The Musée du Louvre (English the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre) is one of the world’s largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (district). Nearly 35,000 objects (with overall around 380,000 objects in the depots) from prehistory to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet).
The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of antique sculpture. In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum, to display the nation’s masterpieces.
The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The size of the collection increased under Napoleon and the museum was renamed the Musée Napoléon. After the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, many works seized by his armies were returned to their original owners. The collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and gifts since the Third Republic. As of 2008, the collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.
[...] Gemeindegebiet von Clichy bis an die damalige Stadtmauer von Paris (an der Porte Saint-Honoré am Louvre) und umfasste Monceau, Courcelles, Les Ternes, Levallois, Le Roule und die Stadt L’Evêque. [...]
[caption id="attachment_2621" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Olympic Park. Aerial view of the Olympic Park looking South East with the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) and Media Press Centre (MPC) in the foreground. Picture taken on 14 Jul 11 by Anthony Charlton."][/caption]The 2012 Summer Olympic development is a process running from 2005 to 2012, following the successful London bid...
[caption id="attachment_7237" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Painting 'Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo'. Series 'Views of St Petersburg and Moscow' by Alexey Maksimovich Gornostaev, produced as a gift to Queen Victoria on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of her reign.[/caption]The Alexander Palace (Russian: Александровский дворец) is a former imperial residence at Tsa...
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JP Morgan and Royal Dutch Shell are both moving their headquarter...
[...] Gemeindegebiet von Clichy bis an die damalige Stadtmauer von Paris (an der Porte Saint-Honoré am Louvre) und umfasste Monceau, Courcelles, Les Ternes, Levallois, Le Roule und die Stadt L’Evêque. [...]