Overview

Hype:

The Musée des Plans-Reliefs is a museum of military models located within the Hôtel des Invalides in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. The construction of models dates to 1668 when François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois and minister of war to Louis XIV, began a collection of three-dimensional models of fortified cities for military purposes. The models gave particular attention to the city fortifications and topographic features such as hills and harbors. In 1700 Louis XIV installed the collection in the Louvre. Initially the models were constructed in the field, by military engineers, but in 1743 two central workshops were established for their construction in Béthune and Lille. A large number of models were built during and after the War of the Austrian Succession (1741–1748) to represent newly captured sites. The collection was updated in 1754, but then fell into some disuse; the final models built under the Ancien Régime were those of Saint-Omer (1758) and the fort Saint-Philippe aux Baléares (1759). In 1774 the collection was nearly destroyed when its Louvre gallery was rededicated to paintings, but was in 1777 moved to the Hôtel des Invalides where it remains to this day. Under Napoleon, a new set of models was built, including Luxembourg (1802), La Spezia (1811), Brest (1811), and Cherbourg (1811–1813). Their production then continued until about 1870, when it drew to a close with the disappearance of fortifications bastionnées. The collection was declared a historical monument in 1927, and the museum established in 1943. All told, some 260 plans-reliefs were created between 1668 and 1870, representing about 150 fortified sites. About 100 models are conserved today by this museum, of which about 15 are kept in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lille. At present, the museum displays 28 plans-reliefs of fortifications along the English Channel, the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, and the Pyrenees. It also contains presentations on construction and use of the plans-reliefs.

Time:

Fees: A single entrance fee gives visitors access to the entire Les Invalides complex.

Recommended Ages:

	0-3
	4-11
	12-19
	20-49
	50-69
	70+

Recommended Months to Visit:

Jan

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Jun

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Aug

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Oct

Nov

Dec

Links: http://www.museedesplansreliefs.culture.fr/
https://en.wikipedia.org/

Getting There

Navigate to 48.856462, 2.313198.

Location

Closest City or Region: Paris, France

Coordinates: 48.856462, 2.313198

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Brochure

August 6, 2017 Trip Report

By Jeremy Dye

Trip Members

Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Laura Dye,

Story

You know those model train villiages that you sometimes see in museums? These are like those, excepts 1,000 times older. And they're true to real life. We didn't really know much about the relief models before going through the museum, and we only had a few minutes to stop and look because the security guards were ushering us out for closing time. But after we left, we read a little of the history of the models and were impressed with how old they were and how long it took to make them.

Pictures