I went to
the Museum of the “Légion d’Honneur” (Legion of Honuor) basically to see
Napoleon’s “Berlin”, a carriage which was temporarily exposed there (exposition finished
July 8). Unfortunately, I had only the time to take the above photo, before I
was advised that photos were not allowed. Well I could at least see it and also
a lot of items which once belonged to or were linked to Napoleon, including a
redingote, frock, the hat and the sword he wore and carried at Waterloo... the “silver”
used for the meals, his dental equipment…
... and I could of course take some photos from the outside. The building, which is immediate neighbour to
the the Orsay Museum (see previous post), was originally built for the Prince
of Salm-Kyrburg, just before the French Revolution (during which the Prince was
beheaded), sold to the “Grand Chancellery of the Legion of Honour” in 1804. It
more or less burnt down during the “Commune” in 1871, was reconstructed… In 1922 the Museum was added.
If you are
interested in different orders of chivalry and different national , religious,
military decorations, the Museum has hundreds (thousands?) of them from all countries in the
world… and also some remarkable paintings, portraits…
The
concentration is of course on the French Legion of Honour, which was created by
Napoleon in 1802. The first distribution took place at the Invalides (see
previous posts) in 1804.
Reverting
to the major reason for my visit: The “Berlin” is a lighter type of carriage
which around 1670 was designed for the Elector of Brandenburg - Berlin was then
the capital of Brandenburg. The one we could see at the museum was originally built
for Napoleon’s Russian campaign (1812). He had a larger more comfortable carriage,
“La Dormeuse” (the sleeping car). Both were confiscated after the battle of
Waterloo in 1815. Napoleon left the battlefield on a horseback, still wearing
his hat and his sword. “La Dormeuse”, after several owner changes, ended up at
Madame Tussaud’s in London, where it was destroyed by fire in 1925. The smaller
“Berlin” was brought to Prussia and the Kaiser Wilhelm I by the Field Marshal
von Blücher, but remained in the Blücher family until it was given back to
France in 1971.
As I could
not take the pictures of the “Berlin”, here are at least some illustrations,
showing that it really was present during the battles.
Napoleon’s
hat, which was the one he actually wore at Waterloo, is normally to be found at
the Museum of Sens in Burgundy. The “Berlin” should hopefully soon be back and visible
at the Malmaison castle, just outside Paris.
Posts
8 comments:
They were working on the Museum of the “Légion d’Honneur” the only time we tried to enter.
Bonjour Peter. My mother-in-law told me about this exhibit a couple of days too late before I left Paris, and I never got to go. So thank you for documenting your visit. I am hoping I can catch Napo's "berline" once they move it to la Malmaison... PS: Writing this message from the sailboat, docked somewhere on the WA state coast until the weather clears and we can continue our coastal cruise... Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
Thank you, Peter, for your photos and write-up. That carriage is a beauty.
Encore une belle documentation!
How interesting!
Also, the way of displaying the coat and the hat seems to have inspired the people at the Ibsen museum here in Oslo. Here you see his attire, in a photo I took this April: http://tinyurl.com/cukoedg
I like that way of doing it, as it gives you a real feel of the person!
The hotel de Salm*s rotunda...
The inspiration for Thomas
Jefferson*s beloved Monticello*s
one.
Ambassador Jefferson would spend
hours watching the beautiful
palace being built...
Fantastic post!
Mil gracias.
Maria
Interesting, Peter. We were so close and I don't think I even paid attention!
haha,the legion stuff isn't my kind of thing, esp when I read that photo taking is prohibited.
but then again, it's an interesting post Peter. ^0^
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