Louvre Palace

About

The Palais du Louvre is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris on the right bank of the Seine, between the Tuileries Garden and the Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois Church. The Paris residence of the French rulers from the Middle Ages to the Second Empire, the setting and emblem of the arts in France, has been home to the Louvre Museum since the 18th century, as well as the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the École du Louvre. The construction of this vast architectural complex, inseparable from the history of Paris, spans more than 800 years.

Initially a fortress overlooking the Seine, bordered outside the enclosure built by Philippe Auguste in 1190, the Louvre castle became the most important royal residence and court under Charles V in the 14th century, protecting the royal library and the Treasury. From the Renaissance, the castle and its imposing dungeon were gradually demolished to make way for a larger palace. With his renovations, François I introduced modern architecture in Paris.

Desirous of forming an immense complex, Henri IV unites the Louvre with the Tuileries Palace built by Catherine de Medici, thanks to the construction of the Grande...