Place de la Bastille - wikipedia Place de la Bastille For other uses, see Bastille ( disambiguation ). Place de la Bastille Place de la Bastille with the July Column in the center Length 215 m ( 705 ft ) Width 150 m ( 490 ft ) average Arrondissement 4th, 11th, 12th Quarter Arsenal, Roquette, Quinze - Vingts Construction Completion 27 June 1792 The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris where the Bastille prison stood until the storming of the Bastille and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution. No vestige of the prison remains. The square straddles 3 arrondissements of Paris, namely the 4th, 11th and 12th. The square and its surrounding areas are normally called simply Bastille. July Column The July Column ( Colonne de Juillet ) which commemorates the events of the July Revolution ( 1830 ) stands at the center of the square. Other notable features include the Bastille Opera, the Bastille subway station and a section of the Canal Saint Martin. Prior to 1984, the former Bastille railway station stood where the opera house now stands. The square is home to concerts and similar events. The north - eastern area of Bastille is busy at night with its many cafés, bars, night clubs, and concert halls. As a consequence of its historical significance, the square is often the site or point of departure of political demonstrations, including the massive anti-CPE demonstration of 28 March 2006. Contents 1 History 1.1 Early history of the Bastille 1.2 Storming of the Bastille 1.3 Later history 2 The area today 3 See also 4 External links History Early history of the Bastille Main article : Bastille The Bastille was built between 1370 and 1383 during the reign of King Charles V as part of the defenses of Paris, the structure was converted into a state prison in the 17th century by Richelieu, who was king Louis XIII 's chief minister. At that time it primarily housed political prisoners, but also religious prisoners, `` seditious '' writers, and young rakes held at the request of their families. It began to acquire a poor reputation when it became the main prison for those taken under lettres de cachet issued by the King of France. By the late 18th century, the building was made up of eight close - packed towers, around 24 m ( 80 ft ) high, surrounding two courtyards and the armoury. The prisoners were held within the 5 - 7 story towers, each having a room around 4.6 m ( 15 ft ) across and containing various articles of furniture. The infamous cachots ( dungeons ), the oozing, vermin - infested subterranean cells were no longer in use, since the respective reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI, who both worked on reforming the penal system in France. The governor of the prison was given a daily allowance per prisoner, the amount depending on their status -- from nineteen livres per diem for scientists and academics down to three for commoners. In terms of standards, there were many worse prisons in France, including the dreaded Bicêtre, also in Paris. However, in terms of popular literary accounts, the Bastille was a place of horror and oppression, a symbol of autocratic cruelty. Storming of the Bastille Main article : Storming of the Bastille The confrontation between the commoners and the Ancien Régime ultimately led to the people of Paris storming the Bastille on July 14, 1789, following several days of disturbances. At this point, the prison was nearly empty, with only seven inmates : four counterfeiters, two madmen, and a young aristocrat who had displeased his father. The regular garrison consisted of about 80 ' invalides ' ( veteran soldiers no longer capable of service in the field ) under Governor Bernard - René de Launay. They had however been reinforced by a detachment of 32 grenadiers from one of the Swiss mercenary regiments summoned to Paris by the Monarchy shortly before 14 July. `` Prise de la Bastille '' ( 1789 ), by Jean - Pierre - Louis - Laurent Houel A crowd of around 600 people gathered outside around mid-morning, calling for the surrender of the prison, the removal of the guns and the release of the arms and gunpowder. Two people chosen to represent those gathered were invited into the fortress and slow negotiations began. In the early afternoon, the crowd broke into the undefended outer courtyard and the chains on the drawbridge to the inner courtyard were cut. A spasmodic exchange of gunfire began ; in mid-afternoon the crowd was reinforced by mutinous Gardes Françaises of the Royal Army and two cannons. De Launay ordered a ceasefire ; despite his surrender demands being refused, he capitulated and the victors swept in to liberate the fortress at around 5 : 30. Later history Siderograph ( steel engraving ) of the full - scale elephant to be built, by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, 1830 On 16 June 1792, the area occupied by the Bastille was turned into a square celebrating liberty, and a column would be erected there. The first stone was laid by Palloy ; however, construction never took place, and a fountain was built instead in 1793. In 1808, as part of several urban improvement projects for Paris, Napoléon planned to have a monument in the shape of an elephant built here, the Elephant of the Bastille. It was designed to be 24 m ( 78 ft ) in height, and to be cast from the bronze of cannons taken from the Spanish. Access to the top was to be achieved by a stairway set in one of the legs. However, only a full - scale plaster model was built. Victor Hugo immortalized the monument in the novel Les Misérables where it is used as a shelter by Gavroche. The monument was demolished in 1846. In 1833, Louis - Philippe decided to build the July Column as originally planned in 1792. It was inaugurated in 1840. The area today Place de la Bastille The former location of the fort is currently called Place de la Bastille. It is home to the Opéra Bastille. The large ditch ( fossé ) behind the fort has been transformed into a marina for pleasure boats, the Bassin de l'Arsenal, to the south, which is bordered by the Boulevard de la Bastille. To the north, a covered canal, the Canal Saint - Martin, extends north from the marina beneath the vehicular roundabout that borders the location of the fort, and then continues for about 4.4 kilometers to the Place de la Bataille - de-Stalingrad. On Thursdays and Sundays, a large, open - air market occupies part of the park to the north of the Place de la Bastille, along the Boulevard Richard - Lenoir. Consumers can find fresh fruit, fish, meat, cheese and bread along with clothing and typical flea market items. Some undemolished remains of one tower of the fort were discovered during excavation for the Métro ( rail mass - transit system ) in 1899, and were moved to a park ( the Square Henri - Galli ) a few hundred metres away, where they are displayed today. The original outline of the fort is also marked on the pavement of streets and pathways that pass over its former location, in the form of special paving stones. A café and some other businesses largely occupy the location of the fort, and the Rue Saint - Antoine passes directly over it as it opens onto the roundabout of the Bastille. See also Paris portal Bastille Bastille Day External links Satellite image from Google Maps Images of the July Column ( Insecula ) Gilded statue, Génie de la Liberté, at the summit of the Column ( Webshots user photo - links to bigger version ) L'Éléphant de la Bastille Place de la Bastille current photographs and of the years 1900 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Place de la Bastille. Coordinates : 48 ° 51 ′ 11.3 '' N 2 ° 22 ′ 8.8 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 48.853139 ° N 2.369111 ° E ﻿ / 48.853139 ; 2.369111 Tourism in Paris Landmarks Arc de Triomphe Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel Arènes de Lutèce Bourse Catacombs Conciergerie Eiffel Tower Flame of Liberty Grand Palais and Petit Palais Institut de France Jeanne d'Arc Les Invalides Louvre Pyramid Luxor Obelisk Odéon Opéra Bastille Opéra Garnier Panthéon Philharmonie de Paris Porte Saint - Denis Porte Saint - Martin Sorbonne Tour Montparnasse Museums Bibliothèque nationale Carnavalet Centre Pompidou / Beaubourg Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie Jeu de Paume Louis Vuitton Foundation Musée des Arts Décoratifs Musée des Arts et Métiers Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris Musée Cognacq - Jay Musée Grévin Musée Guimet Maison de Victor Hugo Musée Jacquemart - André Musée du Louvre Musée Marmottan Monet Musée de Montmartre Musée National d'Art Moderne Musée national Eugène Delacroix Musée national Gustave Moreau Musée national des Monuments Français Muséum national d'histoire naturelle Musée national du Moyen Âge Musée de l'Orangerie Musée d'Orsay Musée Pasteur Musée Picasso Musée du quai Branly Musée Rodin Palais de la Légion d'Honneur Musée de la Légion d'honneur Musée de la Vie Romantique Religious buildings Alexander Nevsky Cathedral American Cathedral American Church Chapelle expiatoire Grand Mosque Grand Synagogue La Madeleine Notre - Dame de Paris Notre - Dame - de-Bonne - Nouvelle Notre - Dame - de-Lorette Notre - Dame - des - Victoires Sacré - Cœur Saint Ambroise Saint - Augustin Saint - Étienne - du - Mont Saint - Eustache Saint - François - Xavier Saint - Germain - des - Prés Saint - Germain l'Auxerrois Saint - Gervais - Saint - Protais Saint - Jacques Tower Saint - Jean - de-Montmartre Saint - Paul - Saint - Louis Saint - Pierre de Montmartre Saint - Roch Saint - Sulpice Saint - Vincent - de-Paul Sainte - Chapelle Sainte - Clotilde Sainte - Trinité Temple du Marais Val - de-Grâce Hôtels particuliers and palaces Élysée Palace Hôtel de Beauvais Hôtel de Charost Hôtel de Crillon Hôtel d'Estrées Hôtel de la Païva Hôtel de Pontalba Hôtel de Sens Hôtel de Soubise Hôtel de Sully Hôtel de Ville Hôtel Lambert Hôtel Matignon Luxembourg Palace ( Petit Luxembourg ) Palais Bourbon Palais de Justice Palais - Royal Areas, bridges, streets and squares Avenue Foch Avenue George V Champ de Mars Champs - Élysées Covered passages Galerie Véro - Dodat Choiseul Panoramas Galerie Vivienne Havre Jouffroy Brady Latin Quarter Le Marais Montmartre Montparnasse Place Dauphine Place de la Bastille Place de la Concorde Place de la Nation Place de la République Place Denfert - Rochereau Place des États - Unis Place des Pyramides Place des Victoires Place des Vosges Place du Carrousel Place du Châtelet Place du Tertre Place Saint - Michel Place Vendôme Pont Alexandre III Pont d'Iéna Pont de Bir - Hakeim Pont des Arts Pont Neuf Rive Gauche Rue de Rivoli Rue du Faubourg Saint - Honoré Saint - Germain - des - Prés Trocadéro Parks and gardens Bois de Boulogne Bois de Vincennes Jardin d'Acclimatation Jardin du Luxembourg Parc des Buttes Chaumont Parc Montsouris Tuileries Garden Cemeteries Montmartre Cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery Passy Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery Picpus Cemetery Région parisienne Chantilly La Défense Grande Arche Disneyland Paris Écouen Fontainebleau France Miniature Malmaison Musée de l'air et de l'espace Musée Fragonard d'Alfort Parc Astérix Provins Rambouillet La Roche - Guyon Basilica of St Denis Saint - Germain - en - Laye Sceaux Stade de France U Arena Vaux - le - Vicomte Palace and Gardens of Versailles Vincennes Events and traditions Bastille Day military parade Fête de la Musique Nuit Blanche Paris Air Show Paris - Plages Republican Guard Other Le Bateau - Lavoir La Ruche Café des 2 Moulins Café Procope Les Deux Magots Maxim 's Moulin de la Galette Moulin Rouge Related Paris Musées Axe historique Paris Métro Bateaux Mouches GND : 7568434 - 2 VIAF : 247420182 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Place_de_la_Bastille&oldid=839076048 '' Categories : Place de la Bastille Squares in Paris Storming of the Bastille Bastille Buildings and structures in the 4th arrondissement of Paris Buildings and structures in the 11th arrondissement of Paris Buildings and structures in the 12th arrondissement of Paris Hidden categories : Pages using infobox street with Paris - specific parameters Pages using infobox street with a dot map Coordinates on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն Italiano עברית Македонски Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Русский Suomi Svenska ไทย Українська Tiếng Việt 粵語 中文 21 more Edit links This page was last edited on 1 May 2018, at 03 : 04. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when was the place de la bastille built
Answer: between 1370 and 1383