In the 17th century, the city of Saint-Denis was a regiment for the Swiss guards. The soldiers were put up in the locals homes. To stop this system of accommodation in private homes, the inhabitants of the city of Saint-Denis made a commitment to participate in the expense of constructing a barracks. The barracks were built in 1756 by Charles-Axel Guillaumot. The building had a vast courtyard for exercise. In front, the architect added a central detached house decorated with a pediment.
In 1769, it was used for the regiment of the guards of Paris and in 1789, the French guards.
The site was occupied by the Germans from 1940. They installed a “Frontstalag” (prison camps of the German army) which worked in collaboration with F111 of Drancy (every Frontstalag had a number corresponding to a city) and the Romainville camp. Saint-Denis camp’s first function was to intern nationals of "high profile prisoners of the Reich". It seemed that it was mostly the British who were interned in Saint-Denis. A few days before the Liberation of Paris, sick female prisoners from the Romainville camp were transferred there. The building was demolished in 1969 but the pediment was preserved. Today there is the IUT (University Institute of Technology) and ENNA (high school) in its place.
Source: inventory of Heritage (Seine-Saint-Denis County Council)
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