Description of the attraction
The Army Museum, opened in 1905, is located in the Les Invalides, which was built by Louis XIV for disabled warriors. At the same time, the museum is a completely independent collection with a rich collection, worthy of special attention.
The exposition of the Army Museum is dedicated to the history of military art from ancient times to the Second World War. His collection of ancient weapons is the third in the world (after Vienna and Madrid): from Paleolithic stones to ceremonial armor of Henry II and Louis XIV. It also displays the weapons of the East: Ottoman ports, Persia, India, China and Japan.
In the sections of the museum, one can trace how the European military art has been improving century after century. Here is the uniform of the French army, which first appeared in 1680. But the first standard weapon is the 1717 gun. The reforms of Louis XVI emphasize the technical progress of the armed forces, their professionalism. This is how the future soldiers of the French Revolution are educated.
Naturally, the exposition pays great attention to Napoleon and his campaigns. In the museum you can see the emperor's cocked hats, his marching frock coat, his sword. The two world wars of the next century are covered in detail, and the museum displays the uniforms of all the armies that fought then (including the Russian and Soviet).
The artillery section is extremely representative: near the building of the House of Invalids in the open air there are about 800 real guns of different eras. In addition, more than 1000 models of cannons are exhibited in the halls of the museum, the oldest of which date back to the 16th century.
The interiors of the museum are decorated with a huge number of French flags of different centuries and trophy banners of the 19th - 20th centuries, from Austerlitz to Indochina. The fine arts section contains about 200,000 exhibits - graphics, paintings, sculptures, photographs. Of particular interest are the sketches of the artists whom the museum specially sent to the fronts of the First World War.
And, finally, the museum's exposition contains about 150,000 toy soldiers of all times: tin, lead, cardboard.
