The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the

7th arrondissement of Paris The 7th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''le septième''. The arrondissement, called Palais-Bourbon in a r ...

, France, containing

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

s and

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

s, all relating to the

military history of France The military history of France encompasses an immense panorama of conflicts and struggles extending for more than 2,000 years across areas including modern France, Europe, and a variety of regions throughout the world. According to historian ...

, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for

war veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

s, the building's original purpose. The buildings house the

Musée de l'Armée The Musée de l'Armée (; "Army Museum") is a national military museum of France located at Les Invalides in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is served by Paris Métro stations Invalides, Varenne and La Tour-Maubourg The Musée de l'Armée ...

, the military museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d'Histoire Contemporaine. The complex also includes the former hospital chapel, now national cathedral of the French military, and the adjacent former Royal Chapel known as the , the tallest church building in Paris at a height of 107 meters. The latter has been converted into a shrine of some of France's leading military figures, most notably the tomb of Napoleon.

History

Cathédrale Saint-Louis-des-Invalides, 140309 2

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

initiated the project by an order dated 24 November 1670, as a home and hospital for aged and disabled () soldiers. The initial architect of Les Invalides was

Libéral Bruant Libéral Bruant (''ca'' 1635 – Paris, 22 November 1697), was a French architect best known as the designer of the Hôtel des Invalides, Paris, which is now dominated by the dome erected by Jules Hardouin Mansart, his collaborator in earlier st ...

. The selected site was in the then suburban plain of Grenelle (''plaine de Grenelle''). By the time the enlarged project was completed in 1676, the façade fronting the Seine measured in width, and the complex had fifteen courtyards, the largest being the

cour d'honneur A ''cour d'honneur'' (; ; german: Ehrenhof) is the principal and formal approach and forecourt of a large building. It is usually defined by two secondary wings projecting forward from the main central block ('' corps de logis''), sometimes w ...

designed for military parades. The church-and-chapel complex of the Invalides was designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart from 1676, taking inspiration from his great-uncle

François Mansart François Mansart (; 23 January 1598 – 23 September 1666) was a French architect credited with introducing classicism into Baroque architecture of France. The '' Encyclopædia Britannica'' cites him as the most accomplished of 17th-century Fr ...

's design for a to be built behind the chancel of the

Basilica of Saint-Denis The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...

, the French monarch's necropolis since ancient times. Several projects were submitted in the mid-1660s by both Mansart and Gian Lorenzo Bernini who was residing in Paris at the time. Mansart's second project is very close to Hardouin-Mansart's concept of the Royal Chapel or Dome Church at Les Invalides, both in terms of its architecture and of its relationship with the adjacent church. Architectural historian

Allan Braham Allan John Witney Braham (19 August 19373 March 2011) was an English art historian, architectural historian, author and art gallery curator. He was Deputy Director at the National Gallery, London. Biography Braham was born in Croydon, Surrey ...

has hypothesized that the domed chapel was initially intended to be a new burial place for the Bourbon Dynasty, but that project was not implemented. Instead, the massive building was designated as private chapel of the monarch, from which he could attend church service without having to mingle with the disabled veterans. It was barely used for that purpose. The Dôme des Invalides remains as one of the prime exemplars of

French Baroque architecture French Baroque architecture, sometimes called French classicism, was a style of architecture during the reigns of Louis XIII (1610–43), Louis XIV (1643–1715) and Louis XV (1715–74). It was preceded by French Renaissance architecture and Ma ...

, at high, and also as an iconic symbol of France's

absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism (European history), Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute pow ...

. The interior of the dome was painted by Le Brun's disciple

Charles de La Fosse Charles de La Fosse (or Lafosse; 15 June 1636 – 13 December 1716) was a French painter born in Paris. Life He was one of the most noted and least servile pupils of Le Brun, under whose direction he shared in the chief of the great decorativ ...

with a Baroque

illusionistic ceiling painting Illusionistic ceiling painting, which includes the techniques of perspective ''di sotto in sù'' and ''quadratura'', is the tradition in Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art in which ''trompe-l'œil'', perspective tools such as foreshortening, an ...

. The painting was completed in 1705. Meanwhile, Hardouin-Mansart assisted the aged Bruant on the chapel, which was finished to Bruant's design after the latter's death in 1697. This chapel is known as the church of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides. Daily attendance of the veterans in the church services was required. Shortly after the veterans' chapel was started, Louis XIV commissioned Mansart to construct a separate private royal chapel, now known as the from its most striking feature. The Dome chapel was finished in 1706. File:Mansart Saint-Denis projet 2.jpg, François Mansart's second project for the Chapel of the Bourbons in Saint-Denis File:Stichting invalides.jpg, Louis XIV ordering the construction of Les Invalides File:Colonnade des Invalides.jpg, Jules Hardouin-Mansart’s project with unrealized south esplanade File:Louis XIV Invalides Pierre Denis Martin.JPG, ''Visit of Louis XIV to Les Invalides''. Painting by Pierre-Denis Martin File:Hyacinthe Rigaud 1685 Jules-Hardouin Mansart-001.JPG, Portrait of Hardouin-Mansart by

Hyacinthe Rigaud Jacint Rigau-Ros i Serra (; 18 July 1659 – 29 December 1743), known in French as Hyacinthe Rigaud (), was a Catalan-French baroque painter most famous for his portraits of Louis XIV and other members of the French nobility. Biography Rigaud ...

showing the Dome,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

File:Veron-Bellecourt - Napoléon Ier visitant l'infirmerie des Invalides, 11 février 1808.jpg,

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

visiting the infirmary of Les Invalides Because of its location and significance, the Invalides served as the scene for several key events in French history. On 14 July 1789 it was stormed by Parisian rioters who seized the cannons and muskets stored in its cellars to use against the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...

later the same day. Napoleon was entombed under the Dome of the Invalides with great ceremony in 1840. The separation between the two churches was reinforced in the 19th century with the erection of

Napoleon's tomb Napoleon's tomb is the monument erected at Les Invalides in Paris to keep the mortal remains of Napoleon following their repatriation to France from Saint Helena in 1840, or , at the initiative of Louis Philippe I and his minister Adolphe Thie ...

, the creation of the two separate altars and then with the construction of a glass wall between the two chapels. The building retained its primary function of a retirement home and hospital for military veterans (''invalides'') until the early twentieth century. In 1872 the musée d'artillerie (Artillery Museum) was located within the building to be joined by the musée historique des armées (Historical Museum of the Armies) in 1896. The two institutions were merged to form the present musée de l'armée in 1905. At the same time the veterans in residence were dispersed to smaller centres outside Paris. The reason was that the adoption of a mainly conscript army, after 1872, meant a substantial reduction in the numbers of veterans having the twenty or more years of military service formerly required to enter the Hôpital des Invalides. The building accordingly became too large for its original purpose. The modern complex does however still include the facilities detailed below for about a hundred elderly or incapacitated former soldiers. When the Army Museum at Les Invalides was founded in 1905, the veterans' chapel was placed under its administrative control. It is now the cathedral of the

Diocese of the French Armed Forces The Diocese of the French Armed Forces (french: Diocèse aux Armées Françaises) is a Latin Church military ordinariate of the Catholic Church. Immediately subject to the Holy See, it provides pastoral care to Catholics serving in the French Arm ...

, officially known as Cathédrale Saint-Louis-des-Invalides.

Architecture

Hôtel des Invalides, North View, Paris 7e 140402 1

On the north front of Les Invalides, Hardouin-Mansart's Dome chapel is large enough to dominate the long façade, yet harmonizes with Bruant's door under an arched pediment. To the north, the courtyard (cour d'honneur) is extended by a wide public esplanade (''Esplanade des Invalides'') where the embassies of Austria and Finland are neighbors of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all forming one of the grand open spaces in the heart of Paris. At its far end, the

Pont Alexandre III The Pont Alexandre III is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower. The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the cit ...

links this grand urbanistic axis with the

Petit Palais The Petit Palais (; en, Small Palace) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...

and the Grand Palais. The Pont des Invalides is next, downstream the Seine river. The buildings still comprise the Institution Nationale des Invalides, a national institution for disabled

s. The institution comprises: *a retirement home *a medical and surgical centre *a centre for external medical consultations.

Gallery

File:Paris - Orthophotographie - 2018 - Hôtel des Invalides 02.jpg, Aerial view of Les Invalides File:Paris - Les Invalides - Façade nord - 008.jpg, Northern frontage of the complex, overlooks the esplanade File:North portal of Hôtel des Invalides, Paris 11 June 2013.jpg, The northern portal of the complex, with Louis XIV with horse on the pediment File:Cour d'honneur des Invalides 001.jpg, The court of honor of the Invalides File:Paris - Toiture de la cour d'honneur des Invalides - Sculptures - 0010.jpg, Statue and attic window in the court of honor File:Statue aux invalides.jpg, Statue of Napoleon in the court File:Vive L'Empereur, Musée de l'Armée, August 2013 002.jpg, "Long Live the Emperor" in the court File:HoteldesInvalides-005-P07.jpg, The Pont Alexandre III, Alexander III bridge was built in alignment with Les Invalides File:Dome Invalides-IMG 2448.jpg, Sight on the complex and Paris from the Dome's top File:Armoiries-france-invalides-IMG 0831.jpg, Top of the gate that overlooks the northern esplanade File:Hotel des Invalides seen from the Tour Montparnasse.JPG, From Montparnasse tower File:L'architecture. Le passé.-Le présent (1916) - Flickr 14778212605.jpg, The Dome has a structure of triple hull File:Hôtel des Invalides - porte.jpg, The monumental bronze door of the Dome File:Dôme des Invalides, plan of former Église Royale des Invalides, engraving published 1670.jpg, Plan of the Dome File:Dôme des Invalides clocheton 2010.jpg, Pinnacle at the top of the Dome File:Dome @ Musée de l'Armée @ Les Invalides @ Paris (25768372166).jpg, Interior architecture File:Paris Dôme des Invalides 777.JPG, The grounds are covered with polychrome marble marquetries of the 17th century File:Napoleons tomb Paris France.jpg,

was dug in the center of the Dome File:Paris - Plafond du dôme des Invalides.jpg, Cupola of the Dome File:Dome @ Musée de l'Armée @ Les Invalides @ Paris (25673476082).jpg, One of the four small side cupolas File:Paris invalides cathedrale int.jpg, According to an old tradition, War trophy, war trophies decorate the Vault (architecture), vault of the Cathedral of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides File:MilitaryCostumeEmperorKienLong1736-1796.jpg, The Qianlong Emperor's military costume at the

Burials

The Dome chapel became a military necropolis when Napoleon in September 1800 designated it for the relocation of the tomb of Louis XIV's celebrated general Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne, Turenne, followed in 1807–1808 by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Vauban. In 1835, the underground gallery below the church received the remains of 14 victims of the Giuseppe Marco Fieschi's failed assassination attempt on Louis-Philippe I. The major development came with the building's designation to become

by a law of 10 June 1840, as part of the political project of the orchestrated by king Louis-Philippe I and his minister Adolphe Thiers (the reference to Napoleon's or "ashes" is actually to his mortal remains, as he had not been cremated). The creation of the crypt and of Napoleon's massive sarcophagus took twenty years to complete and was finished in 1861. By then, it was emperor Napoleon III who was in power and oversaw the ceremony of the transfer of his remains from a chapel of the church to the crypt beneath the dome.

Inside the Dome church

The most notable tomb at Les Invalides is that of Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), designed by Louis Visconti with sculptures by James Pradier, Pierre-Charles Simart and Francisque Joseph Duret. Napoleon was initially interred on Saint Helena, but King Louis Philippe I, Louis Philippe arranged for his remains to be brought to France in 1840, an event known as Retour des cendres, ''le retour des cendres''. Napoléon's remains were kept in the Saint Jerome (southwestern) chapel of the Dome church for more than two decades until his final resting place, a tomb made of Quartzite, red quartzite and resting on a Granite, green granite base, was finished in 1861. Other military figures and members of Napoleon's family also buried at the Dome church, by year of burial there: * 1800: Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne (1611–1675); 1670s monument by Gaspard and Balthazard Marsy, Gaspard Marsy and Jean-Baptiste Tuby, originally at the

and relocated by Napoleon * 1807–1808: heart of Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633–1707); relocated by Napoleon from Bazoches, replaced in 1847 with a cenotaph by Antoine Étex * 1847: Henri Gatien Bertrand (1773–1844), army general who accompanied Napoleon to Elba and then St Helena, and in 1840 brought Napoleon's body back to France; monument designed by Louis Visconti * 1847: Géraud Duroc (1772–1813); also by Louis Visconti * 1862: Jérôme Bonaparte (1784–1860), Napoleon's youngest brother, Governor of the Invalides 1848–1852; monument by Alfred-Nicolas Normand with sculpture by Jean-Baptiste Claude Eugène Guillaume, Eugène Guillaume, in the Saint Jerome chapel * 1864: Joseph Bonaparte (1768–1844), Napoleon's elder brother; monument by in the Saint Augustine (southeastern) chapel * Charles Leclerc (general, born 1772), Charles Leclerc (1772–1802); urn relocated from the Château de Montgobert * 1904: heart of Théophile Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne (1743–1800), named by Napoleon the "first grenadier of the Republic" * 1940: Napoleon II (1811–1832) son of Napoleon (his heart and intestines remained in Vienna); first placed in the church's Saint Jerome Chapel, then buried in the crypt in 1969 * 1858: heart of Catharina of Württemberg (1783–1835), wife of Jérôme Bonaparte, and their son Jérôme Napoléon Charles Bonaparte, in the underground gallery; the monument of Catharina's heart was relocated in 1862 in the Saint Jerome Chapel * 1937: Ferdinand Foch (1851–1929), monument by Paul Landowski in the Saint Ambrose (northeastern) chapel * 1963: Hubert Lyautey (1854–1934), relocated from Morocco, monument by Albert Laprade in the Saint Gregory (northwestern) chapel File:Deux " VICTOIRES " et le tombeau de Napoléon 1er.JPG, Two of the twelve marble Victories surrounding Napoleon's tomb File:Tomb of Joseph Bonaparte at Les Invalides, April 2011.jpg, Tomb of Joseph Bonaparte in the Dome church File:Fochs tomb, Hôtel des Invalides 2012-10-07.jpg, Tomb of Ferdinand Foch in the Dome church File:Vaubaninvalides01.JPG, Cenotaph of Vauban in the Dome church File:Tomb of marshal Lyautey in the Saint Gregory (northwestern) chapel of les Invalides.jpg, Tomb of marshal Lyautey in the Saint Gregory (northwestern) chapel File:Tomb of Jerome Bonaparte in the Saint Jerome chapel in les Invalides, France.jpg, Tomb of Jerome Bonaparte in the Saint Jerome chapel

Under the Cathedral church

82 additional military figures, including 28 Governor (Les Invalides, France), Governors of Les Invalides, are in the underground gallery known as the beneath the Saint-Louis Cathedral: * Albert d'Amade (1856–1941) * Jean-Toussaint Arrighi de Casanova (1778–1853), Governor 1852–1853 * Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers (1764–1813) (heart) * Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers (1795–1878), Marshal of France * Jean-François Berruyer (1737?–1804), Governor 1803–1804 * Jean-Baptiste Bessières (1768–1813), Marshal of the Empire * Baptiste Pierre Bisson (1767–1811) (heart) * Antoine Baucheron de Boissoudy (1864–1926) * Thomas Robert Bugeaud, Thomas Bugeaud (1784–1849), Marshal of France, involved in the French conquest of Algeria, conquest of Algeria * François Certain Canrobert, François Canrobert (1809–1895), Marshal of France * François-Henri de Franquetot de Coigny (1737–1821), Marshal of France, Governor 1816–1821 * Victor Cordonnier (1858–1936) * Charles-Marie Denys de Damrémont (1783–1837) * Vincent Martel Deconchy (1768–1823) (heart) * Denis Auguste Duchêne (1862–1950) * Guy-Victor Duperré (1775–1846) * (1794–1848) * Jean Baptiste Eblé (1758–1812) (heart) * Louis Franchet d'Espèrey (1856–1942), Marshal of France * Rémy Joseph Isidore Exelmans (1775–1852), Marshal of France * Émile Fayolle (1852–1928), Marshal of France * Ernest François Fournier (1842–1934) * Dominique-Marie Gauchet (1853–1931) * Augustin Gérard (1857–1926) * Henri Giraud (1879–1949) * Émile Guépratte (1856–1939) * Adolphe Guillaumat (1863–1940) * Ferdinand-Alphonse Hamelin (1796–1864) * Jean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul (1754–1807) (heart) * Paul Prosper Henrys (1862–1943) * (1885–1960), Governor 1951–1960 * Georges Louis Humbert (1862–1921) * Jean-Baptiste Jourdan (1762–1833), Marshal of the Empire, Governor 1830–1833 * Alphonse Juin (1888–1967), Marshal of France * Jean-Baptiste Kléber (1753–1800) (heart) * Fernand de Langle de Cary (1849–1927) * Charles Lanrezac (1852–1925) * Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère (1852–1924) * Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière (1759–1812) * Dominique Jean Larrey (1766–1842), celebrated military surgeon * Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle (1777–1809), the "Hussar General" * Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (1902–1947), Marshal of France * Patrice de MacMahon (1808–1893), Marshal of France and President of France * Paul Maistre (1858–1922) * Gabriel Malleterre (1858–1923), Governor 1919–1923 * Charles Mangin (1866–1925) * (1864–1944), Governor 1923–1944 * Edmond-Charles de Martimprey (1808–1883), Governor 1870–1871 * Louis de Maud'huy (1857–1921) * Michel-Joseph Maunoury (1847–1923), posthumous Marshal of France * Antoine de Mitry (1857–1924) * Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor (1770–1849), Marshal of France, Governor 1847–1848 * Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Moncey (1754–1842), Marshal of the Empire, Governor 1833–1842 * Raoul Magrin-Vernerey a.k.a. Ralph Monclar (1892–1964), Governor 1862–1864 * Georges Mouton (1770–1838), Marshal of France * François-Marie-Casimir Négrier (1788–1848) (heart) * Robert Nivelle (1856–1924) * (1618–1705), Governor 1696–1705 * Philippe Antoine d'Ornano (1784–1863), Marshal of France, Governor 1853–1863 * Nicolas Oudinot (1767–1847), Marshal of the Empire, Governor 1842–1847 * Paul Pau (1848–1932) * Aimable Pélissier (1794–1864), Marshal of France * Henri Putz (1859–1925) * (1870–1951), Governor 1944–1951 * Pierre Alexis Ronarc'h (1865–1940) * Pierre Roques (1856–1920), creator of the French Air and Space Force, French Air Force * Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (1760–1836), army captain, author of France's national anthem ''La Marseillaise'' * Pierre Ruffey (1851–1928) * Auguste Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély (1794–1870), Marshal of France * Jacques Leroy de Saint-Arnaud (1798–1854), Marshal of France * Maurice Sarrail (1856–1929) * Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta (1771–1851), Marshal of France * Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier (1742–1819), Marshal of France, Governor 1804–1815 * Victor d'Urbal (1858–1943) * Sylvain Charles Valée (1773–1846), Marshal of France Two of these, Gabriel Malleterre and Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, are also honored with a plaque inside the Saint-Louis-des-Invalides cathedral. Another plaque honors Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (1889–1952), posthumous Marshal of France, commander of the French First Army during World War II and later commander in the First Indochina War, who is buried in Mouilleron-en-Pareds. File:Caveau des Gouverneurs.jpg, Burial vaults in the beaneath Saint-Louis Cathedral File:Jean de Lattre de Tassigny memorial plaque, Saint-Louis-des-Invalides, Les Invalides, Paris, France - 20050912.jpg, Plaque honoring Marshal de Lattre de Tassigny in Saint-Louis Cathedral File:Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque memorial plaque, Saint-Louis-des-Invalides, Les Invalides, Paris, France - 20050912.jpg, Plaque honoring Marshal Leclerc in Saint-Louis Cathedral

References

External links

*
3d model of interior of Les Invalides
{{DEFAULTSORT:Invalides Buildings and structures completed in 1676 Baroque buildings in France Monuments and memorials in Paris Cemeteries in Paris Veterans' affairs in France Military-related organizations Roman Catholic churches in the 7th arrondissement of Paris Napoleon museums Terminating vistas in Paris Burial sites of the House of la Tour d'Auvergne Burial sites of the House of Bonaparte 1676 establishments in France Venues of the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic archery venues Domes Cathedrals of military ordinariates