1. The Biggest Museum in the World

It is the biggest museum in the world and is so big that it is humanly impossible to see all the museum has to offer in one visit. You might be wanted to know how long would it take you to visit all around?

Well, if you have 100 days spare then you could probably squeeze in every piece of art, but you could only spend 30 seconds on each piece. The museum offers in total 380,000 pieces. But all of the collection is not exhibited to the public.

The Louvre is so popular that it welcomes around 15,000 visitors per day among which 70% are foreign tourists. In 2014,  the Louvre welcomed over 9.3 million visitors, which is the most people, the museum has welcomed since its opening.

2. The Musée du Louvre

Originally, The Musée du Louvre was not a museum. It was a fortress which was built in 1190. In the 16th century, it turned from a fortress into a royal palace. In 1793, after the French Monarchy moved to the Palace of Versailles, that the first Louvre museum was opened to the public, and offered only 537 paintings.

3. Napoleon and the Louvre

Once Napoleon renamed the Louvre to Musée Napoleon and expanded its collection by 5,000 pieces. However, the pieces were returned to the original owners when the military leader was defeated.

During his rule, he hung the Mona Lisa in his private bedroom. This was the first time when Mona Lisa was ever hung. The second time she was hung when Jacqueline Kennedy arranged for the painting to tour museums in Washington DC and New York.

Don’t Miss: Notre Dame Cathedral Interesting Facts, History

4. The Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa is undoubtedly one of the most famous pieces of art in the Louvre, from all over the world people are traveling to the museum to catch a glimpse of the world-famous painting which is one of the interesting facts of Louvre Museums.  

Maybe you don’t know about the Mona Lisa that it is not as big as everyone thinks, as the dimension of the painting is actually just 21 x 30 inches (53 x 77 cms) – which is a little bit larger than an A2 piece of paper. Also, the Mona Lisa has its own bodyguards and is protected by bulletproof glass.

Mona Lisa’s identity is a mystery in itself, and no-one has ever been come to a decision as to why she is smiling that way. Many believe that she was the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, as her real name in Italian was Lisa Gioconda. Others believe Mona Lisa is a self-portrait and an allusion of Leonardo da Vinci’s supposed homosexuality.

5.The Louvre’s Galleries

The Louvre’s galleries are displayed across 652,300 square feet,  which is around 15 acres. It contains approximately 7,500 paintings, and 66% of them were created by French artists.

The galleries are divided into eight departments:

• Near Eastern Antiquities
• Egyptian Antiquities
• Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities
• Islamic Art
• Sculptures
• Decorative Arts
• Paintings
• Prints and Drawings

Read: Interesting Facts About Eiffel Tower

6. The Louvre & The Nazis

As mentioned earlier, the Louvre didn’t always use it as a museum, and the Nazis even used the historic monument as a storeroom for stolen art during World War II.

7. Belphegor- The Louvre Ghost

The museum is thought to be haunted since a mummy called Belphegor was kept there. The nearby Tuileries Gardens are also believed to be haunted by a man dressed in red.

8. The Louvre’s Glass Pyramid

It was built in 1989 and is 21 meters high. It is made only of glass and metal and is now one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks. Many are unaware that the glass pyramid is one of four because three smaller glass pyramids surround the courtyard, Cour Napoleon.

More than just an entry in the palace, the great pyramid has become a symbol of the Louvre.

9. Axe Historique

A 5km architectural line of monuments runs through central Paris to the West, is known as Axe historique. The Louvre Museum is the nucleus and is located in the middle of Arc de Triomphe.

10. Two Louvre Museums

The world offers us two Louvre museums. The second Louvre museum is the Louvre Abu Dhabi, which is the first universal museum in the Arab world. The museum is completed in 2015. 

If you are searching for a museum that is rich in history, culture, and heritage, visit the Louvre in Paris, which will leave you both enlightened and inspired.

You can also read these Interesting Facts

• Pantheon Interesting Facts and History
• Basilica of the Sacre-Coeur Facts, History
• Interesting Facts about Paris
• Historical Facts About Paris
• Arc De Triomphe Interesting Facts

So far we have seen the interesting facts of Louvre Museums which help you to discover the facts and history of  Louvre Museums, like, about  Mona Lisa, Napoleon, and the Louvre, Louvre’s Glass Pyramid. If you are interested in discovering the history of Paris then kindly proceed to our other blogs as well, surely it would be beneficial for you. If you liked our blog please like it, comment in the below comment section and share it.