The story of this place
The medieval Château de Vincennes, its 52-metre donjon the tallest fortified keep in Europe, grew from a royal hunting lodge into a formidable castle where kings were born and died—Henry V of England died here in 1422. Later it served as a state prison holding the philosopher Diderot, the future Mirabeau and the Marquis de Sade. In 1804 the Duke of Enghien was shot in its moat on Napoleon's orders, a killing that scandalised Europe. In August 1944, as they retreated, the Germans executed some 30 Resistance prisoners here and blew up part of the fortifications. Restored, the towering keep and its royal chapel now anchor a park on the edge of Paris.