The Louvre Museum

The Louvre Museum is world's largest art museum and a historic monument situated in Paris. It is one of the biggest tourist attractions of the city. It sits along the bank of the Seine River- Paris. it is the house of one of the most impressive art collections in history.

Originally it was built as a fortress in 1190 by Philipe Auguste. The fortress lost its defensive function due to urban expansion & eventually was converted into main residence of French Kings by Francis I in 1546. Then in 1682, Louis XIV moved the royal residence to the Palace of Versailles, leaving The Louvre a place to display nation's masterpieces. It was opened on 10 August 1793, exhibiting 537 paintings. The museum was closed in 1796 due to some structural problems but was reopened in 1801 by Napoleon with an increased collection of art works. It was renamed as Musée Napoleon. In 1815, the Louvre reverted to its original name.

Now if we talk about the collections of this art museum, it has one of the richest collections of the world. It includes paintings representing all periods of European art, French paintings from 15th to 19th century and works by Flemish and Dutch painters. It also includes the famous painting of Leonardo Da Vinci- Mona Lisa which attracts many visitors. It displays treasures of French kings — bronzes, miniatures, jewelry, pottery and many more thing. It also includes Greek & Roman antiquities featuring sculptures, mosaics, jewelry and pottery.

So a visit to Paris will remain incomplete if one has not visited this historic monument and world's largest museum with richest collection of artworks.