Louvre Museum

The Louvre Museum (French: Musée du Louvre) is one of the world’s largest and most visited art museums located in Paris, France. It was founded on 10 August 1793 by the Revolutionary government as a public museum for French citizens to enjoy their cultural heritage. The Louvre holds over 35,000 works of art from prehistory to the 21st century and covers an area of 782,910 square feet (72,735 m²). Its collection includes some of humanity’s greatest masterpieces such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Michelangelo’s Dying Slave sculpture.

Originally built as a fortress by King Philip II in 1190 AD, it became home to various kings before being transformed into a palace under Louis XIV between 1660-1790 AD. After becoming part of the National Property during the Revolution period it opened its doors to visitors on 10 August 1793 with 537 paintings displayed at that time including Italian Primitives and Dutch Masters among others. The collections have grown exponentially since then due mainly through royal donations or acquisitions made during different periods throughout history until today when they are now divided into eight departments representing Western painting, Egyptian antiquities , Greek Antiquities , Near Eastern Antiquities etc..

In 1983 UNESCO declared ‘the Historic Monument Zone’ which comprises not only the Palais Royal but also Tuileries Garden , Place de la Concorde and many other buildings surrounding them . This zone forms what has been called “an exceptional architectural ensemble” along side with its incredible artistic wealth making this site very popular amongst tourists visiting each year . This has led it be considered one of France ‘s main attractions alongside Eiffel Tower Notre Dame Cathedral or Versailles Palace .

In 2017 alone there were 8 million visitors who went thru its galleries admiring masterpieces such as Winged Victory Statue Venus De Milo Vermeer ‘ s Girl with Pearl Earring or Rembrandt Van Rijn’ s Portrait Of An Old Man – all kept safe inside this immense structure thanks to modern security measures implemented all around thus ensuring protection for these invaluable pieces belonging both French Nation international community alike .