | Generated |
Stand right before the formidable twin cylindrical stone towers of the Conciergerie along the Quai de l'Horloge, their conical roofs reaching into the sky. You are looking at the oldest surviving royal palace of the Capetian kings of France. In the fourteenth century, King Charles the Fifth relocated the royal court to the Louvre, leaving this fortified compound in the hands of the royal Concierge, who gradually transformed its vaults into a state prison.
During the Reign of Terror from seventeen ninety-three to seventeen ninety-four, the Conciergerie became the gruesome gateway to the guillotine. Over two thousand six hundred prisoners were tried by the Revolutionary Tribunal right above these halls and locked in squalid subterranean cells before being loaded onto wooden death carts bound for the scaffold.
Queen Marie Antoinette was held in a damp, windowless cell here for seventy-six days following the execution of King Louis the Sixteenth. Two gendarmes watched her constantly from behind a folding screen while she prayed and stitched a black lace bonnet before being taken to the guillotine on October sixteenth, seventeen ninety-three.
Look at the corner clock tower: Paris's very first public mechanical clock has struck the hours here since thirteen seventy-one. Now enter the courtyard of Sainte-Chapelle.