Sunday, July 14, 2024

July 14, 1789 and Afterwards

 July 14, the French National Holiday

Place de la Bastille (Wikipedia).
I have recently seen this memorial from a moving taxi!

The storming of the Bastille, July 14, 1789 (Wikipedia)

Today marks the anniversary of the fall of the Bastille, a huge prison and armory in Paris. The Bastille represented the worst of the repression of the common people by the French kings. On July 14, 1789, after four hours of fighting and 94 deaths, revolutionary fighters finally took over this highly fortified structure. It was razed to the ground, and now is memorialized at Place de la Bastille where a large commemorative sculpture stands in the place of the destroyed prison. 

To celebrate Bastille Day, I've looked up some photos of Paris that connect to the holiday -- these are not my own photos!

Celebrating the result of last week’s election at Place de la Bastille. (I wasn't there.)

The Revolution in Murals at Bastille Metro Station




Photos from metro websites. I have not been to this station except on a moving train.

Blog post by mae sander 2024

17 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Love the mural, great collection of photos.
Take care, have a wonderful week!

Mel u said...

Thanks for sharing these images

Boud said...

As a kid I thought they released hundreds of political prisoners, but found there were only a handful there. They were no doubt happy, anyway. But yes, it was an icon of repression, best gone.

Jinjer-The Intrepid Angeleno said...

All I can think about whenever I hear the word "Bastille" is that episode of I Love Lucy where Lucy cries "Ricky, I'm in the Bastille!" :-D

gluten Free A_Z Blog said...

We were in Paris recently and the murals in their metro system are amazing. Thanks for sharing.

Jeanie said...

Happy Bastille Day! These are terrific images!

Joy said...

My parents went to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri one year for Bastille Day and participated in some kind of reenactment. I can't find evidence that is still an activity, but it sounded fun.

magiceye said...

Lovely murals.

Vagabonde said...

Yes Boud above is right. There were only 7 prisoners in the Bastille at the time: 4 forgers, 2 insane people and 1 criminal. But the crowd had not come to free them, the crowd thought the Bastille had lots of weapons.

Bertiebo said...

An important day in world history!

Lydia C. Lee said...

Very cool murals. Lovely work! #MuralMonday (and jealous of your Paris pics)

Sami said...

Nice Bastille murals. Thanks for participating in Monday Murals Mae.

Marg said...

Great murals!

We spent our Bastille Day at a French style market so that was a bit of fun!

Divers and Sundry said...

Love the murals. Happy Bastille Day!

Emma at Words And Peace / France Book Tours said...

I didn't know about these murals, cool!

David M. Gascoigne, said...

We arrived in France a few years ago the day before the Bastille Day celebrations and made sure to shop for groceries in anticipation of the stores being closed. They were - but other than that there seemed to be little fanfare. We were nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees, close by the border with Spain, so perhaps we were far from the action.

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

It always seems as if there are some who want to oppress others, and, likewise, those who are striving to overcome the oppression. This event, for me, is a momentous event. Sometimes good can win out.