The Louvre Museum (French : Musée du Louvre ; language English : the Louvre Museum ) is one of the largest museums , art museums , and most visited historic monument in the world . The Louvre Museum is located in the Seine Rive Droite , the first arrondissement in Paris , France . Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century is exhibited over an area of 60,600 square meters .
The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace ( Palais du Louvre ) which was originally a fortress built in the 12th century under the reign of Philip II . The remains of the fort can be seen in the basement of the museum . The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace . In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles as a private residence , leaving the Louvre to further serve as a place to display the royal collection . [ 5 ] In 1692 , in the building occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture . The Académie remained at the Louvre for the next 100 years . During the French Revolution , the French National Assembly specifies that the Louvre should be used as a museum to showcase the works of the nation .
The museum opened on August 10, 1793 with 537 exhibiting paintings . The majority of the work is derived from property confiscated church and royal French government . Because of structural problems with the building , the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. Increasing number of museum collections under the rule of Napoleon and the museum was renamed the Musée Napoléon . After the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo , the majority of the works were seized by the troops returned to their original owners . The museum collection is enhanced during the reign of Louis XVIII and Charles X , and during the Second French Empire , the museum managed to acquire 20,000 collection . The museum collection continues to grow with donations and the gift that keeps on increasing since the time the Third French Republic . In 2008 , the museum's collection is divided into eight curatorial departments : Egyptian collection , antiquities from the Near East, Greece , Etruskan , Roman , Islamic Art , Sculpture , Decorative Art , Art , Art Prints and Pictures.
Title : The Louvre Museum
Description : The Louvre Museum (French : Musée du Louvre ; language English : the Louvre Museum ) is one of the largest museums , art museums , a...