Palais+de+Justice

The Palais de Justice, or Palace of Justice Law Courts, located on the Boulevard du Palais in Central Paris, is home to an immense amount of culture and history. It was built on former royal residence, hence the name ‘palace.’ In fact, it was the Governors’ Palace, where Frankish King Clovis lived until he decided to begin restoring it. From the fifth to the twelfth century, the kings of France continued to restore and improve the residency until it became the Palais de Justice. Between 1857 and 1868, architects Joseph-Louis Duc and Honoré Daumet began reconstructing the building. Joseph was put in charge of the program to rebuild and because of this, two of the most important constructions date from this. These include the west fa çade and the Salle des Pas Perdus. The Salle holds two huges naves, interrupted by round-arched arcades and gives access to several civil courts, one being the Chambre Dorée. Also, the exterior of the palace includes sculptural work by Jean-Marie Bonnassieux. The latter chamber was a favored aspect of the incredible ‘work of art’ and was begun in 1857 and finished in 1869, which soon became the hub of the palace. The courts opened in October of 1868. Palais de Justice has rich history and many lives were impacted by the creation of this palace. Many events took place here, from judicial issues to announcing the death sentence of many prisoners. As mentioned before, the Chambre Dorée was particularly remembered because it was here in 1793 where the revolutionary tribunal pronounced the death sentence of Queen Marie-Antoinette. The medieval prison was the Conciergerie, which occupies the ground floor of the Northwest wing of the palace. Here, prisoners suffered and lives were lost. Today, the palace still stands, as beautiful and breathtaking as ever. It is now the seat of the Law Courts of Paris; in fact, it has been used as a place of government since as far back as Roman times. You can still see the gradual evolution through history in the buildings architecture, ranging from the twelfth to the thirteenth century. The imperial eagles perched on the palace act as acroteria, an architectural ornament placed on a flat base and mounted at the apex of the pediment, on either side of the main building. There is even a medallion of Napoleon I on the upper part of the right-hand pavilion, it is very rare to see a building that has not been destroyed, with his sculpture still on it. People continue to tour through this wonderful piece of history and appreciate its beauty in a whole.