Fully fulfilling its role as a museum for the Invalides site, telling its history over the centuries and showing the individuality of a multi-faceted living space, the Army museum continues to consolidate its close link with this exception of national heritage. Today, with 1,2 million visitors each year, the Musée de l'Armée is the seventh most visited museum in France.
Musée de l'Armée a real museum-site in honor of the Invalides
To ensure the success of this monumental transformation project, the Musée de l'Armée has opted for delegated ownership of the project, entrusted toOpérateur du patrimoine et des projets immobiliers de la culture (OPPIC) e to the two project managers Christophe Batard, chief architect of the historic monument building, and “Antoine Dufour Architectes” for the renovation and scenography. All the internal fittings of the museum (renovation/renewal of the interior and scenography of the Vauban room) were entrusted to the "Antoine Dufour Architectes" studio. The consortium includes architects, technical consultants, scenographers, designers and economists who worked together to propose a museum project for this first route, underlining the dialogue with the monument and with the monument, incorporating all the improvements necessary to make the museum a museum modern. The work on the historic monument was supervised by architect Christophe Batard. In total, 12 companies worked on the creation of the new exhibition itinerary.
A very ambitious sustainable project
The ambitions of the project distinguish it from other projects, and in particular its intention to significantly improve the environmentally sustainable aspect. This involves the nature, strength and durability of the fittings, as well as the conservation and reuse of existing elements. The original joinery was preserved, renovated and restored for reinstallation in the Valenciennes and Landau corridors. The fixtures in the Vauban room were completely replaced, respecting the historical monument and to meet the needs of environmental and preventive conservation. The radiators and floors have been restored to their original state, ensuring heritage conservation while adhering to rigorous ecological standards.
The overall thermal properties of the structure, and in particular its insulation, have been re-evaluated. Therefore, for the first time and where possible (excluding painted decorations), insulation has been added to the Invalides using bio-based materials such as hemp and lime-cement plaster. The door and window frames have also been redone. Finally, underfloor heating was installed in the vestibules to ensure a good level of comfort and improve climate regulation in the museum spaces.
The history of the “DE L'ARMÉE E DEGLI INVALIDES” Museum
In 1670, Louis XIV ordered and financed the construction of a hotel for sick, wounded and elderly soldiers. Since its foundation, theHotel invalid it has become a place of welcome and care. For a time it was a hospice, a military complex, a convent and even a factory.
The July 14 1789, the revolting people take rifles and cannons from the Invalides and storm the Bastille. During the Revolution and the following years, the life of the Hotel and its occupants was strongly affected.
Under the Consulate and the Empire, the Hotel benefited from the protection of Napoleon, who assigned it a new role as a military necropolis, a role that was definitively consecrated in 1840 when the July Monarchy organized the restitution of the Emperor's ashes. Placed under the Cathedral, his remains were buried in 1861 in the tomb built to a design by the architect Visconti.
In the nineteenth century, after the war of 1870, the hospital activity of the Invalides declined in favor of a more patrimonial function, with the creation of the Musée d'Artillerie in 1871, followed by the creation of the Musée Historique de l'Armée in 1896. These two establishments merged in 1905, giving life at the Musée de l'Armée. Military authorities gradually settled within the building, including the Paris military government of 1897 which still exists today.
During the Great War, the Invalides were hit by a patriotic effervescence and were above all the starting point of the famous Marne taxis. The memory of the 1918 victory remained throughout the interwar period, with the main leaders of the Great War buried in the Governors' Tomb and the remains of Marshal Foch in one of the chapels of the Dôme.
During the Second World War, the defeat of 1940 led to the occupation of the building by the Germans, who stole many pieces from the Museum's collections. On December 15, 1940, they transferred the ashes of the eagle, son of Napoleon I, to the Dôme. After 1945, the necropolis became the home of World War II military leaders such as Marshals Leclerc and Juin, as well as Marshal Lyautey.
In almost forty years, numerous campaigns have been launched to restore the monument, including the one to regild the Dôme in 1989 and the restoration, in 2021, of the Emperor's tomb and the sites dedicated to his memory in the Invalides, thanks to popular subscription.
As always, the Invalidesis is still a living place today. It notably hosts the Institut National des Invalides. The site is directed by the Military Governor of Paris (MGP). The courtyard of honor is a key place in the life of the nation, used for national tributes and military honors.
The great figures of the Invalides
Louis XIV
It was Louis XIV who wanted and founded the Invalides with a royal ordinance of 1670. With it he aimed to improve the conditions of disabled soldiers abandoned to a miserable existence. In addition to his desire to demonstrate Christian charity to his fellow soldiers, he also wanted to make the military profession more attractive.
The location he chose was the Plaine de Grenelle, a vast unoccupied space on the edge of the Seine. The Secretary of State for War, Marquis of Louvois (1641-1691), "general director and administrator" of the Invalides, was responsible for directing the construction works. The construction of the Invalides lasted more than thirty years, from 1671 to 1706, and was completed in two phases. From 1671 to 1675, the architect Libéral Bruant directed the work, creating a quadrilateral with a large central courtyard behind a monumental facade. In October 1674 the first inhabitants moved there. In 1676, Jules Hardouin-Mansart became the second architect of the Invalides. He built the Soldiers' Church between 1676 and 1679, before starting construction of the Royal Cathedral Church. The gilding of the dome and the painted decoration will take another 16 years due to the kingdom's financial difficulties. A tall blue and gold gate is installed to beautify the entrance and facade. On August 28, 1706, Louis XIV officially inaugurated the Dôme des Invalides.
Napoleon I
The French Revolution profoundly affected the Invalides, with the secularization of the site. The Invalides became the symbol of France's military glory. Napoleon Bonaparte gave the Invalids a new funerary dimension and had the Ashes of Turenne (1611-1675) transferred to the Chapel of the Virgin under the Dome on 22 September 1800. In 1807-1808, Napoleon, having become emperor, had the heart of Vauban (1633 -1707) placed in the Sainte-Thérèse chapel opposite. In his will, Napoleon I expressed the desire that his ashes "repose on the banks of the Seine, among the French people whom [he] loved so much". In 1840, Louis Philippe chose Les Invalides as the emperor's final resting place, underscoring the indisputable military glory of Napoleon I.
Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle developed a special relationship with the Invalides while growing up near the Hôtel des Invalides as a boy. From 1931 to 1937 he was assigned to the Invalides, at the General Secretariat of the Superior Council of National Defense, where he wrote most of his writings. In 1965, as President of the Fifth Republic, he moved the Order of Liberation to Les Invalides. An exhibition has been dedicated to him since 2008: the Charles de Gaulle Historial. Designed around digital and audiovisual media, it traces his life and the role he played in the history of France.
