Louvre

The Louvre museum is the best known of the many Paris's museums. As one of the finest and largest art museums in the world, it deserves special attention. The large collection of impressionist paintings at the Orsay museum also attracts many visitors.

The Louvre, the richest of museums, has stood for more than 800 years and reflects stages of change in French life through the centuries. Important rulers left their mark on the Louvre by tearing down and rebuilding and gathering extraordinary works of art. The earliest known building was a fortress built about 1190; however, a Frankish tower or fortified area probably existed at the end of the fifth century. The fortress not only protected the city of Paris from invasions from the west but protected the king from his own subjects on the east. This fortress served as an arsenal, its dungeons housed political prisoners, and its rooms held the royal treasures--icons, armor, manuscripts, and jewelry.

By about 1400, the Louvre had become a royal retreat where banquets, tournaments, and state occasions were held. It was at this time that elaborate gardens were added and an aviary for exotic birds as well as a host of wild animals. The Louvre lost its military importance when a group of merchants seized possession and moved city walls beyond the Louvre. It became a part-time residence for the kings but still served as an arsenal and prison. Charles V had countless architects, builders, decorators, and artists to modernize and enlarge the Louvre. He added two new wings to replace the north and east walls. This "marvel to behold" no longer exits.