Palais de la Cité

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Palais de la Cité 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 to this day. It extended over the western part of the Île de la Cité, in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. Part of the palace was converted into a state prison in 1370, after Charles V and his successors abandoned it as a residence. The Conciergerie prison occupied the ground floor of the building along the Quai de l'Horloge and its two towers, while the upper floor was reserved for the Parlement of Paris. During the Terror, the Conciergerie served as a prison where the accused were held before appearing before the Revolutionary Tribunal between 1793 and 1795; Queen Marie Antoinette was imprisoned there in 1793. Until spring 2018, a large part of the site was occupied by the Paris courthouse. The main surviving remains of the Palais de la Cité are the former Conciergerie prison along the Quai de l'Horloge, in the north-east of the island, and the Sainte-Chapelle.