Prison de l'Abbaye
The Prison de l'Abbaye was a so-called state prison (Prison d'État) in Paris , which was used from 1522 to 1854.
The original building consisted of a ground floor and two floors above and was flanked at the corners by watch towers. In 1631 it was rebuilt and expanded by Gamard.
One of the bloodiest episodes of the French Revolution took place in the building.
One of the prominent inmates was Madame Roland, wife of the Girondin Minister of the Interior, Jean-Marie Roland de La Platière . She was arrested here during the sans-culottes uprising in 1793 before being transferred to the prison of Sainte-Pélagie .
history
The original building, erected as part of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés Abbey , was founded by Childebert I , who, according to legend, had it built on the site of a temple of Isis (or Ceres ). It was dedicated to the Holy Cross and Vincent of Saragossa, who later took the name Germanus of Paris as Bishop of Paris .
Childebert I was buried in the basilica of Saint-Germain (at that time still "Saint-Denis des Mérovingiens"). This, closely linked to the history of the kings of France, has a special symbolic value, as part of the September massacres were committed in it in 1792 .
There was also a pillory in the abbey that was used until the 16th century. In 1631 it was removed and a military prison was established here. In addition, the building was enlarged.
On June 30, 1789, the prison was attacked by a crowd to free the prisoners of the Régiment des Gardes françaises who had been arrested for refusing to obey on June 1.
At the beginning of the revolution, the prison became a tragic and blood-soaked place. In September 1792 a large number of prisoners, including some clergymen, were massacred here. Among them were the former foreign minister under Louis XVI. , Armand Marc de Montmorin Saint-Hérem, Charles François de Virot de Sombreuil and the Abbé Alexandre Lanfant, preachers to Emperor Joseph II and King Louis XVI.
September massacre
During the revolution, many people from all backgrounds were charged with opposition to the ruling regime that wanted to abolish the monarchy.
The events of September 2 to 7, 1792 cannot be analyzed in detail, as they are only based on the stories of the participants. What is certain is that a group of fanatics led by Stanislas-Marie Maillard (called Tape dur and self-proclaimed "President of the Provisional Tribunal in the Prison de l'Abbaye") broke into the prison and massacred 164 prisoners, including 18 priests Has.
All prisons in Paris, such as the Prison de l'Abbaye or the neighboring Prison des Carmes, were very special places of shame during the September massacres. In the "Prison de l'Abbaye" more than 300 people were killed by around 50 madmen led by Stanislas-Marie Maillard.
The abbey had turned the massacre into a play. Clothes had been piled up in the middle of the courtyard to make a kind of mattress
The victim who was brought into this type of arena through the door was killed by saber blows on the blood-soaked "mattress". The spectators were interested in the way everyone ran, screamed, and fell. Comments were made as to which of the victims showed courage or cowardice. The women in particular enjoyed it a lot. Once they got over their disgust, they became terrible, insatiable spectators, terrible in their lust and curiosity. The assassins even had benches set up for the male and female spectators.
cancellation
The "Prison de l'Abbaye" was a military prison until 1854 and was then demolished by Baron Haussmann during the construction of the Boulevard Saint-Germain during the structural changes in Paris .
Footnotes
- ↑ voir ses Mémoires
- ^ Dictionnaire administratif et historique des rues de Paris et de ses monuments de Félix Lazare
- ↑ Maillard was a former bailiff and involved in the assault on the Bastille . He died of tuberculosis in 1794 .
- ↑ Jules Michelet "Histoire de la Révolution française" -Folio Histoire- Gallimard Paris 1952 - Volume I - Part VII - Chapter VI - Name of the chapter: "Le 3 et le 4 septembre" - p. 1075 - ISBN 978-2-07 -034390-4
literature
- François Jourgniac de Saint-Méard: Mon agonie de trente-huit heures ou récit de ce qui m'est arrivé, de ce que j'ai vu et entendu, pendant ma détention dans la prison de l'Abbaye de Saint-Germain, depuis le 22 août jusqu'au 4 septembre , Editeur: Baudouin 1823
- Copie de l'exemplaire Bibliotheque cantonale et universitaire de Lausanne, numbered on February 29, 2008 Google books ;
- Chronique de la Révolution , p. 102, publié par les éditions Jacques Legrand SA. (1988)
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 51 ′ 14 " N , 2 ° 20 ′ 4" E