Interesting facts about the Louvre

Interesting facts about the Louvre Is a great opportunity to learn more about the largest museums on the planet. This institution, located in Paris, is visited annually by millions of people who come to see the exhibits from all over the world.

So, here are the most interesting facts about the Louvre.

1. The Louvre was founded in 1792 and opened in 1973.
2. 2018 saw a record number of visitors to the Louvre, surpassing the 10 million mark!
3. The Louvre is the largest museum on the planet. It is so huge that it is not possible to see all of its exhibits in one visit.
4. An interesting fact is that up to 300,000 exhibits are kept within the walls of the museum, while only 35,000 of them are exhibited in the halls.
5. The Louvre covers an area of ​​160 m².
6. Most of the museum's exhibits are kept in special depositories, since they cannot be in the halls for more than 3 months in a row for reasons of safety.
7. Translated from French, the word "Louvre" literally means - wolf forest. This is due to the fact that this structure was built on the site of hunting grounds.
8. The collection of 2500 pieces of paintings by Francis I and Louis XIV became the basis for the museum's collection.
9. The most popular exhibits in the Louvre are the Mona Lisa painting and the sculpture of Venus de Milo.
10. Did you know that in 1911 "La Gioconda" was kidnapped by an intruder? Back to Paris (see interesting facts about Paris), the painting returned after 3 years.
11. Since 2005, the Mona Lisa has been on display in the 711th hall of the Louvre, known as the La Gioconda Hall.
12. At the very beginning, the construction of the Louvre was conceived not as a museum, but as a royal palace.
13. The famous glass pyramid, which is the original entrance to the museum, is the prototype of the pyramid of Cheops.
14. An interesting fact is that not the entire building is considered a museum, but only 2 lower floors.
15. Due to the fact that the Louvre area reaches a large scale, many visitors often cannot find a way out of it or get to the desired hall. As a result, not so long ago, a smartphone application appeared to help people navigate a building.
16. During the Second World War (1939-1945), the director of the Louvre, Jacques Jojart, managed to evacuate a collection of thousands of art objects from the plundering of the Nazis who occupied France (see interesting facts about France).
17. Did you know that you can see the Louvre Abu Dhabi in the capital of the UAE? This building is a branch of the Parisian Louvre.
18. Initially, only antique sculptures were exhibited in the Louvre. The only exception was the work of Michelangelo.
19. The collection of the museum includes up to 6,000 art canvases representing the period from the Middle Ages to the mid-19th century.
20. In 2016, the History Department of the Louvre was officially opened here.

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