Palais de la Cité

About

The Palace of the City was the residence and seat of power of the kings of France, from the 10th to the 14th century, while remaining the seat of the main courts of justice until today. It extended to the western part of the island of La Cité in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. Part of the palace was converted to state prison in 1370, after the palace was abandoned as a residence by Charles V and his successors.

The Conciergerie prison occupied the ground floor of the building bordering the Horloge wharf and the two towers; The upper floor was reserved for the Paris Parliament. The Conciergerie served as a prison during the Terror, and was the place of detention of the accused before their passage before the Revolutionary Tribunal between 1793 and 1795. - Queen Marie-Antoinette was imprisoned there in 1793.

Until spring 2018, much of the site was occupied by the Paris courthouse. Most of the remains of the Palace of the City consist of the former prison of the Conciergerie which runs along the Quai de l'Horloge, northeast of the island, as well as the Sainte-Chapelle.