Palais de la Cité, Conciergerie
The Île de la Cité has been occupied since late antiquity and has been the place where the Merovigian dynasty had built a palace, which later became the medieval seat of the Kings of France until 1358, when the royal family moved to the Louvre. Even though the palais was used as a seat for the administration and the Parliament, it was soon transformed into a prison. Thus, the conciergerie already had an unpleasant reputation when - during the Reign of Terror - housed around 1200 prisoners, which had to be judged by the Revolutionary tribunal, to be later executed by guillotine. Famous prisoners within its perimeters were Queen Marie Antoinette, Charlotte Corday, Madame du Barry and - in a sequence of condemnations of those who had been previously judges - the Girondins, Danton and Robespierre.With the restoration, the Palace was used as a prison but for high value prisoners, as Napoleon III and - today - a part of the building hosts law courts.
Its look is the result of major rebuilding occurred in the mid 19th century, even though it maintained its medieval fortress outlook.
