ISSUE 27 – STEVE KOVACS FUN WITH MAPS
By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)
LOVELAND, OH (July 14, 2020) – In Issue 27 of Steve Kovacs Fun with Maps feature we storm the Bastille
Steve Kovacs, in charge of the French Troops? (Provided)
Vive la France!
Today’s French National celebration commemorates the storming of the Bastille in Paris in 1789. This became a key turning point of the French Revolution. The attacking crowd lost about 200 people while the defenders only one; however, they did eventually succeed in taking control of the Bastille.
The Bastille was a fortress and armory. It also held a few common prisoners at the time, but not the political prisoners whom the crowd wanted to free. Nonetheless, three weeks later feudalism was abolished in France.
If you would try to find the Bastille today, you would be disappointed as it was demolished within a few months after the storming. Instead, you could witness the grandest of military parades on the Champs-Elysees, featuring my favorite, the French Foreign Legion.
This Parisian folding map is by Vuillemin from 1861.
Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.
Click here to visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Antique Maps & Fun Facts here on Loveland Beacon.
Folding map of Paris -1861 (Credit Steve Kovacs)
