The Conciergerie Paris

Once you enter the Conciergerie, you will immediately be greeted by a grand hall called the 'Hall of Soldiers.' It is a massive hall that was built between 1302 and 1313 by Enguerrand de Marigny. The wall is designed with four aisles supported by gigantic pillars that stand at a towering height of 30 foot up to the ceiling. You can also see four huge fireplaces and a notable vaulted ceiling. The kings hosted royal banquets in this hall on special occasions and on typical days the royal family dined here along with their 2000 staff.

Visit the Guard Room of Conciergerie where you can see small vaulted rooms, enormous pillars and arched windows. The Guards Room was intended to be used as a quarters for the soldiers who protected the kings during the Middle Ages. This room was also used to bring the 2900 prisoners of the 1793-94 Reign Of Terror in front of the special prosecutor Quentin Fouquier-Tinville and the Revolutionary Tribunal. The prosecutor was also arrested and imprisoned in the Conciergerie for nine months before being condemned to death on 9th May, 1795 and the Revolutionary Tribunal was also abolished later.

The original Marie Antoinette’s Cell in the Conciergerie Paris was realtered into a commemorative Expiatory Chapel along with the nearby infirmary. The renovation of the Cell was carried out from 1815 to 1830 when the monarchy regained power. The Cell that you see today is the recreation of the space used by Queen Marie Antoinette for 10 weeks before her execution. During the restoration works, the real grimy cell was turned into a wonderful oratory dedicated to her memory under the instruction of Louis XVIII. You can witness a small part from the will of the queen and a dedication to Louis XVIII on a marble altar.

The Poor Prisoner’s Cell is a portrayal of the plight of the prisoners at the Conciergerie. The prisoners’ quality of life at the Conciergerie depended on their personal wealth. Only eminent personalities who were arrested as prisoners were given individual cells. The poor prisoners, on the other hand, were put together in a single cell where they had to sleep on floors covered with straws. They had no bathrooms and no indoor plumbing in their cells and hence their rooms always smelled horribly with the stink of urine. You can imagine how gruesome their condition was at the Conciergerie.

Explore the Girondins Chapel at the Conciergerie Paris which was constructed on the site of the medieval oratory that was destroyed in the fire of 1776. The Chapel gets its name from the Girondins, who were a group of 21 deputies of the Girondin party. They were modern revolutionaries who were sentenced to death by the Jacobins for not being liberal enough. You can see the place where the Girondins were given a feast on the night before their execution on October 30, 1973. History tells that the Girondins sang the national anthem of France while they were taken to the guillotine.

The Women’s Courtyard is an open space in the Conciergerie Paris where the female prisoners were allowed to walk around, eat outside and wash their clothes in the fountain. Today, you can see a small garden blooming with flowers, arcades, and a stone table in the courtyard. You can also spot a small triangular area in the northeast corner that is separated from the Women’s Courtyard by a gate.