Fronton de la caserne Charras

The stone fragment you are approaching is the solitary survivor of the Caserne Charras, a vast military barracks that once stood on this ground. Built in 1756, the original structure served as a home for the Swiss Guards who protected the French monarchy. From this very location, nine hundred and fifty soldiers marched toward the Tuileries Palace on August 10, 1792, to defend King Louis the Sixteenth during the French Revolution. Only three hundred of those men survived the fighting that followed, marking a violent end to the barracks' initial chapter as a royal stronghold.