MUSEUM
OF NAPOLEON MILITARY HISTORY - FONTAINEBLEAU
Napoleonic Uniforms and Military Memorabilia
The town
of Fontainbleu is best known for its grand
palace chateau which was summer home Kings of France as well as Emperor
Napoleon and Napoleon III. At the palace, the lifestyle of the emperor
can be
explored
in
the elegant
ball rooms. The petit apartments at the palace display personal items
from Napoleon and the the Empress including his military rise to power
(see Chateau
Fontainebleau), but for military buffs, a short stroll away
to the Rue Saint-Honore leads to the Musee Napoleonien d’Art et
d’Histoire Militaire in the former city chateau residence of the
Count Lavaurs built in 1880. Here you’ll find four floors of military
uniforms, dressed on stolid figures in tableau, some arms and equipment
and diorama
figurines miniatures. The uniforms are mostly from the Napoleonic period,
and includes a uniform worn by Napoleon Bonaparte when he was only still
a Consul and Brigadier General.
The Napoleonic
age actually only lasted for about 15 years of French history, marching
his crack soldiers across Europe twice, until like
the Germans to follow later, came up against the bitter Russian winter
and the force of joined allies in Belgium (see Waterloo Battlefield
Museums).
The size of Napoloen’s presence on France can be seen in his gigantic
tomb in the Invalides in Paris (see Napoleon
Tomb Invalides). In the
Fontainebleau Napoleonien Museum a bust of the Napoleon himself watches
over the collection as if wondering where all the glory went, maybe if
he just stayed a general…
The Musee
Napoleonien in Fontainbleu has nine rooms of military dress and weapons
from the
periods of both empires. In the lobby is a diorama
of the “Emperor's Farewell from Fontainebleau” when he stepped
down from power the first time on April 20, 1814. The display has a model
of the Fontainebleu Palace with 500 military figures and Napoleon approaching.
The first display room features uniforms of the First Empire –Napoleon’s
Guard, Officers of Dragoons, Hussars and Light Infantry, and Guards of
Honor of Bordeaux and Lyon.
The second and third floor rooms are dedicated to the armies of the
Second Empire, including Dragoons of the Empress, Grenadier Guards and
some items which belonged to the general himself, a hat worn at the Battle
of Regensberg, his death mask and a towel he used while in exile on St
Helena. The top rooms display clothing and musical instruments of the
musician corps and their canteen keg. Also on display is a collection
of swords since the time of Louis XIV and a relief map of the Battle
Austerlitz with diaramas.
Visiting the Musee Napoleonien
The
museum in the 19th Century mansion is open afternoons from 2pm to 5:30pm
Tuesday to Saturday, with the
garden
open from 10am. Admission is €2.50 for adults and teens,
children under 12 are free. Walk two blocks from
the main Rue Grande to 88 Rue St Honore at the corner of the Rue de
La Paroissee and look for the metal sign and the Napoleonic Eagle. © Bargain
Travel Europe
Find best vacation deals in Fontainebleau on TripAdvisor
Web
info
Fontainebleau
Tourism
These
articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel
Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without
permission.
See Also:
AMERICAN MILITARY CEMETARIES IN FRANCE
ARC
DE TRIOMPHE - NAPOLEON"S TRIUMPH AND FOLLY
BATTLE OF NATIONS MONUMENT - LEIPZIG
