The House of Invalids is one of the most magnificent architectural ensembles in Paris, connected by a 500-metre esplanade to the Alexandre III Bridge. The history of this treasure began with an almshouse for war veterans.
Until the 17th century, maimed and aged soldiers lived a miserable existence in France. In 1670, Louis XIV, keen to strengthen the army, approved a plan to build a home for retired soldiers.
The project was designed by the court architect Liberal Bruin. On the suburban plain of Grenelle grew a huge building with a majestic facade 196 metres long and a whole town of barracks with a closed system of courtyards. The largest of them, the "curdonnière", was intended for military parades. The chapel for veterans, the elderly Bruan helped to build the talented Jules Ardouin-Mansart.
Soon Louis XIV ordered to erect a personal royal chapel in the complex, and Mansart, inspired by the Roman Basilica of St Peter's, created a true masterpiece. At the centre of the ensemble stands a marvellous classicist church. Its gilded striped dome with a diameter of 27 metres soars to a height of 107 metres. The central part of the facade of St. Louis Cathedral is marked by Doric columns, on the second tier by Corinthian columns. The portico is crowned with statues of Louis IX and Charlemagne. Inside the church, a huge sub-dome fresco by Charles de La Fosse depicting Saint Louis laying his sword at the Saviour's feet draws attention.
The complex was completed in 1676 and housed four thousand veterans. Life in the town was strictly regulated - the invalids, grouped in companies under the command of officers, worked in workshops (shoemaking, tapestry, engraving).
In 1789, the revolution in Paris began when a mob attacked the House of Invalids in search of weapons - the veterans themselves opened the gates. In 1804, Napoleon presented the first orders of the Legion of Honour to officers here in a lavish ceremony. Gradually, the House of Invalids also acquired the features of a museum. In 1777 the collection of models of cities and fortresses (the present Museum of Plans and Reliefs) was moved here, in 1905 the Museum of the Army was created, the Museum of the Order of Liberation (dedicated to the Second World War and Charles de Gaulle) is also located here.
The architectural ensemble plays the role of a national military pantheon: it is here that Napoleon's tomb is located. In the crypt of the cathedral rests the Emperor's tomb, carved from Russian red quartzite. In the House of Invalides are buried many famous generals of France: Vicomte de Turenne, Ferdinand Foch, Philippe Leclerc, Jean de Lattre de Tassigny. Next to them is the author of the Marseillaise, Rouget de Lille, and the heart of the great military engineer Marquis de Vauban.
The glittering dome of the Maison des Invalides has become one of Paris' main landmarks. Tourists are attracted by the brilliant architecture, the unusual interior of the cathedral with the banners of France of various eras hung in the nave, and the trophy guns displayed opposite the Place des Invalides. However, the complex is not only a museum: about a hundred veterans live here under the care of the State Institute for the Disabled.
