Louvre Museum

The Musée du Louvre

The Musée du Louvre was not originally museum. It was a fortress that was built in 1190. In the 16th century, it was turned from a fortress into a royal palace. It was only in 1793, after the French Monarchy moved to the Palace of Versailles, that the first Louvre museum was opened to the public, and offered just 537 paintings.

1. The Biggest Museum in the World

Musee du Louvre, is located at the Seine in Paris and makes the second most visited museum after the Palace Museum in China though it still is the largest of all.

Louvre opened its gates to the public in August, 1793. It houses many great paintings from Leonardo’s famous “Mona Lisa” to “The Death of The Virgin” by Caravaggio. Here are most interesting facts about the museum that not many people know.

It is estimated that the museum is so large that it will take about 100 days to cover each of the paintings. (only if we spent 30 seconds on each!)

2.Napoleon and the Louvre

Napoleon once renamed the Louvre to Musée Napoleon and expanded its collection by 5,000 pieces.

3.The Mona Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is undoubtedly one of the most famous pieces of art in the Louvre, with people from all walks of life travelling to the museum to catch a glimpse of the world famous painting.

The Mona Lisa painting is not really as big as one thinks. It is just a little more than the size of an A2 paper sheet.

The Mona Lisa also has its own bodyguards and is protected by bulletproof glass; however, it was stolen in 1911 before being returned to the Louvre just two years later.

4.The Louvre’s Galleries

The Louvre’s galleries are displayed across 652,300 square feet – which is nearly 15 acres! 

The galleries contain approximately 7,500 paintings, and The interesting thing though, is that 66% of the paintings are made by French painters. 

That’s quite a lot.

The galleries are also divided into eight departments:

• Near Eastern Antiquities

• Egyptian Antiquities

• Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities

• Islamic Art

• Sculptures

• Decorative Arts

• Paintings

• Prints and Drawings

5. Belphegor- The Louvre Ghost

The Louvre dates back to 1190 – so it’s bound to be the home to some ghosts, right? The museum is thought to be haunted by a mummy called Belphegor. The nearby Tulleries Gardens are also believed to be haunted by a man dressed in red. Spooky

6. The Louvre’s Glass Pyramid

The Louvre’s glass pyramid was built in 1989 and is 21 metres high. It is made solely of glass and metal and is now one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks.

Many are unaware that the glass pyramid is one of four, as three smaller glass pyramids surround the courtyard, Cour Napoleon.