Before it was stormed on July 14, 1789, the Bastille served as a prison. More precisely, it was a medieval fortress in Paris that the French monarchy used as a state prison and detention site, especially for prisoners held by royal order.
Construction began under King Charles V in the late 14th century, when the fortress guarded the eastern approach to Paris. Over time, its military importance declined, but its thick walls and association with arbitrary royal imprisonment made it a powerful symbol of absolutist rule.
The Bastille was not packed with prisoners when the revolutionaries attacked. Only seven inmates were released that day, including four accused counterfeiters, two men considered mentally ill, and an aristocrat. The crowd was primarily seeking weapons and gunpowder stored inside the fortress, as well as challenging royal authority.
The storming became a defining early event of the French Revolution. The prison was demolished soon afterward, and its stones were reused or sold as souvenirs. The site is now the Place de la Bastille, one of Paris’s best-known public squares.