4 . T H E T O M B
O F
N A P O L E O N I
129 RUE DE GRENELLE
On 5 May 1821 , Napoleon I passed away on the island
of St . Helena , where he had been in exile since 1815 .
He was buried near a spring , in the shade of a few
weeping willows , in the " valley of Geraniums ". His
remains stayed there until 1840 . In 1840 , King Louis -
Philippe decided to transfer the Emperor ' s body .
French sailors , under the command of the Prince of
Joinville , brought his coffin to France aboard the
ship " Belle Poule ".
A state funeral accompanied the return of Emperor
Napoleon I ' s ashes , which were transferred to Les
Invalides on 15 December 1840 while the tomb was
being built . The architect Visconti ( 1791 - 1853 ) was
commissioned to make it in 1842 by King Louis -
Philippe , who had extensive work carried out
beneath the Dome , involving an immense
excavation to create a space for the tomb . The body
of Emperor Napoleon I was placed there on 2 April
1861 .
The tomb , sculpted from blocks of red quartzite and
placed on a green Vosges granite base , is
surrounded by a laurel crown and inscriptions
referring to the Empire ' s great victories .
Surrounding the Tomb , twelve " Victories " sculpted
by Pradier symbolise Napoleon ' s military campaigns .
8 famous victories are inscribed on the polychrome
marble floor . In the circular gallery , a set of 10 bas -
reliefs sculpted by Simart depict the main
achievements of his reign : pacification of the
nation , administrative centralisation , State Council ,
Civil Code , Concordat , Imperial University , court of
accounts , code of commerce , Major Works and the
Legion of Honour . At the back of the crypt , above
the slab on top of the King of Rome ' s grave , stands
a statue of the Emperor clad in the symbols of the
Empire .