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.
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