Photo © gazeta.ua
The royal prison-fortress of the Bastille in France on July 14, 1789, the insurgent Parisians stormed. Dismantled its walls and sold stones, like souvenirs. The day of the Bastille took place in the country as a national holiday.
In 1330, by the order of King Charles V of France, the construction of the Bastille was begun. She had to protect Paris from the attacks of the British.
The construction of the fortress was completed in 200 years. It consisted of 8 towers 30 m high connected by a similar height to the walls, surrounded by a moat with water up to 25 m wide.
In the XVII century. The Bastille became a state prison.
The cause of the siege of the Bastille were rumors about the decision of King Louis XVI to disperse the Constituent Assembly and the dismissal of the state financial controller of the reformer Jacques Necker.
The assault lasted about four hours. The crowd burst into the fortress and tore the chief of the garrison. The prisoners were released.
The frightened king made concessions. The next day, officially decided to destroy the Bastille. Works continued until May 16, 1791. From the broken stone of the fortress, miniature images of the Bastille were made and sold as souvenirs. Most of the stone blocks served for the construction of the Concorde Bridge.