This is a veterans' hospital in Paris. It was built under the reign of Louis XIV— "the Sun King" — over the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th centuries. The church with the gold dome was for the royalty to use, not the veterans, they say. The veterans had their own chapel.
From the little bit of reading I've done, the Invalides complex has two the big claims to fame.
Besides its obvious magnificence, of course.
1. It was where the French Revolution started in 1789 when revolutionaries pillaged the arms supplies in the basement of the hospital on July 14 and headed off toward the Bastille with them.
2. The emperor Napoléon Ier's tomb is on perpetual display under the gilded dome of the Invalides church.
I know this is true because I've seen it. I didn't witness the pillaging in 1789... I've also seen the
Musée des Plans-Reliefs inside the building — it features scale models of French towns and their fortifications.
Napoleon's tomb stands on a pedestal under a dome like the one above, if I remember correctly.
It may even be imder this very dome. Here's what the tomb looks like:
I took the first picture and the last two in 2007 — the first from the top of the Eiffel Tower. The second and third photos are part of a set I took in 2015 from the top of the Tour Montparnasse.
I remember going to a concert, in the '50s, in Saint-Louis des Invalides, the church that is right behind the église du Dôme.
ReplyDeleteI've been into Saint-Louis des Invalides but I doubt I've ever taken any photos in there.
DeleteAccording to Wikipedia, Jules Hardouin-Mansart planed to build in front of the église du Dôme a semi circular colonnade, reminiscent of Saint Peter in Rome. That never saw the light of day.
DeleteOne more thing. In his testament Napoléon said, Je veux que mes cendres reposent au milieu de ce peuple français que j'ai tant aimé.
As usual I should have checked the exact quote. Here it is, Je désire que mes cendres reposent sur les bords de la Seine, au milieu de ce peuple français que j'ai tant aimé.
DeleteIn December 1940, to court the French people, Hitler had the remains of Napoleon's only son, Napoleon II, transferred from Shönbrunn, near Vienna, Austria, to the Invalides, near his father.
ReplyDeleteKen, is the Musée de l'Armée in a separate building, or an attached building, or is it part of the Invalides complex? I've never been, but some former students of mine went, and the photos were fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI've visited there, too! I heartily recommend seeing all the uniforms, tents, and mini dioramas of the various battles the french have fought in. And...I am not normally interested in that sort of thing, but it was nicely displayed and we know how the armies always had interesting clothes! We had a 3-day pass to museums in Paris that year and when it rained, we were there!
DeleteMary in Oregon
I always knew Napoleon’s tomb was huge but when I saw it in person I realized it was HUGE! These are great pictures, Ken, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI remember going to the uniforms museum too, when we went to see the plans-reliefs, which I found just as interesting. I think we must have gone there in the '90s, before I started using digital cameras. Or maybe you weren't allowed to take photos in the museums.
DeleteLots of armchair traveling... Merci, Ken!
ReplyDeleteMary in Oregon