Historic, Vintage, Cool (Paris)
By Karen Beishuizen
I have this thing for anything historic, vintage or cool. Especially when it comes to hotels, restaurants, diners, cafes and music venues. I want to show you landmarks around the world which are Historic, Vintage and Cool.
We stay in Paris!
Hôtel National des Invalides
In the 17th century, Louis XIV was the head of Europe’s greatest army. Aware that soldiers were the primary guardians of France’s greatness, the Sun King decided to erect a building for those who had served the royal army. The Cité des Invalides first opened to veterans in 1674. At once a hospice, barracks, convent, hospital and factory, the Hôtel was a veritable city, governed by a military and religious system. Over 4,000 boarders lived within the site’s walls.
It is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and an old soldiers’ retirement home, the building’s original purpose. The buildings house the Musée de l’Armée, the museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d’Histoire Contemporaine. The complex also includes the Cathedral of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides, the national cathedral of the French military. It is adjacent to the Royal Chapel known as the Dôme des Invalides, the tallest church building in Paris at a height of 107 metres (351 ft). The latter has been converted into a shrine to some of France’s leading military figures, most notably the tomb of Napoleon.
The Tomb of Napoleon is found within the Church of the Dome. It was created after his remains were returned to France from Saint Helena in 1840. It was prepared by King Louis Philippe I and his Prime Minister, Adolphe Thiers, but it was not completed and inaugurated until 1861. The sarcophagus made of purple quartzite, on a base of green granite, is placed in an open crypt, The crypt is surrounded by a circular gallery supported by twelve pillars, with relief panel and sculpture celebrating Napoleon’s accomplishments, represented by figures of Atlantes.
Other military figures and members of Napoleon’s family were also buried at the Dome church by year of burial there:
1862: Jérôme Bonaparte (1784–1860), Napoleon’s youngest brother.
1864: Joseph Bonaparte (1768–1844), Napoleon’s elder brother.
1940: Napoleon II (1811–1832) son of Napoleon (his heart and intestines remained in Vienna).
1858: heart of Catharina of Württemberg (1783–1835), wife of Jérôme Bonaparte, and their son Jérôme Napoléon Charles Bonaparte.
82 additional military figures, including 28 Governors of Les Invalides, are buried in the Caveau des Gouverneurs, an underground gallery beneath the Cathédrale Saint-Louis-des-Invalides.
The Army Museum (Musée de l’Armée) was created in 1905 with the merger of the Musée d’Artillerie and the Musée Historique de l’Armée. The museum’s seven main spaces and departments contain collections that display military equipment span the from the Middle antiquity through the 20th century.
Explore its rich military history and architecture when you are in Paris.
For more information, check out the website: HERE
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