MUSÉE DU LOUVRE

As former royal palace, the famous Louvre boasts a very long history. It began in the late 12^th century. In 1190, King Philippe Auguste (1180-1223) had a fortress built outside the city walls of Paris, occupying the south-western quarter of today's Cour Carrée. The building, measuring around 70-80 m on each side, was surrounded by a moat, while its thick walls were flanked by towers and had only two entrances. In the center was the keep, a large tower that served as a safe and prison, among other functions. The reason for this massive construction was the imperative need to defend the town, in particular by guarding the Seine, a route used by invaders from the north, commonly known as Vikings, since Carolingian times. It was during the construction of the Grand Louvre that archaeologists unearthed the remains of this first building in the 1980s. Nowadays, some of these architectural elements are freely accessible. Take a stroll along the Carrousel's wide shopping arcades, past the old moat, the north-east corner tower and the foot of the keep destroyed in 1528. Not far away, in the "Medieval Louvre" rooms renovated in 2016, numerous objects from this period are on public display. In the Crypt Saint-Louis, the oldest room in the palace, where the remains of a decoration dating from the reign of Saint Louis (1226-1270) were discovered, you can also see numerous artifacts testifying of daily life at the time, as well as a gilded copper parade helmet said to have belonged to King Charles VI, known as le Fou (1368-1422). In the Model Room, visitors can discover the transformations that have marked the history of the Palais du Louvre over the centuries, as well as its decorations, notably those by Jean Goujon (16^th c.). Remains of the Tuileries Palace, built by Catherine de Médicis and destroyed in 1871 during the Paris Commune, are also on display. As the city grew in the Middle Ages, the Louvre gradually lost its defensive function. It became a royal residence, notably under Charles V, known as the Wise (1338-1380), but it was Francis the 1^st (1494-1547) who had the defensive keep demolished, thus initiating far-reaching transformations. These changes continued until the reign of Charles IX (1550-1574). The west and south sides of the medieval enclosure were replaced by two elegant Renaissance wings. And it was under Henri IV (1553-1610) that the Palais du Louvre and the Palais des Tuileries were united. The Cour Carrée, designed by architects Lemercier and Le Vau, dates back to the reigns of Louis XIII (1601-1643) and Louis XIV (1638-1715). The palace was also decorated and fitted out in the style of the day, by the masters Poussin, Romanelli and Le Brun, until Louis XIV decided to move his court to Versailles. After a period of relative neglect, the Louvre underwent further transformations in the ^18th century, when it became a museum. Another story... and one whose origins lie in the distant past. As far back as the 16^th century, King Charles V surrounded himself with works of art, which he kept in the Vincennes dungeon! Later, under François the 1^st, a major collection was built up at Fontainebleau, in the "Cabinet des tableaux". This cabinet included masterpieces by Italian masters such as Raphael and Michelangelo. These works were preserved as much for their beauty as to further enhance the prestige they brought to the sovereign, an interest that continued from monarch to monarch until the 18^th century. During this period, known as the "Age of Enlightenment", Diderot suggested exhibiting the works in the Louvre to the public, on the model of the British Museum opened in 1759. But it wasn't until 1791 that the Louvre palace was entirely devoted to the conservation of works of art, and 1793 that a "Museum of the Republic" was created, bringing together former royal collections and confiscated goods, now available to all. It was thus in November 1793 that the Louvre palace opened its doors to the public for the first time... The Louvre was gradually organized and enriched.In 1981, President François Mitterrand launched the Grand Louvre project, and architect Pei designed the famous glass pyramid in the courtyard of the Carrousel, at the crossroads of the galleries to be visited. Today, the museum's 58,470 m² of exhibition space houses collections spanning several millennia of history, art and civilization, divided into eight departments in three wings of the palace: Richelieu, Denon and Sully. On display are Egyptian antiquities (mummies, everyday objects, etc.), Oriental antiquities (Assyria, Mesopotamia, etc.), Greek antiquities (numerous vases, sculptures, tanagras, etc.), Etruscan and Roman antiquities (bronzes, mosaics, etc.), Byzantine and Coptic antiquities (fabrics, architectural elements, etc.), paintings, sculptures and Islamic art. A total of 35,000 works are on display, including the Mona Lisa, the Victory of Samothrace, the Winged Bulls of Khorsabad, the Raft of the Medusa, the Gilded Apollo of Lillebonne, the Coptic Church of Baouit... In addition to visits (permanent or temporary exhibitions), the Musée du Louvre offers a variety of activities (workshops, guided tours...) and lectures in its auditorium.