La Marine, a very special Parisian hotel

The glass roof of the intendant's courtyard at the Hôtel de la Marine, in Paris • CENTER DES MONUMENTS NATIONAUX/ PRESS SERVICE

After four years of major works and improvements, the Hôtel de la Marine, located on Place de la Concorde in Paris, has reopened its doors to the public. He can thus immerse himself in 18 ^th decorations century, while discovering the history of this superb private mansion.

The pageantry of power

In 1755, Louis XV launched a vast urban program that would showcase royal power on the site of what is now Place de la Concorde. Two palaces, originally unassigned and separated by rue Royale, were built by the king's first architect, Ange Jacques Gabriel. Ten years later, the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, ancestor of the Mobilier national, moved there. The prestigious administration is responsible for managing the furniture of the royal residences, maintaining and preserving valuables:weapons, armor, pieces of decorative art, as well as the famous Crown Jewels. Exhibition rooms were also created at this time to present the royal collections, first to distinguished guests, then to the general public.

After the Revolution, the building was partially occupied by the Ministry of the Navy. Part of the Crown Jewels, poorly guarded, were stolen in 1792. As the Garde-Meuble was liquidated, the Navy occupied the entire building. She opened a naval museum there in 1801, which presents models of vessels and the seascapes of Joseph Vernet. The hotel continues to be a place of representation of power, hosting for example a ball in honor of the coronation of Napoleon, in 1804, or the holding of the commission chaired by Victor Schoelcher, which will lead to the decree of abolition of the slavery of 1848.

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In 2015, with the departure of the Navy staff, the building was entrusted to the Center des monuments nationaux. Today, the public can visit the apartments of the intendant of the Garde-Meuble, those of the general guard, the state rooms, the courtyard of the Intendant or the balcony overlooking the Place de la Concorde. And, from this fall, the Hôtel de la Marine is hosting the Al Thani collection, made up of more than 6,000 works belonging to the Emir of Qatar. They will be presented in rotation for 20 years.