HÔTEL DES INVALIDES

Description

Essentials about the Hôtel des Invalides in brief

The Hôtel des Invalides is one of the most monumental and magnificent buildings in Paris. It was originally a home for war-disabled soldiers who were unable to work, commissioned by King Louis XIV between 1670 and 1676. Today, the Hôtel des Invalides houses several museums, including the important Army Museum (Musée de l’Armée), as well as the tomb of the most famous Frenchman – Emperor Napoleon I – in the Invalides Cathedral.

The history of the Hôtel des Invalides

The problem of what to do with homeless, jobless or wounded soldiers after a war was not only a question of humanity for the French kings, but first and foremost a question of national security. After all, soldiers who were unoccupied and without a job, but who knew how to use weapons, could certainly pose a danger in larger groups. In the Middle Ages, soldiers were often housed in monasteries after their war service, but there had been plans for a kind of invalid home since the 12th century.

King Louis XIV provided a comprehensive solution of huge proportions with the Hôtel des Invalides, for which he took the Spanish Escorial castle and monastery complex near Madrid as a model. The Hôtel des Invalides complex forms a rectangle 390 meters long and 450 meters wide, with a floor plan based on a monastery. In the center is a huge courtyard (Cour d’honneur), comparable to a cloister, which was surrounded by four side courtyards with residential wings. The infirm soldiers were supposed to lead a monk-like, regulated life here. Their days were filled with religious services and craft activities. The courtyard of honor is still the scene of military parades today.

The Invalides Cathedral

On the south side of the complex, two more churches were added after the commissioning. The so-called Soldiers’ Church (Cathédrale Saint-Louis-des-Invalides) is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of the French Armies. The Invalides Cathedral, built adjacent to the Soldiers’ Church, is the better known of the two churches.

Today, the Invalides Cathedral is no longer a church, but the burial place of Napoleon Bonaparte. His last wish was to be buried on the banks of the Seine. This wish was granted 19 years after his death and the once royal church was transformed into his tomb. The massive reconstruction work took more than 20 years, so that Napoleon’s mortal remains could not be transferred to the Invalides Cathedral until 1861. All his great field marshals are buried at his side.