In June 2021, a new museum opened in Paris, or rather, it would be more accurate to say that it reopened after 223 years of being closed. The Musée de la Marine, housed in the Hôtel de la Marine, first opened as a museum in 1778, about 15 years before the opening of the The Louvre MuseumHere's a short video that will get you in the right mood:
Why a museum, you ask? Let's dive into the fascinating story of the impressive building that towers over the Place de la Concorde and has witnessed the most important events that have taken place in Paris over the past 260 years.
The story of Hôtel de la Marine
Place Louis XV
The story of Hotel de la Marine It begins in 1748 when the city of Paris decides to commission a statue of King Louis XV on horseback from the sculptor Adam Bouchereau and looks for a suitable place to place it. Louis XV, together with the head of royal buildings, Abel François Poisson (brother of Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, known asMadame de Pompadour) They want to build a square that will overshadow Place Vendome It was built by Louis XIV, in the center of which stood at the time a statue of the Sun King riding a horse.
The problem was that Paris at that time was a crowded and dirty city and it was not possible to find an area that would accommodate such a large and impressive square, one that would be worthy of placing the statue of the king in its center, so an area outside the city owned by the king was chosen, located right at the edge of the Tuileries Gardens on what was then called the Champs-Élysées. Since this was the edge of the city, the square was supposed to delimit it and mark its western border.
No fewer than 19 proposals were considered over five years, but the king was not satisfied with any of them until he finally decided to appoint the architect of the Petit Trianon to the task.Versailles Angel Jacques Gabriel.
The square, originally called Place Louis XV, was enclosed byChamps-Elysees to the west, the Seine River to the south, and the Tuileries Gardens to the east, but its northern border remained orphaned since this area was not built up and it was even possible to see the The Church of the Magdalene The original was left undisturbed. To solve this problem and to create a worthy setting for the statue, architect Gabriel was asked to build two monumental buildings, identical twins, in the neoclassical style.
The Hollow Twins
Although it was decided to build them quickly, alas, these buildings had no purpose and no one had any idea what they would house, especially since it would take a long time to complete two buildings of this size. The solution was to build decorative buildings. You read that right. The Hôtel de la Marine and its twin, the Hôtel Carillon, were originally built as hollow facades without the large buildings that are behind them today, and those standing in front of them could see the sky and the birds flying through their windows.
But don't worry, the buildings were completed over the next few years, and in 1765, something happened and it was finally decided to turn the right-hand building into the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne (Crown Furniture Department), the place where all the furniture, decorative accessories, and ornamental objects that inhabit the royal buildings would be stored, cared for, and managed, as well as the collection of weapons, armor, and crown jewels. Initially, the Garde-Meuble occupied only part of the building, but within just two years, the space was full and it had to spread over the entire building, and thus the building officially became the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne.
The first museum in Paris opens to the public
The building, built around an internal courtyard, housed the residence of the head of the administration behind its impressive facade, which included luxurious salons on the floor behind the colonnaded avenue, intended for receiving dignitaries, and on the floor above were his apartments and offices.
The first to occupy the place was Pierre-Elisabeth de Fontanieu, followed by Marc-Antoine Thierry de Ville-d'Avray, with the latter being the one who decided to open the administration to the general public on some days of the week so that they could view the royal treasures, thus making the place the first museum in Paris.
Place Louis XV becomes Place de la Revolution
We all know that the opening shot of the French Revolution was the breakthrough ofBastille With weapons that were looted that morning fromInvalids, but what is less well known is that the weapons with which the mob broke into the Invalides were taken from the display of the Hôtel de la Marine, among them expensive and ornate weapons that were given as gifts to the king by foreign conquerors and were intended for display only.
Legend has it that the first shell fired at the Bastille was from a decorated, silver-plated cannon that the King of Siam gave as a gift to Louis XIV during his historic visit in 14 and had been looted the day before from the Hôtel de la Marine.
The years of the revolution were not kind to any building that belonged to the monarchy and the nobility, and many of them were looted, vandalized, or simply neglected. This was also the case with the Hôtel de la Marine, which on the one hand still held valuable treasures. However, on the other hand, in an insecure period, when every bastard was king, the place suffered from security problems, which led to wild parties taking place there and valuable objects that were still stored there were stolen.
For example, on the night of September 16, 1792, a group of about 40 people broke into a hotel and stole the Crown Diamonds that were displayed in the entrance hall. The diamonds, worth 30 million francs, disappeared and were never found.
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The honor guard of the guillotine shows at the French Navy Headquarters
The statue of Louis XV dressed as a Roman emperor riding a bareback horse was toppled and shattered at the outbreak of the Revolution (a model of the statue is shown inCarnival Museum (Next to the only remnant of the statue in the form of a giant bronze hand.) The statue was replaced by a guillotine, which during the years of terror worked non-stop, beheading the distinguished and famous.
Some of her “clients” were King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette, Madame du Barry and senior revolutionaries such as Danton and Robespierre. And so the balcony decorated with Greek columns in front of the Hôtel de la Marine became the most coveted viewing area for executions, the grandstand for guillotine spectacles.
The Reign of Terror, which ended with the execution of Robespierre, brought a new era to the square and the Hôtel de la Marine, and in 1795 the square changed its name again from Place de la Revolution toPlace de la Concorde (The agreement), as a kind of act of reconciliation after difficult and blood-soaked years.
That same year, it was decided to give the administrative building a new purpose that it would serve for the next 226 years – the headquarters of the French Navy, and thus it received its current name, Hôtel de la Marine.
The reason why the Navy received the impressive building was because it had simply been there since the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789. However, at that time it occupied a few rooms, and only about six years later was the building entirely occupied by the Navy and officially became its headquarters, until it was vacated in 2015 for the purpose of thorough renovation and conservation work, with the aim of turning it into a museum and opening it to the general public again.
From headquarters to museum
If you ask what happened to the Crown Furniture Department and all the thousands of valuable items it contained, then the answer is that the department, which was associated with the monarchy, was abolished and dismantled and all its belongings were either sold or vandalized or stolen. However, it did not actually disappear completely and the return of the monarchy to France and the imperial rule of the Bonapartes brought about a renewed need for such a department.
This is why it was re-established and during the 19th century went through several incarnations until it became the National Furniture Directorate (la Mobilier national), which exists to this day and is responsible, like the one the Crown was responsible for, for all the furniture, decorative accessories, and ornamental objects of government buildings in France.
When the decision was made in 2015 to turn the place into a museum, the aim was to restore it as much as possible to its days as the director of the furniture of the Crown under Marc Antoine Thierry de Ville d'Avry, with the decoration and furniture that inhabited it in the 18th century. However, the damage of the Revolution and the centuries in which the place served as a naval headquarters, during which it was closed to the public, created a huge and expensive challenge for those appointed to the position.
The Center for Historical Monuments, responsible for the preservation, maintenance, management, and rescue of historical buildings throughout France, took on the monumental task of preserving and renovating the building and transforming it into an accessible and sophisticated museum. To this end, approximately 130 million euros were allocated, which financed 3 years of renovation, during which employees from over forty different companies were employed, working on an area of 12,700 square meters.
To begin a project of this magnitude, it was necessary to survey the building, and surprisingly, beneath the additions from the 19th and 20th centuries, rich 18th-century decoration was discovered. However, before any restoration and conservation work could begin, the building had to be restored to its original form.
After the years in which the headquarters occupied the building, it was modified to suit their needs, and mainly to add office space. All this was done by redistributing it and lowering the ceilings. In this process, the original decoration was covered and modern facilities such as elevators and communication systems were installed. After the evacuation phase was completed, the restoration and design of the 18th century decoration began.
For this purpose, two period interior designers were brought in, Joseph Ashkar and his partner Michel Schrier, both of whom are considered master designers in the field of period decoration and who own one of the city's most luxurious hotels - Hôtel de Jover, which they furnished and designed with great skill. You can learn a little more about their hotel in the following video (speakers: French Enjoy the explanation, everyone else will enjoy the beauty):
As an anecdote, I will tell you that they also worked in our area when they were asked to design the decoration of a Palladian villa called Villa Palestine, which is located in Nablus and is an exact replica of the Villa Rotunda built by Andrea Palladio in the 16th century.
But if we return to the Place de la Concorde, the two talented designers were equipped with a respectable budget and began an unprecedented antique hunting expedition, during which they visited the warehouses of the Furniture Administration and also went on a shopping trip to the largest and most important antique dealers in France.
They purchased Reisner furniture and found antique fabrics, marble fountains, statues and paintings, lamps and ornate wood paneling, all to create a rich decoration that would restore the hotel's appearance back to the 18th century. The result is both eye-catching and playful, they managed to create a museum that rivals other respected 18th century museums in Paris such as Miracles of the Commando, Jacquemart AndreCognac, Jay, Carnival and even The Louvre.
An 18th-century museum accompanied by 21st-century technology: a tour of the Hôtel de la Marine
On June 12, 2021, the hotel opened after President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron inaugurated it a few days earlier when the Navy Guard parted ways with the building and handed it over to the general public, who did not remain indifferent and began to visit the place in droves.
Visitors who enter from the main entrance on Place de la Concorde arrive directly at the central courtyard and from there enter the hotel through the magnificent foyer. However, before we can go up to the lounges, we have to go through the ticket office (even if they were purchased online) and this is to receive sophisticated headphones with surround sound capabilities, which will accompany us throughout the entire tour. The office is located in the courtyard of the head of the administration, from which he would reach his apartments via side stairs. As part of the renovation, the courtyard was covered with an impressive glass ceiling that is a work of art in itself.
Please note that there are two possible tours, one only to the luxurious salons and the famous balcony overlooking the square, and the other is a full tour where you can visit the entire building, including the private apartments of Marc Antoine Thierry de Ville d'Avry from the 18th century. Needless to say, it is mandatory to do the full tour.
Now that we are equipped with headphones, let's return to the central courtyard and ascend to the magnificent salons. The salons we see today were built in the mid-19th century and are not the original salons that were there. They were built with great splendor and grandeur to receive dignitaries and their decoration incorporated motifs from the world of the sea and symbols of the Republican Navy.
During the 19th century, lavish balls were held there, the first being held by Napoleon Bonaparte for delegates from Europe to show them that France was back to its greatness. Many others followed, one in honor of the coronation of Charles X and the other in honor of Napoleon III, each period and its dignitaries.
During the tour, the headphones start working on their own and narrators tell the history of the place in French. In addition, interactive screens are placed in the salons and when you approach them you hear what they are presenting, it is a special experience, although at times it was a little disturbing.
The grand salon is the Salon d'Honor, where portraits of admirals from the pre-revolutionary monarchy are painted on wooden panels. After we have finished passing through the magnificent salons and meeting rooms, we arrive at the Loggia, which is the covered terrace hidden behind the impressive avenue of classical columns and from which a breathtaking view of the square with the Invalides building on the horizon is revealed.
After finishing our visit on this floor, we descend the magnificent stairs towards the central courtyard and return to the covered courtyard, from where we ascend the side stairs to Will Duvery's private apartments.
First, you enter the foyer, followed by a series of wonderful rooms decorated in the finest 18th-century decor. There you will find bedrooms, salons, offices, and bathrooms, which served the head administrator and his wife, and where they intimately entertained high society, artists, and philosophers, as was customary in the 18th century.
In addition to the display of the 18th-century salons and rooms, a restaurant called Mimosa by chef Jean-François Page has also opened on the premises. Also on the top floor, the Al Thani Museum will soon open, named after the Qatari foundation that patronizes art around the world and helped finance this project.
The Musée de la Marine is another landmark in the world's museum capital, which never ceases to innovate and surprise. The level of excellence in renovation, restoration, design, accessibility and advanced technology is unparalleled in the world, and just when I thought I had seen it all – Paris She managed to surprise me again and give me many good reasons to come back to her again and again and again.
So on your next visit to the City of Lights, make time to visit the Musée de la Marine, which I assume you already know how to get to. Please note: at this point, because Corona restrictions It is mandatory to purchase tickets in advance, as in many other museums in the city.
Important information for visitors
After reviewing the fascinating history of the place and giving you a few visuals of what awaits you, all that remains is to help you plan your visit. You can do this using the following information:
How do we get there?
Address: 2 Place de la Concorde
The most convenient way to get there is by metro line 1, 8 or 12 (get off at Concorde station).
Where to buy tickets
Here are some ticket options that will save you from standing in line:
- Ticket to the Hôtel de la Marine
- Ticket to the Hôtel de la Marine (including the rooms of the Superintendent of Royal Furniture)
- Combined ticket to Hôtel de la Marine and Fondation Louis Vuitton
- Combined ticket to Hôtel de la Marine and the Marmottan Monet Museum
What days and times is the museum open?
The museum is open every day from 10:30 AM to 19:00 PM, except Friday, when it is open until 22:00 PM, instead of 19:00 PM.
The history of the place is fascinating. I hope to visit there on one of my upcoming trips.
Thank you. I was left with my jaw dropped in amazement at the result of the renovation/restoration/preservation work. Amazing and beautiful.
Are there also English headphones?
definitely