Allée Bleue Estate: Franschhoek Bastille Day- The Flavour of France In Cape Town

The French Independence Day, more popularly known as Bastille Day, is celebrated every July 14. It is a national holiday in France, and it honors the storming of the Bastille by the French people during 1789, which instigated the French Revolution. Ideally, celebrating Bastille Day should be done in Paris, and many people of French descent make an annual pilgrimage to the city to join the festivities. However, if this is not possible for you, there are still other ways for you to celebrate La Fete Nationale within the comforts of your own home or even your own town.

A little further east of Stellenbosch and some 50 kilometres from Cape Town Airport lies the town of Franschhoek, a real must for those on Cape Town holidays who appreciate fine wine, good food and antiques. Nestled in the valley of the same name, the town has the Franschhoek and Drakenstein mountains as its backdrop, but actually much of its style is owed to the French Huguenots who settled there some 300 years ago. Indeed, Franschhoek still celebrates the annual Bastille Day festival on the 14th July to this day. Most of the wineries in the area were developed by the French, Allee Bleue Wine Estate is one of the oldest vineyards in the Cape, the ALLÉE BLEUE Estate has not only witnessed an eventful past but is also set to witness a challenging future. It lies in a picturesque location in the Franschhoek Valley - an area with a distinct French influence - and offers a breathtaking view of the Drakenstein mountain range. Get to know ALLÉE BLEUE during this years Bastille Festival and discover a unique place which offers an exciting combination of new and old, tradition and innovation, and history and modernity.

To the French, July 14th; Bastille Day or 'Fête Nationale' is much like America's Independence Day representing a hugely important day in the French national calendar. It is the day when France celebrates the introduction of a form of government. Bastille Day symbolises the overthrow of the old monarchy and the beginning of the French republic.

The Bastille was built in 1382 and originally defended the eastern side of Paris from attack. The Bastille was constructed with walls more than 80 feet high and was surrounded by a moat or fosse. Hundreds of years later, the ruling monarchy converted The Bastille into a prison. The Bastille soon became a hated symbol of the monarchy as it was in the Bastille that the King and the royal government would hold dissidents and other political prisoners without trial. Prisoners were sent there simply under the King's orders and only he could decide on and grant pardon and release.

Although the storming of the Bastille is seen as the focal point for the beginning of the French Revolution, it's existence alone was not sufficient for the revolution to start. The build up to the act on July 14th 1789 was the culmination of a backlash against the absolute and arbitrary power of King Louis XVI's Ancient Regime. The French monarchy wasn't just undemocratic; it also owned the land against which it raised taxes as well as taking rent. The broad spectrum of French people was angry and frustrated with the aristocracy not conceding towards a more modern democratically based society.

As a hated symbol and being in the heart of Paris, the Bastille was a perfect target for the protestors. At the time of the actual 'storming' of the Bastille, it is reported that there were actual negotiations being held on a peaceful handover of the prison, however the protestors broke into one of the outer compounds and a bloody seize began. At the end of the day, nearly 100 protestors had lost their lives to only one soldier, although more soldiers were to be killed by the lynch mob.

Having stormed the Bastille, more violent acts took place with peasants rampaging and destroying many chateaux, and more importantly records of feudal taxes and rents due.

It is recognized by many historians that the storming of the Bastille had a more symbolic than strategic part in the actual revolution. It represented a statement of liberty and the fight against oppression. By seizing the Bastille the peasants signaled that the monarch's power was no longer absolute.

Bastille Day is commemorated world-wide with people dressing as French revolutionaries and embracing the day by the singing the La Marseillaise, the French national anthem.