Prison Saint-Lazare
Encyclopedia
The Prison Saint-Lazare was a prison in the Xe arrondissement
of Paris
, France
.
to Saint-Denis
at the boundary of the marshy area of former Seine
river bank in the 12th century, it was ceded on 7 January 1632 to Vincent de Paul
and the congrégation de la Mission
. At this stage it became a place of detention for people who had become an embarrassment to their families: an enclosure for "black sheep
" who had brought disgrace to their relatives.
The maison Saint-Lazare was situated in the enclos Saint-Lazare, the largest enclosure in Paris until the end of the 18th century, between the rue de Paradis to its south, the rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis
to its east, the boulevard de la Chapelle
to its north and the rue Sainte Anne to its west (today the rue du Faubourg-Poissonnière). Its site is now marked by the church of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul.
The building was converted to a prison at the time of the Reign of Terror
in 1793, then a women's prison (1896), its land having been seized and re-allotted little by little since the Revolution
. It was largely demolished in 1935, with the Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
installing itself in the remaining buildings, where they remained until recently. Only the prison infirmary and chapel (built by Louis-Pierre Baltard in 1834) remain of the prison, with the latter to be seen in the square Alban-Satragne (107, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis) in the 10e arrondissement. The surviving remains of the Saint-Lazare prison were inscribed on the supplementary inventory of historic monuments in November 2005.
A song by Aristide Bruant
entitled À Saint-Lazare is named after the prison.
Xe arrondissement
The 10th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France.Situated on the right bank of the River Seine, the arrondissement contains two of Paris's six main railway stations: the Gare du Nord and the Gare de l'Est...
of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
History
Originally a leper hospital founded on the road from ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....
at the boundary of the marshy area of former Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
river bank in the 12th century, it was ceded on 7 January 1632 to Vincent de Paul
Vincent de Paul
Vincent de Paul was a priest of the Catholic Church who became dedicated to serving the poor. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He was canonized in 1737....
and the congrégation de la Mission
Lazarists
Congregation of the Mission is a vowed order of priests and brothers associated with the Vincentian Family, a loose federation of organizations who claim St. Vincent de Paul as their founder or Patron...
. At this stage it became a place of detention for people who had become an embarrassment to their families: an enclosure for "black sheep
Black sheep
In the English language, black sheep is an idiom used to describe an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within a family. The term has typically been given negative implications, implying waywardness...
" who had brought disgrace to their relatives.
The maison Saint-Lazare was situated in the enclos Saint-Lazare, the largest enclosure in Paris until the end of the 18th century, between the rue de Paradis to its south, the rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis
Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis
The Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis is a street in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. It crosses the arrondissement from north to south, linking the Porte Saint-Denis to the Métro station of La Chapelle and passing the Gare du Nord.-History:...
to its east, the boulevard de la Chapelle
Boulevard de la Chapelle
The boulevard de la Chapelle marks the border between the 10e arrondissement and the 18e arrondissement of Paris. It corresponds in part to the mur des Fermiers généraux, which, until 1860, marked the border between the communes of Paris and La Chapelle....
to its north and the rue Sainte Anne to its west (today the rue du Faubourg-Poissonnière). Its site is now marked by the church of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul.
The building was converted to a prison at the time of the Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
in 1793, then a women's prison (1896), its land having been seized and re-allotted little by little since the Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. It was largely demolished in 1935, with the Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
The Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris is the public hospital system of the city of Paris and its suburbs...
installing itself in the remaining buildings, where they remained until recently. Only the prison infirmary and chapel (built by Louis-Pierre Baltard in 1834) remain of the prison, with the latter to be seen in the square Alban-Satragne (107, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis) in the 10e arrondissement. The surviving remains of the Saint-Lazare prison were inscribed on the supplementary inventory of historic monuments in November 2005.
A song by Aristide Bruant
Aristide Bruant
Aristide Bruant was a French cabaret singer, comedian, and nightclub owner. He is best known as the man in the red scarf and black cape featured on certain famous posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec...
entitled À Saint-Lazare is named after the prison.
Pre-Revolution
- François-Joseph BélangerFrançois-Joseph BélangerFrançois-Joseph Bélanger was a French architect and decorator working in the Neoclassic style.Born in Paris, he studied at the Académie Royale d'Architecture where he worked under Julien-David Le Roy and Pierre Contant d'Ivry, but did not win the coveted Prix de Rome that would have sent him to...
, architect - André ChénierAndré ChénierAndré Marie Chénier was a French poet, associated with the events of the French Revolution of which he was a victim. His sensual, emotive poetry marks him as one of the precursors of the Romantic movement...
, poet - Hubert RobertHubert RobertHubert Robert , French artist, was born in Paris.His father, Nicolas Robert, was in the service of François-Joseph de Choiseul, marquis de Stainville a leading diplomat from Lorraine...
, painter - Marquis de SadeMarquis de SadeDonatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
, writer and libertine - Joseph-Benoît SuvéeJoseph-Benoît SuvéeJoseph-Benoît Suvée was a Flemish painter strongly influenced by French neo-classicism.He was born in Bruges. Initially a pupil of Matthias de Visch, he came to France aged 19 and became a pupil of Jean-Jacques Bachelier. In 1771, he won the Prix de Rome...
, painter - Charles-Louis Trudaine, conseiller au Parlement
- Jean-Antoine RoucherJean-Antoine RoucherJean-Antoine Roucher , was a French poet.Roucher was the son of a tailor from Montpellier. His epithalamium on Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette won him the favour of Turgot, and a salt-tax collectorship. His poem, entitled Les Mois, appeared in 1779, was praised in manuscript, but critically...
, receveur des gabellesGabelleThe gabelle was a very unpopular tax on salt in France before 1790. The term gabelle derives from the Italian gabella , itself from the Arabic qabala....
, poet, portrayed several times by Hubert RobertHubert RobertHubert Robert , French artist, was born in Paris.His father, Nicolas Robert, was in the service of François-Joseph de Choiseul, marquis de Stainville a leading diplomat from Lorraine... - Thomas de Treil de PardailhanThomas de Treil de PardailhanThomas-François de Treil de Pardailhan was the eldest of an ennobled Languedocien family, originating in the Saint-Pons-de-Thomières region. At first an officer in the Maison Militaire du Roi, baron Thomas de Treil de Pardailhan was Maître d'hôtel du Roi at the Court of Versailles at the end of...
, former baron and députéChamber of Deputies of FranceChamber of Deputies was the name given to several parliamentary bodies in France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:* 1814–1848 during the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, the Chamber of Deputies was the Lower chamber of the French Parliament, elected by census suffrage.*...
for Paris in the Legislative AssemblyLegislative Assembly (France)During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from 1 October 1791 to September 1792. It provided the focus of political debate and revolutionary law-making between the periods of the National Constituent Assembly and of the National Convention.The Legislative...
Sources
- Jacques Hillairet, Gibets, Piloris et Cachots du vieux Paris, éditions de Minuit, Paris, 1956 (ISBN 2707312754). Appel des dernières victimes de la terreur à la prison Saint-Lazare à Paris les 7-9 Thermidor an II by Charles-Louis Muller (1815–1892), painting held at the Musée national du château de Versailles.