WELCOME TO LOUVRE
THE HEART OF PARIS
The history of the Louvre dates back to 1190, King Charles V (board 1364-80) approved the
when Philippe Auguste decided to build a development of the Louvre from the fortress to
fortified fence to protect Paris. This was an the royal residence. He decided to build a new
important gesture in favor of urbanism and the building three hundred meters to the west of
display of the king's authority when he was the former Louvre and instructed his architect
preparing to leave the country to start a war in Raymond du Temple to convert the fortress
the Crusades. The Louvre of Philippe Auguste into a modern dwelling.
was not a royal residence, but a garrison fortress. For Charles V there was also built a library,
It was not in the heart of the city, as it is today, created in the Louvre for his collection of
but on its outer borders. about a thousand manuscripts.