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The Middle Ages
The Conciergerie was originally a part of the palace of King Philip IV (1284-1314). It was a section of the palace precinct controlled by a person of high degree, the keeper of the royal palace, the concierge.
Its ground floor levels, built in Philip's reign, are dominated by the Guardroom and the Hall of Men-at-Arms, which are exceptional examples of medieval secular architecture.
The latter is particularly striking: 209 feet long, 90 feet wide and 28 feet high, it was used as a dining-room for the 2,000 staff who worked in the palace.
It was heated with four large fireplaces and lit by many windows, now blocked up. It was also used for royal banquets and judicial proceedings.
The neighboring Guardroom was used as an antechamber to the Great Hall immediately above, where the king held his "lit de justice", a session of parliament in the king's presence.
The royal family abandoned the palace in 1358, moving across the river to the Palais du Louvre.
In 1391, the building was converted for use as a prison. Its prisoners were a mixture of common criminals and political prisoners.
As was common with imprisonment of the time (unlike now, of course) the treatment of prisoners was very dependent on their wealth, status and connections.
The very wealthy or influential prisoners would get their own cells with a bed, desk and materials for reading and writing. Less well-off prisoners could afford to pay for simply-furnished cells, called "pistoles", which would be equipped with a rough bed and perhaps a table.
The poorest prisoners, known as the "pailleux" from the hay (paille) that they slept on, would be confined to dark, damp, vermin-infested cells called "oubliettes" (literally "forgotten places"). In keeping with the name, they were left to die in conditions that were ideal for the plague and other infectious diseases.
Three towers survive from the medieval Conciergerie: the Caesar Tower, named in honor of the Roman emperors; the Silver Tower, so named for its (alleged) use as the store for the royal treasure; and the Bonbec ("good beak") Tower, which obtained its name from the torture chamber that it housed where victims were encouraged to "sing".
The building was extended under later kings with France's first public clock being installed around 1370. The current clock dates from 1535.
The Conciergerie and the French Revolution
The Conciergerie already had an unpleasant reputation before it became internationally infamous as the "antechamber to the guillotine" during the Reign of Terror, the bloodiest phase of the French Revolution.
It housed the Revolutionary Tribunal, as well as up to 1,200 male and female prisoners at a time. The Tribunal sat in the Great Hall between April 2, 1793, and May 31, 1795, and sent nearly 2,600 prisoners to the guillotine.
Its rules were simple. Only two outcomes existed - a declaration of innocence or a death sentence - and in nine cases out of ten, the latter was chosen.
The most famous prisoners (and victims) included Queen Marie Antoinette, the poet André Chénier, Charlotte Corday and the Girondins, who were condemned by Georges Danton, who was, in turn, condemned by Robespierre, who was himself condemned and executed.
En route to the tumbrels, the victims walked through the Salle Saint-Louis, (Saint Louis Room), which acquired the nickname of the "Salle des Perdus", the Room of the Doomed.
After the Restoration of the Bourbons in the 19th century, it continued as a prison for high-value prisoners - most notably, the future Napoleon III.
Marie Antoinette's cell was converted into a chapel dedicated to her memory.
The Conciergerie and Palais de Justice underwent major rebuilding in the mid-19th century, radically altering their external appearance.
While the building looks like a brooding medieval fortress, this appearance actually only dates from about 1858.
The Conciergerie was decommissioned in 1914 and was opened to the public as a national historical monument.
It is today a popular Paris tourist attraction, although only a relatively small part of the building is open to public access - much of it is still used for the Paris law courts.
Conciergerie Hours and Admissions
The Conciergerie is open everyday from 9:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. during March-October. The rest of the year it is open from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. It is closed on December 25.
Admissions for the Conciergerie are: 6.50 euros for adults; 4.50 euros for those between the ages of 18-25; free for those under 18 years of age and for those who are handicapped.
A combination ticket of the Conciergerie and Ste. Chapelle is 10 euros for adults and 7.50 euros for those between 18-25 years old.
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