178914 July 1789 · Paris

Storming of the Bastille

An eighteenth-century painting of the crowd attacking the Bastille fortress on 14 July 1789 — Archival image: Jean-Pierre Houël. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Crowds looking for gunpowder stormed the Bastille, a royal fortress and prison in eastern Paris, killed its governor and freed its seven prisoners. The fall of this symbol of royal power pushed Louis XVI to accept the National Assembly and spread revolt across France. The fortress was demolished within months, and 14 July became France's national day.

Revolutions & Resistance
Political History
Paris, France

Sites

Site 1: Place de la BastillePaving stones tracing the fortress outline, and the July Column.Map ↗
Site 2: Square Henri-GalliReassembled foundation stones of a Bastille tower.Map ↗
Site 3: Carnavalet MuseumRevolutionary objects, including a model carved from a Bastille stone.Map ↗