The Colonne de Juillet stands at the center of the square, topped by a golden figure of Mercury with outstretched wings. While the massive stone fortress that once imprisoned political rivals of the French monarchy vanished after the seventeen eighty-nine revolution, the column remains. It marks the site of the former prison and serves as a burial place for those who died during the July Revolution of eighteen thirty. The names of the fallen are inscribed in gold letters on the base.
Bastille
religious