The louvre museum Automatic translate

The Louvre is the main building of the capital of France from the XII century. It used to be a royal residence, and now it is one of the richest, largest and oldest museums in the world, as well as a repository of huge collections of treasures of different civilizations and a symbol of Paris in the past, and France now and in the future.

Like a castle The louvre museum It was founded in 1190, it was then that King Philip-Augustus erected the Great Tower of the Louvre. The castle was needed to protect the lower Seine, which were often subjected to raids by the Vikings. In 1317, the royal treasury was transferred here, and the castle became a royal residence.

The beginning of the history of the Louvre, which is now known to the whole world, dates from 1528, it was in this year that the aging Tower of the Louvre was demolished, and in 1546 the expansion of the existing palace and the construction of new buildings began. From 1546 to 1682, a large number of external and internal buildings were built in the Louvre, today many of them determine the appearance of the famous Louvre. A square-shaped courtyard, the Colonnade of the Louvre, 2 new wings were erected, thanks to new buildings the palace became 4 times larger.

In 1682, Louis XIV made Versailles the royal palace, after which the Louvre remained in the shadows for a long time, which led to such neglect that in 1750 the question of its demolition was raised. We can say that the workers of Paris saved the palace from demolition. On the day that went down in history under the name "March of the Merchants" - 10/06/1789, they made a demarche to Versailles with demands for the royal family to return it to the capital.

The Louvre acquired its current form in 1871 after a fire in the Tuileries, which ended in its destruction. Only one detail was added to the Louvre in 1989 - in the center of the Napoleonic courtyard, the American architect Yo Ming Pei built a glass pyramid, which became the main entrance to the Louvre.

The Louvre holds more than three hundred thousand exhibits, many of which are unique. The museum’s collection was replenished in many ways: the most famous exhibit - “The Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci was bought by King Francis I in 1519, Venus de Milo was found in Turkey (1820) and acquired by the French ambassador, the canvas “Christ on the Cross” by El Greco to the museum it cost nothing, it was taken from the courthouse in Prades (Eastern Pyrenees), the painting “Marriage at Cannes” by Paolo Veronese was stolen in 1798 in a Venetian monastery. Also, a large number of exhibits - generous gifts, trophies or finds of archaeologists. Today, the Louvre is the most visited museum in the world, and it is also the third largest.

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