The Hôtel des Invalides was built in the 1670s by Louis XIV to house disabled war veterans. In 1674, the first residents moved into what was a veritable town, with a veterans’ home, barracks, a convent, a hospital and a workshop. By the end of the 17th century, it housed around 4,000 residents. By 1905, there were fewer and fewer veterans who had the twenty or more years of military service required to enter the Hôpital des Invalides, so these veterans were placed in smaller centers outside of Paris. Many historic buildings outlive their original purpose, as Les Invalides has, but veterans’ services still included in the complex are a retirement home, a medical and surgical center, and a center for external medical consultations.
Better-known today as a popular tourist destination, with more than 1.4 million visitors a year, the complex of buildings also contains museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France. The buildings house the Musée de l’Armée, the military museum of the Army of France; the Musee des Plans-Reliefs, a collection of scale models of towns, fortresses and châteaux across France, used for military strategy; and the Musee d’Histoire Contemporaine, a museum of contemporary history. The burial site for some of France's war heroes, the most famous one being Napoleon Bonaparte, is also located within the complex in the Église du Dôme, the Church of the Dome.
The Esplanade des Invalides is a 1,650-feet-long, open walkway that leads to the south entrance of Les Invalides and the Cour d’Honneur. At its far end, the walkway extends to the Seine River and the Pont Alexandre. (Across the Pont Alexandre are the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais.)
Pont Alexandre III
Pont Alexandre and the Church of the Dome in the background
Pont Alexandre and Les Invalides
The Esplanade des Invalides
You can see the dome of the Grand Palais in the background on the left, the four columns of the Pont Alexandre in the middle, and the dome of the Petit Palais on the right. The distance to both of these buildings is greatly foreshortened in the photo. It is quite a grand, open space right in the heart of Paris.
Entry to the Cour d’Honneur
A Latin inscription above the entrance says, “Louis the Great, by his royal generosity for his men for the continuation of times, founded this building in 1675.”
The main courtyard and the gilded dome of the Church of the Dome in the background
The Cour d’Honneur holds over two hundred years-worth of field artillery.
The opposite end of the courtyard
Two-storey arcades ring the courtyard; dormer windows above the arcades are sculpted to look like suits of armor.
The French classical cannons were developed in 1666 and used in sieges against fortified towns during the wars of Louis XIV.
A canon of the Gribeauval system
From 1764 on, the cannons of the Gribeauval system replaced French classical cannons. The new artillery was easier to handle and was put to use in campaigns by Napoleon Bonaparte, who trained as an artilleryman.
Smooth bore howitzer
A howitzer could fire shells from a distance of more than 3 ½ miles, an unprecedented feat at the time.
A French army officer crosses the courtyard
Entrance to the Antique Armor Wing of the Musée de l’Armée
Armor and weapons from the 13th - 17th century are on display in this area. The Musée de l’Armée houses the third largest collection of antique armor and arms in the world. Few military museums offer such a large collection of works and cover such a wide range of historical eras.
Armor and weapons from the 13th - 17th century are on display in this area. The Musée de l’Armée houses the third largest collection of antique armor and arms in the world. Few military museums offer such a large collection of works and cover such a wide range of historical eras.
Knight in full armor jousting at the museum entrance
Knight in full armor jousting at the museum entrance
A Black Knight in armor from the time of Francois 1er
His horse has “barding,” which is armor for horses. As armor for knights became more effective, their horses became targets. Archers shot horses, and armed infantry killed the knights after they dismounted. Thus, horse armor came as a response to this tactic.
Medieval tournament armor
Ceremonial armor for a child
Japanese armor
A chain mail shirt
Armor and painting of Henry IV
Henry IV (1553-1610) brought unity and prosperity to France after the 16th-century Wars of Religion. Henry IV was one of the first monarchs to elevate national unity above religion in terms of importance for a government. He was also notorious for his sexual exploits, taking on many lovers and earning the nickname, “Le Vert Galant.” (The Forever-young Lady’s Man)
Equestrian portrait of Henry IV in armor by Marin Le Bourgeoys
As a military leader, Henry was known for his courage and gallantry.
The length of the antique armor room
Battle of Cassel, April 11, 1677, by Joseph Parrocel, in 1680
This painting (15 feet x 18 feet) belongs to a series of battles featuring the conquests of Louis XIV between 1676 and 1678. The King is pictured in the foreground (he has a white plume in his hat), leading his troops against the Dutch enemy.
Armor from the time of Francois 1er
Elaborate dragon-crested parade helmet
Medieval knights in armor
Medieval saddle
Armored German knight, Otto Heinrich
Cathédral Saint-Louis des Invalides
Jules Hardouin Mansart designed a building which combined a royal chapel, the Église du Dôme, and a veterans' chapel, Cathédral Saint-Louis des Invalides. This way, the King and his soldiers could attend mass simultaneously, while entering the place of worship though different entrances, as prescribed by etiquette. There are two separate altars and a glass wall between the two chapels.
The long central aisle of the church is hung with flags captured from enemy troops.
If you look closely in the photo, you can see the back of the crucifix, the baldachin and marble pillars in the altar area of the adjoining Church of the Dome.
Close-up of the altar with French flags
The original organ was built during the year 1686, but has throughout the years received many restorations. It is supported by telamones (male sculptural supports) in gilt bronze on the corners.
Army of the Loire Monument
This is a sized-down replica of the monument in Le Mans, which commemorates the Army of the Loire during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.
Detail of the monument
Detail of the monument
To draw attention to his half-track vehicles launched in 1922, André Citroën organized a trans-Saharan expedition Touggourt to Timbuctoo and back again. (A half-track vehicle has wheels in the front and continuous tracks in the back, like a tank.) Subsequent expeditions included an expedition which crossed the African continent from north to south, and an expedition which crossed Asia, from Beirut to Beijing.
Also buried at Les Invalides are several members of Napoleon's family as well as a number of prominent French military leaders and war heroes. The dome is actually more of a military mausoleum than a religious chapel.
The Jardin de l'Intendant, the Garden of the Steward, is located on the grounds in front and to the south-west of the Église du Dôme.
On the grounds of this complex full of militaria, even the yews are bullet-shaped.
Grounds of the garden
Church of the Dome
The two marble statues on either side of the entrance to the church are Saint Louis on the left and Charlemagne on the right. The Église du Dôme was erected under Louis XIV and was inspired by Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the original for all Baroque domes. The church dome was the inspiration for our own United States Capitol building.
Looking up at the dome
Charles de la Fosse's circular painting (1692) on the ceiling shows the Glory of Paradise, with Saint Louis presenting his sword to Christ.
The round, raised wall encircles the Tomb of Napoleon in a gallery on the floor below.
Tombeau de Napoléon
Napoleon (1769-1678) was initially buried on Saint Helena, but King Louis-Philippe arranged for his remains to be brought to France in 1840, an event known as le retour des cendres. His final resting place, a tomb made of red quartzite and resting on a green granite base, was finished in 1861.Napoleon’s tomb comprises six coffins fitting into one another like a Russian doll: one of tin-plate, one of mahogany, two of lead, one of ebony, and the other of oak. On the ground, a multi-colored mosaic recounts the names of the Emperor's principal victories, each of which is also commemorated by the twelve Amazon-like figures surrounding the tomb.
A baldachin supported by marble pillars is above the altar with a crucifix mounted in front of the glass wall.
Also buried at Les Invalides are several members of Napoleon's family as well as a number of prominent French military leaders and war heroes. The dome is actually more of a military mausoleum than a religious chapel.
Sébastien le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban (1633-1707) was the foremost military engineer of his age. He was a marshal of King Louis XIV's army, and his memorial was installed here in 1808 at Napoleon's request. The monument contains an urn with the ashes of Vauban. The memorial is surmounted by a reclining Vauban, mourned by Science and War.
Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne (1611-1675), better known by his title Vicomte de Turenne, was one of the greatest French military commanders. The memorial depicts Turenne dying in the arms of mortality.
Marshall Louis Hubert Lyautey was a French general, the first Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925 and Marshal of France from 1921. He was placed in the Dome in 1963.
The tomb of Joseph Napoleon (Napoleon's older brother and King of Naples, Sicily and Spain). During his reign in Spain, he ended the Spanish inquisition because Napoleon was at odds with Pope Pius VII at the time, and saw Venezuela declare its independence, the first nation to do so. Never accepted as legitimate by the people, he eventually abdicated his throne and returned to France.
A large funeral monument in Church of the Dome is the bronze tomb of Marshal Ferdinand Foch, a World War I Allied commander. Foch was chosen as supreme commander of the allied armies, a position that he held until November 11, 1918, when he accepted the German Surrender.
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
“I want my ashes to rest on the banks of the Seine in the midst of the French people,
whom I love so much.”
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