In this opening scene, Curator Jacques Saunière is being chased through the museum at night, with no one there but himself, and his armed pursuant. While this scene is fiction, the Louvre has certainly seen some real dramatic moments over the course of its long history.

The largest museum in the world began its existence as a tower at the northwestern extremity of Paris’ first city wall, constructed ca. 1190-1200 by Philippe-Auguste. When the city wall had to be expanded in the 1300’s, King Charles V decided to add on to the tower, which was now within Paris city limits, and make it one of his residences. However, the kings who followed mostly chose to live elsewhere, including the royal palace on the present-day rue Saint-Antoine (no longer standing today).

Things changed when, in 1527, François I decided to make the Louvre a royal residence once more. He brought with him his courtiers, artists he invited as guests, and treasures of art, such as the Mona Lisa, which he had purchased from Leonardo da Vinci a few years before. He ordered renovations to the Louvre, but died (1547) before they were finished.

After this, the royal focus shifted eastward to the rue Saint-Antoine once again, until, in 1559, King Henri II was killed in a jousting tournament in that palace’s courtyard (today the Place des Vosges). His grief-striken widow, Catherine de’ Medicis, moved the royal family back to the Louvre, but had a palace constructed in the adjacent Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garden), on the former site of a tile (tuile) manufactury. As the centuries passed, the Louvre went through more additions, wings, and renovations. The clock pavilion was added by Cardinal Richlieu in the 17th century, and Louis XIV started further plans…but was quickly distracted by his magnificent palace at Versailles.

The Louvre was out of royal favor once more. This time, though, scholars and artists lived in some of the Parisian palace’s rooms. Académie Française now held its meetings here. Founded by Richlieu in 1634, it is an organization of great thinkers and men of letters dedicated to enriching, preserving, and regulating the French language. A part of the already large palace was even used as a museum displaying royal treasures and works of art.

Louis XIV had made it démodé for a King of France to reside in the Louvre...but in 1789, the angry people of Paris changed that, when they forced Louis XVI, his wife Marie-Antoinette, and their children, to live and rule here, within the capitol. The family stayed at the future museum until their escape attempt in 1791. After that, they were housed in the Temple prison, and a guillotine became the Louvre’s most notable inhabitant, seated menacingly at the Place du Carrousel.

By the Revolution’s end, the Louvre had been officially inaugurated as a museum. It was a victory for the people, who had never had the chance to see a majority of the art, decorative items, and jewels France’s rulers had amassed over the centuries.

Napoléon I came into power, and what better place for a tiny Emperor with an enormous ego to live, than the large and imposing Louvre? The artists were expelled from the premises, but the museum was expanded, especially the Egyptian collection. This collection was composed largely of objects brought back from Napoléon’s military campaign in Egypt (ca. 1798-1801). It was during this military campaign that the Rosetta Stone was found. Several years later, the Stone (today in the British Museum) would allow Champollion to decipher hieroglyphics, and thus uncover thousands of mysteries of ancient Egyptian culture, religion, and daily life. Just outside, between the palace and the Jardin des Tuileries, the Emperor had the Arc du Carrousel constructed, modeled after the triumphal arch of Roman Emperor Trajan. Napoléon’s nephew, Napoléon III came to power after the Revolution of 1848, and also made the Louvre his home, expanding the northern end of the complex. This explains why visitors today will find royal initials (H, C, etc.) on the walls of certain rooms and on portions of the museum’s façade, and large “N” ’s on others.

Napoléon III’s reign, which had begun with one Revolution, ended with another. In 1870 the people once more turned against the government, which in their eyes was responsible for a number of ills, especially capitulating to the Prussians who had lain siege to their city. When a group of citizens in Montmartre refused to turn over their arms, rebellion broke out, culminating in fires, rioting, and general chaos that led to change. Not before the Tuileries Palace, constructed by Catherine de’ Medicis centuries before, and connected to the Louvre, was burned to the ground.

Besides this, the Louvre saw no other great changes to its appearance for the rest of the 19th and most of the 20th centuries. A large part of it was an impressive museum already known throughout the world, and a few wings housed government offices and the Ministry of Finance. During both World Wars, certain works of art were taken to secure hiding places, away from enemy bombs and other potential wartime disasters. Security hadn’t always been a priority of the Louvre (see our article on the Mona Lisa), but appreciation for and pride in its collection had long been a part of Parisian sentiment.

In the late 1980’s, President François Mitterrand inaugurated the “Grand Louvre” Project, a massive renovation and modernization of the museum. This included removing the government offices, and constructing an underground entryway/ticketing area, as well as subterranean area reminiscent of an American shopping mall, with stores, services (ATM machines, etc.), and even a food court featuring a variety of restaurants. The museum, already impressively large, became larger than ever. It’s said that if a visitor spent even seven seconds looking at each work on display here, it would take more than a year to see everything! For some suggested museum highlights, click here for our Chicline.com Guideline to the Louvre.

But the most famous addition Mitterrand made is, of course, the Louvre Pyramid. Designed by architect I.M. Pei, the pyramid was controversial, not unlike the Eiffel Tower, built a century before. Its modern design and glass and metal structure is totally different from the neoclassical stone buildings of the museum …but, surprisingly, it works. A majority of Parisians greatly admire the magical combination of modernity and classicism. Now undeniably a perfect architectural pairing, the Louvre and its pyramid make for an incredible sight, especially after the sun’s gone down, and more than 1,000 hidden spotlights make museum and pyramid glow under the wide Parisian sky.

Of course, fans of The Da Vinci Code know about the pyramid, as well as the Pyramide Inversée (Inversed Pyramid), which plays a major role in the book. Its glass surface is at ground level nearby, and its pinnacle nearly touches the ground in the subterranean shopping centre, where it’s met by a very small pyramid rising from the floor. Dramatic and interesting sights on their own, the pyramid and the architectural prize-winning Pyramide Inversée are must-visits for anyone who loves architecture, engineering, and art – as well as anyone who’s thrilled to the adventures recounted in Dan Brown’s exciting book!