Louvre

The first

It began as a fortress to guard Paris from the west

King Philip II began the Louvre in the late 12th century to protect the city from attack from the west, while England still held Normandy. In 1546 Francis I converted it into the primary residence of the French kings.

The opening

It opened as a public museum on 10 August 1793

The Louvre became a public museum during the French Revolution. It opened on the first anniversary of the monarchy's demise, with 537 paintings and 184 objects of art. Three-quarters came from the royal collections, the rest from confiscated émigrés and Church property.

537paintings on show when it opened in 1793

The name

In 1803 the museum was renamed for Napoleon

In 1802 Napoleon appointed Vivant Denon as the museum's first director, and on Denon's suggestion it was renamed Musée Napoléon in July 1803. The collection grew through successful military campaigns. After Waterloo many pieces were returned, though far from all.

The evacuation

Truck convoys carried the art out of Paris in 1939

On 27 August 1939, after two days of packing, truck convoys began to leave Paris. Most of the paintings went to the Château de Chambord, and sculptures such as Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo to the Château de Valençay. Art began returning in early 1945.

The pyramid

A glass pyramid became the way in

In 1981 President François Mitterrand proposed the Grand Louvre plan. In 1984 the architect I. M. Pei proposed an underground entrance reached through a glass pyramid in the Cour Napoléon, and the underground lobby opened on 30 March 1989. By 2002 the visitor count had doubled.