Colonne de Juillet 

On Place de la Bastille stands the July Column, a monument that honors two French revolutions. It began in 1830, when the people rose up against King Charles X during the ‘Three Glorious Days’ of street barricades.

The result wasn’t a republic, but a new king: Louis-Philippe. The first stone for the column was laid in July 1831. In 1840, the remains of 504 fighters from 1830 were placed inside, with their names engraved. In 1848, after another revolution, 196 more were added.

Where the Bastille fortress once stood, this column now stands as a symbol of the fight for freedom. Still, the storming of the Bastille in 1789, celebrated every July 14, overshadows the memory of these later uprisings.