Château de la Tournelle

The Château was built during the reign of Charles VI of France (1380-1422), and was named after its many ‘tournelles’ or little towers used to monitor the Seine River.

[2] The structure replaced the older Saint-Bernard watch tower which was part of the fortified enclosure of the capital built by Philippe II of France the early 13th century.

[3][4] The Château's primary function was as a military base to protect the city of Paris from invasion through the Seine, rather than acting as a private reside for the monarch.

[6] Devastated by the loss of her husband, and because she supposedly disliked the medieval style of the Château, the widowed Queen Catherine de' Medici declared the building be abandoned.

[7] From 1632, at the advice of Saint Vincent de Paul, it was used to house prisoners condemned to work as rowers in galleys rather than remaining incarcerated at the Conciergerie.