Museum of the History of France, Versailles (must see)

The Museum of the History of France is spread throughout the Chateau of Versailles and is the largest history museum in the world. To visit in all of it, it is a good idea to pack a picnic and relax in the magnificent gardens between exploring this incredible museum.

King Louis 16th left Versailles in 1789 and during the Revolution the palace and its out-buildings were pillaged and damaged. In 1794 the Convention decided that the estate should be “placed under the care of the Republic for the public good”.

What this really meant was that the palace became a sort of stocking area for all the artwork that had been removed from the nobility’s homes and items taken from royal churches and chapels. All these objects eventually became the nucleus of the museum.

André Dumont was appointed as the curator of the chateau and he quickly appointed experts to catalogue the libraries, the paintings and all the objets d’art, setting them out in chronological order.

Unfortunately, towards the end of the seventeen nineties the chateau became a military hospital and all the upholstery, drapes and tapestries were burnt to recuperate the gold and silver that had been used in their making.

In 1830, when Louis-Philippe became King of France, he restored the chateau as a museum and had several rooms knocked down to form the “Galerie des Batailles” which housed paintings dedicated to French military victories.

In 1887, the curator Pierre de Nolhac was responsible for having the chateau restored to its Pre-Revolution state.

Further work between 1952 and today saw a new roof erected on the Hall of Mirrors, the restoration of the Chambre de la Reine and the Apartments of Louis 14th. The North Wing became the Gallery for French History between the 17th and 19th centuries and a lot of the Pre-Revolution furniture and artwork was recovered for the delight of today’s visitors.