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Place de la BastilleBuilt in 1369, the Bastille was a heavily fortified prison with a motes and draw bridges. To the French peasentry of the time, it had become a symbol of royal absolutism. Most of its inmates were incarcerated there for political, not criminal, reasons. Voltaire and the Marquis de Sade were among some of its' more notable inmates. On July 14, 1789, a mob gathered outside its' walls and, finding an unguarded drawbridge, stormed in through the giant gates of the fortress. Although there were very few prisoners found, and even fewer weapons, the date and event have taken on symbolic meaning marking the beginning of the French Revolution. In 1880 the date was set aside as Bastille Day, now a national holiday equivalent to the 4th of July in the United States. |
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