The former royal chateau of the Conciergerie, located on the island of Cité near Notre-Dame-de-Paris, can be called the oldest Parisian chateau: it traces its lineage back to the palace of the legendary king of the Franks, Chlodwig (508). However, little remains of the 6th century palace: the French kings continuously rebuilt and reconstructed the building, and it was badly damaged by fires.
For a significant part of its history, the castle was the official residence of French monarchs, and in this era there was a surprising plot: it was in the Conciergerie lived Russian Queen of France Anna Yaroslavna, daughter of Yaroslav the Wise.
In the XIV century, during a rebellion, the townspeople broke into the castle and killed two royal counsellors. After that, the residence of the monarch became the Louvre. Some of the royal administration remained in the Conciergerie, and the management of the castle was transferred to the royal concierge - thus the current name of the building.
Not far from the castle there was a prison. When it became overcrowded, the functions of the prison were transferred to the Conciergerie. In 1391, the castle became a place of confinement for many centuries. During the Revolution, those condemned to death awaited their fate here. Queen Marie Antoinette went to the scaffold from here, cutting her hair and sitting in a cart. It was also from here that Maximilien Robespierre, the father of terror, went to the guillotine.
The Conciergerie had a reputation for being an extremely harsh prison. During the period of terror, cells were packed with several hundred people at a time, criminals along with political and "suspicious" people. In the Conciergerie museum you can see the list of prisoners sent from the local cells to the guillotine - it contains 2780 names.
Today the Chateau de Conciergerie is a museum part of the Palace of Justice complex. Only three towers remain from the medieval building of the Capeting period: the Silver Tower, Caesar's Tower and Bonbecq. However, some unusual rooms have been well preserved: the Salle des Ratniks, the only example of civil Gothic architecture in Europe, the Gothic chateau kitchen from the era of Jean the Good (14th century), and the chapel of Marie Antoinette, built on the exact spot where the queen's cell was located.
