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The Army Museum at Les Invalides was originally built by Louis XIV as a hospital and home for disabled soldiers. It now houses the Tomb of Napoleon and the museum of the Army of France. The museum has a huge collection of military paraphernalia dating from antiquity to the present day.
First opened to the public in August 1919, the Musée Rodin is housed in a mansion built in the Rue de Varenne, Paris, between 1727 and 1732. Nearly 300 works from Rodin’s collection are on view.
For nearly a 1,000 years since before Charlemagne, the French monarchy had buried its dead in the gorgeous Gothic cathedral of Saint Denis. The cathedral is the first great Gothic church in Europe, one whose beauty and elegance inspired a sacred "arms race" among the cities and prosperous towns of Europe to build equally-elaborate (and especially, more-elaborate) spires and flying buttresses.
By 1789, things in France had deteriorated to the point that peasants were starving while the upper classes lived in gaudy excess. After the Revolution, the trappings of the aristocracy were destroyed or sold off for the people. At Saint Denis, nearly a thousand years of history were undone when the tombs of the royals were opened and their corpses buried in quick lime in a pit outside the cathedral.
After Napoleon's first exile, to the island of Elba, the Bourbons briefly returned to power. They ordered a search for the corpses of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, which were found in January 1815 and brought to Saint Denis. They were buried in the crypt. After Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo (1815) the Bourbons had the opportunity to search for the remains of their ancestors. The mass-graves were opened in 1817, but it had of course become impossible to distinguish any individuals in the mass of bones. Therefore, the remains were put in a small room in St Denis' crypt, behind two marble plates with all their names on them.
First opened to the public in August 1919, the Musée Rodin is housed in a mansion built in the Rue de Varenne, Paris, between 1727 and 1732. Nearly 300 works from Rodin’s collection are on view.
For nearly a 1,000 years since before Charlemagne, the French monarchy had buried its dead in the gorgeous Gothic cathedral of Saint Denis. The cathedral is the first great Gothic church in Europe, one whose beauty and elegance inspired a sacred "arms race" among the cities and prosperous towns of Europe to build equally-elaborate (and especially, more-elaborate) spires and flying buttresses.
By 1789, things in France had deteriorated to the point that peasants were starving while the upper classes lived in gaudy excess. After the Revolution, the trappings of the aristocracy were destroyed or sold off for the people. At Saint Denis, nearly a thousand years of history were undone when the tombs of the royals were opened and their corpses buried in quick lime in a pit outside the cathedral.
After Napoleon's first exile, to the island of Elba, the Bourbons briefly returned to power. They ordered a search for the corpses of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, which were found in January 1815 and brought to Saint Denis. They were buried in the crypt. After Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo (1815) the Bourbons had the opportunity to search for the remains of their ancestors. The mass-graves were opened in 1817, but it had of course become impossible to distinguish any individuals in the mass of bones. Therefore, the remains were put in a small room in St Denis' crypt, behind two marble plates with all their names on them.
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Francie Stoutamire Photography