Saint-Lazare Prison

The site where you are standing was once a medieval leper colony founded in the twelfth century. By the seventeenth century, the buildings were handed over to Saint Vincent de Paul and his religious order. During this era, the enclosure served a very different function than a hospital. Families used the site as a place to lock away black sheep who had brought them public disgrace. This history of seclusion and control set the foundation for the site to eventually become one of the most notorious prisons in Paris.