The Louvre Palace and Museum

"Mouseîon: establishment in which a collection of works of art, items of historical, aesthetic or scientific interest are preserved, exhibited, shown to advantage." (Larousse dictionary)

The Palace
A medieval fortress, the palace of the kings of France, and a museum for the last two centuries, the architecture of the Louvre Palace bears witness to more than 800 years of history.

Two Centuries as a Museum
Established in 1793 by the French Republic, the Louvre Museum, in the company of the Ashmolean Museum (1683), the Dresden Museum (1744) and the Vatican Museum (1784) is one of the earliest European museums.

The Collections
Divided into 7 departments, the Louvre collections incorporate works dating from the birth of the great antique civilisations right up to the first half of the <NOBR>XIXth century, </NOBR>thereby confirming its encyclopedic vocation.

Renovations of the «Grand Louvre»
The "Grand Louvre" is a part of the "Grand Travaux" or Major Works defined by the President of the Republic François Mitterrand, which also includes the new Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the Opéra Bastille and the Grande Arche de la Défense.