Hôtel des Invalides
The Hotel des Invalides, located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, is an emblematic historical and architectural complex.
The Hotel des Invalides was ordered by Louis XIV on February 24, 1670.
The project was entrusted to the architect Libéral Bruant.
Work began in 1671 and was completed in 1678.
The height of the Hotel des Invalides reaches 107 meters at the top of the dome.
The Hotel des Invalides was built to provide shelter and care for injured or aging soldiers.
The tomb of Napoleon I is located at the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris.
Napoleon Bonaparte died in 1821 in exile on the British island of Saint Helena.
His life there, while relatively luxurious compared to most people of the time, was undeniably a form of imprisonment.
The British, fearing that he would return to power and resume conquest, never let him leave the island.
In 1840, Napoleon's remains were repatriated to France from Saint Helena, during the return of the ashes, at the initiative of King Louis-Philippe I and his minister Adolphe Thiers.
Napoleon's tomb was planned starting in 1840, but construction was not completed until two decades later.
It was inaugurated by Emperor Napoleon III on April 2, 1861.
The tomb is located under the dome of Les Invalides.
It is accessed through a door flanked by two atlanteans sculpted by Francisque Joseph Duret.
The crypt is surrounded by a circular gallery supported by twelve pillars decorated with victories, sculpted by James Pradier
until his death in June 1852.
In the center is a massive sarcophagus made of purple-colored Shoksha quartzite, quarried in Karelia, Russia.
The sarcophagus rests on a green Vosges granite base.
Napoleon's tomb is an iconic monument that bears witness to the fascinating history of this French emperor.
The Hôtel des Invalides bears witness to the military history and greatness of France.
It houses several museums, including the Army Museum, the Museum of Relief Plans and the Museum of the Order of the Liberation.
Discover its museums, its gardens and its role in national memory.