Les Invalides in Paris

14 March 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, Paris / Île-de-France Reading Time:  13 minutes

Hôtel des Invalides, as seen from the Tour Montparnasse © Jens Peter Clausen/cc-by-sa-3.0

Hôtel des Invalides, as seen from the Tour Montparnasse © Jens Peter Clausen/cc-by-sa-3.0

Les Invalides, commonly known as Hôtel national des Invalides (The National Residence of the Invalids), or also as Hôtel des Invalides, 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 a retirement home for war veterans, the building’s original purpose. The buildings house the Musée de l’Armée, the military museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d’Histoire Contemporaine, as well as the Dôme des Invalides, a large church with the tombs of some of France’s war heroes, most notably Napoleon Bonaparte.   read more…

Portrait: Jean-Baptiste Colbert, founder of mercantilism

2 August 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Portrait Reading Time:  8 minutes

Jean-Baptiste Colbert by Robert Nateuil

Jean-Baptiste Colbert by Robert Nateuil

Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His relentless hard work and thrift made him an esteemed minister. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing and bringing the economy back from the brink of bankruptcy. Historians note that, despite Colbert’s efforts, France actually became increasingly impoverished because of the King’s excessive spending on wars. Colbert worked to create a favourable balance of trade and increase France’s colonial holdings. Colbert’s father and grandfather operated as merchants in his birthplace of Reims. Colbert was recommended to King Louis XIV by Mazarin. While Cardinal Mazarin was in exile, Louis’ trust in Colbert grew. In 1652 Colbert was asked to manage the affairs of the Cardinal while he was away. This new responsibility would detach Colbert from his other responsibility as commissaire des guerres. Although Colbert was not a supporter of Mazarin in principle, he would defend the cardinal’s interests with unflagging devotion.   read more…

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