1 0 . C O N C I E R
G E R I E
2 BOULEVARD DU PALAIS
In the heart of Paris , on the banks of the
Seine , is the Gothic castle of the Conciergerie ,
the oldest part of the Palais de la Cité , the
former residence of the kings of France and
the prison during the French Revolution .
The concierge , who was the actual owner of
the castle , was a high - ranking person in the
kingdom . He was appointed by the king to
maintain order , control over the police and
account for the prisoners .
In the 6th century , Clovis founded his royal
residence on the Île de la Cité . In 1200 , Philip
II of France made the Palais de la Cite the
seat of the power of the Capetian dynasty .
Louis IX embellished the building , having
built a palace chapel . Subsequently , Philip IV
reconstructed and expanded the palace to
accommodate the administrative institutions
of the kingdom .
The Parliament of Paris - the leading judicial
organ of the kingdom - was also located in the
palace . The main events of the revolutionary
court , held in the palace between 1793 and
1795 , marked the transition from revolution to
terror . The Conciergerie was the main prison .
Marie Antoinette spent her last days here . The
palace was subsequently used as a control
apparatus of the Republican courts , and later
itself became the court building .