The Musée des Archives Nationales, formerly known as the Musée de l'Histoire de France (), is a state museum of French history operated by the Archives Nationales. The museum features exhibitions drawn from the collections of the government archives and aims to provide document-based perspective on France’s history and the evolution of French society. It is housed in the

Hôtel de Soubise The Hôtel de Soubise () is a city mansion '' entre cour et jardin'' (), located at 60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. History The Hôtel de Soubise was built for the Prince and Princess de Soubise on the s ...

in the

Marais Marais (, meaning "marsh") may refer to: People * Marais (given name) * Marais (surname) Other uses * Le Marais, historic district of Paris * Théâtre du Marais, the name of several theatres and theatrical troupes in Paris, France * Marais ( ...

neighborhood in the 3rd arrondissement of

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. It was first established under

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

in 1867, with the direction of Léon de Laborde.

History

The

was first built in 1371 as the Hôtel de Clisson and later acquired by the Ducs de Guise. In 1705, it was rebuilt by architect Pierre-Alexis Delamair (1676–1745) for François de Rohan-Soubise and

Anne de Rohan-Chabot Anne de Rohan-Chabot (Anne Julie; 1648 – 4 February 1709) was a French noble. A member of the House of Rohan, she was wife of the Prince of Soubise. It was she who brought the lordship of Soubise into the junior line of the House of Rohan. ...

, with little remaining of the original structure but its turreted medieval gateway which is now the only surviving remnant of Parisian private architecture from the 14th century (see image). The adjoining Hôtel de Rohan was built at the same time. In 1808, both buildings were acquired by the state, after which Napoleon designated the Hôtel de Soubise for the Empire Archives and the Hôtel de Rohan as the National Printing House (which so remained until 1927). Léon de Laborde, an archeologist and prolific author documenting artists, museum collections, and French history, served as the General Director of the Empire Archives from March 1857 to April 1868. He was chiefly responsible for setting up the museum relating to the archive collections. The museum officially opened on July 19, 1867, after de Laborde spent years collecting and selecting documents, then developing a classification and numbering system.

Operations and collections

The museum has both a permanent exhibition and rotating special exhibitions, which not only highlight the holdings of the Archives Nationales but also provide history on archival processes. The collection has objects dating back to the first century A.D. De Laborde developed the classification and numbering system for the collection, most of which are still in use: * AE I: (the

Armoire de fer L'armoire de fer (French: 'iron chest') in general refers to an iron chest used to house important papers. A notable and frequent use of the term refers to a hiding place at the apartments of Louis XVI of France at the Tuileries Palace where some ...

) This "iron chest" houses many of the most treasured documents, like Napoleon I's testament, the Journal of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...

and French constitutions. * AE II: Museum of French documents, including one of the oldest documents held in the Archives, a parchment from King Childebert III granting land to the

Abbey 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 ...

(see image). * AE III: Museum of foreign documents. This includes items such as correspondence between King Henry III of England and King Louis IX of France (see image). * AE V: Incriminating evidence and seized items, including case documents like that against

Robert-François Damiens Robert-François Damiens (; surname also recorded as ''Damier''; 9 January 1715 – 28 March 1757) was a French domestic servant whose attempted assassination of King Louis XV in 1757 culminated in his public execution. He was the last perso ...

for his assassination attempt of

King Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

of France. * AE VI: Historic objects, such as ancient city keys and objects from the Hôtel de Soubise and Hôtel de Rohan from when they were residences. AE IV, which was used for

Sigillographic Sigillography, also known by its Greek-derived name, sphragistics, is the scholarly discipline that studies the wax, lead, clay, and other seals used to authenticate archival documents. It investigates not only aspects of the artistic design ...

collections, no longer exists as it was eventually built into its own separate collection outside the Museum.

Architecture and decor

The Hôtels de Soubise and de Rohan have exterior architecture in the Baroque style, with rooms throughout in the Rococo style, including the ''Chambre du prince'', ''Salon ovale du prince'', ''Chambre d'apparat de la princesse'', an amusing ''Cabinet des singes'' (Monkey Cabinet), and the fine ''Salon ovale de la princesse'' with featuring gilt and crystal decor and ceiling frescoes by

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

Charles-Joseph Natoire Charles-Joseph Natoire (3 March 1700 – 23 August 1777) was a French painter in the Rococo manner, a pupil of François Lemoyne and director of the French Academy in Rome, 1751–1775. Considered during his lifetime the equal of François Bo ...

, and

Carle Van Loo Carle or Carlé is a surname. Notable people with the name include: *Andrea Cosima Carle, whose stage name is Maggie Mae (1960 – 2021), German singer * Barbara Carle (born 1958), French-American poet, critic, translator and Italianist *David C ...

(see image). Many of the rooms were carefully restored in the early 1900s.

References

Bibliography

* Senator

Catherine Dumas Catherine Dumas (born 13 July 1957) is a French politician who has represented Paris in the Senate since 2017, previously holding a seat from 2007 to 2011. A member of The Republicans (LR), she has also been a Councillor of Paris since 2001. ...

br>''La maison de l'Histoire de France : Rendez-vous avec l'Histoire''
* Isabelle Backouche, Vincent Duclert, ''Quel musée d'histoire pour la France ?'', Paris, Armand Colin, 2011.

External links