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# François Palloy and Souvenir Models of the Bastille Made from Its Stones
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/miniatiurnaia-kopiia-bastilii-s-vosemiu-bashniami-sdelannaia-iz-kamnia-iz-steny-bastilii/
- Published: 2020-07-24T07:10:10.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T18:58:27.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Architecture, Museums, Heritage, Paris, People

A miniature replica of the Bastille with eight towers, made from stone from the Bastille's wall. An original souvenir devised by a man who styled himself the demolisher of the Bastille. A bustling contractor, engaged in pulling down the Bastille before any public debate had formed around the decision, let alone any considered verdict been reached, he was the adventurer and property developer of his day: François Palloy. Palloy did not lose heart, for he understood that the laborious demolition of such a colossus would not be paid for by the state in due measure or in good time, whereas he stood to earn far more by taking control of the site. Palloy not only sent samples of such miniature Bastilles, made from Bastille stones, to the heads of all 83 French departments and to the ministers, so as to sell as many unpretentious little sculptures as possible, but also conducted paid tours of the prison's ruins and its cellars, where the skeletons of tortured prisoners had been thoughtfully laid out. One of these stones is today in the Musée Carnavalet, the museum of the history of Paris; many others are scattered across the world

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_3027@24-07-2020_10-10-10.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_3028@24-07-2020_10-10-10.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_3029@24-07-2020_10-10-10.jpg)