¿PORQUE NAPOLEON ERA FRANC MASON? MENSAJES SUBLIMINALES DE YHWH TODOPODEROSO
A pesar de los errores de los lideres politicos, YHWH, LOS USA PARA DARNOS MENSAJES SUBLIMINALES CON REFERENCIA AL SANTO GRIAL. ASI PASO CON ADOLF HITLER, FIDEL CASTRO, CHE GUEVARA, CHAVEZ, JUAN DOMINGO PERON, JOHN KENNEDY, ETC,ETC. NAPOLEON TIENE UN NEXO CON EL LEON, OSEA UN NEXO CON LEONARDO DAVINCI, EN EL MARCO A FRANCIA / ANK / LIBERTAD. ESE ES EL ORIGEN DEL PORQUE NAPOLEON TUVO RELACION CON EL COMPLEJO GIZE/ ORION / ISHTAR GATE. SABEMOS QUE LA ESFINGE DE GIZE, ESTA DISEÑADA EN FUNCION A AL COMIENZO DE LA ERA DE ACUARIO (PATRON DEL CALENDARIO DE NOE) EN funcion a la PRECESION DE LOS EQUINOCCIOS.
En el marco a APOCALIPSIS 12 E INCLUSO APOCALIPSIS 4:7, en funcion al movimiento de la PRECESION DEL PLANETA TIERRA EN SU MOVIMIENTO DE 25920 AÑOS, la tierra hace aproximadamente 12960 AÑOS estaba en LA ERA DE LEO y es en ese MARCO EL DISEÑO DEL COMPLEJO GIZE. LA ESFINGE (HOMBRE-LEON) ESTA DISEÑADA EN FUNCION A LA LINEA LEO-ACUARIO O ACUARIO-LEO. EN DICHA ERA, EL 21/22 DE MARZO VA A ESTAR EN ACUARIO Y EL 21/22 DE SEPTIEMBRE, OSEA EN LOS EQUINOCCIOS VA A ESTAR EN LEO. NO FUE CASUALIDAD QUE NAPOLEON VISITO EGIPTO. TODOS SON MENSAJES SUBLIMINALES DE YHWH TODOPODEROSO. CONCRETAMENTE GIZE ESTA DISEÑADO EN FUNCION A LA ERA DE ACUARIO. LEONARDO DA VINCI O EL CODIGO DA VINCI ES SINONIMO DE GIZE.
"The evidence in favor of a Masonic initiation previous to Napoleon's ... THE question whether Buonaparte was a Freemason or not has never been decided. ... "You ask me Sir, why it was that in my work on Free Masonry I did not say a word ...
Para los historiadores que se afilian a la leyenda negra de la masonería como sociedad secreta conspiradora, la historia de Napoleón Bonaparte, Le Petit ...
Napoleón Bonaparte ha sido proclamado y considerado Masón, asi como también lo han sido su padre, hermanos, e incluso los militares tenientes que se ...
27 Feb 2013 ... Les recomiendo además la novela de César Vidal, Los Hijos de la Luz (Plaza Janés, 2005), yo estuve en el jurado que la premió Con el ...
En vísperas de la revolución francesa, la masonería reunía adeptos de todas ..... «Franc-Maçonnerie et sociétés secrètes contre Napoléon» (Francmasonería y ...
Después del nacimiento en Inglaterra de la denominada masonería ... favorecido pero al mismo tiempo utilizado por el Emperador Napoleón I, ... Es un hecho simbólico que Eugène Pottier, que escribió La Internacional, fue francmasón.
Para ser una iglesia, la Madeleine tiene sin duda una forma extraña, pues parece más bien un templo de la antigua Roma. La explicación hay que buscarla en la turbulenta historia de París en los años que rodean a la Revolución Francesa.
Historia del monumento
La antigua Madeleine
Antes de que esta zona de la ciudad quedara completamente alterada con la construcción de la enorme Plaza de la Concordia, existía en este lugar una pequeña iglesia de la Madeleine. Pero el diseño de la nueva plaza exigía una iglesia más grande, cerrando la perspectiva de la "Calle Real", que conducía hasta ella.
Cuando estalló la Revolución Francesa, la iglesia se encontraba todavía a medio construir, e inmediatamente se detuvieron las obras.
Pasado el periodo revolucionario, Napoleón quiso convertir la iglesia inacabada en un templo pagano, dedicado a la gloria del Gran Ejército, la Grande Armée. Para ello, derribó todo lo construido hasta entonces, y comenzó a levantarse el edificio que hoy contemplamos.
Pero finalmente, viendo que su efímero Imperio se derrumbaba, decidió que el edificio, ya muy avanzado, volviera a su uso original como iglesia.
Exterior del monumento
La Madeleine tiene la forma de un templo "periptero", es decir, rodeado de columnas por sus cuatro costados, como los templos griegos. Y posee las mismas dimensiones que el mayor templo de la antigua Grecia: el de Zeus Olímpico de Atenas.
Los elementos más destacados en el exterior de La Madeleine son:
1. El frontón
Fue construido después de la Restauración borbónica, en tiempos de Luis Felipe de Orleans, el "rey ciudadano". Aunque Luis Felipe había sido partidario de la Revolución, quiso que la imagen de este gran frontón tuviera un espíritu de conciliación. Por eso permitió que apareciera en él María Magdalena arrodillada ante Jesucristo Juez, como una alegoría de la Francia arrepentida, que suplica perdón por la ejecución de Luis XVI.
En efecto, a pocos pasos de esta iglesia, en la Plaza de la Concordia, había tenido lugar, el 21 de enero de 1792, la muerte del rey en la guillotina.
2. Puertas de bronce
Las puertas de entrada al templo son uno de los elementos más impresionantes de esta iglesia, por sus colosales dimensiones y por la fuerza de sus relieves.
Fueron realizadas por el barón Henri de Triqueti y representan "Los diez mandamientos". Los dos primeros se encuentran en el panel horizontal de la parte superior, y los otros 8 en las hojas de las puertas.
Estos son los mandamientos, y las escenas que los representan. Todas ellas están tomadas del Antiguo Testamento y tienen gran fuerza expresiva.
"No tendrás otros dioses fuera de mí". Escena que lo ilustra: el pueblo judío recibe las tablas de la Ley.
"No invocarás en vano el nombre de Dios". El pueblo judío ante Moisés.
"Santificarás las fiestas". Dios descansa el séptimo día.
"Honra a tu padre y a tu madre". Noé maldice al hizo que se burló de él.
"No matarás". Caín es castigado por la muerte de su hermano.
"No cometerás adulterio". El profeta Natán recrimina al rey David.
"No robarás". Josué dictando sentencia por un robo.
"No levantarás falso testimonio". Daniel defiende a la casta Susana ante la acusación injusta.
"No codiciarás la mujer de tu prójimo". Dios rescata a Sara, la mujer de Abraham.
"No codiciarás la casa de tu prójimo". Elías recrimina al rey Acab por codiciar la viña de Nabot, y darle muerte.
Detalle del 5º mandamiento. Abel yace en tierra tras ser asesinado por Caín. Foto: joz
Visita al interior
Si el exterior de La Madeleine parece un templo pagano de la Antigüedad, el interior se organiza como unas termas, con gran profusión de mármoles de colores.
Su mayor defecto es la escasa luz natural, que deja a la iglesia habitualmente en semipenumbra.
El techo se cierra mediante bóvedas rebajadas, adornadas con casetones y con un gran óculo en el centro, inspiradas en el Panteón de Roma.
Foto: Guilhem Vellut (recorte)
La iglesia está llena de esculturas realizadas por artistas que fueron los mejores en su momento. El gobierno de Luis Felipe de Orleans puso gran cuidado la decoración de esta iglesia, que debía ser "El Remplo de la Reconciliación nacional", tras las convulsiones de la Revolución Francesa y del Imperio. Por eso destinó a La Madeleine grandes cantidades de recursos.
Las piezas más vistosas son:
El gran grupo escultórico sobre el altar principal, obra de Charles Marochetti. Se llama "El arrebato de María Magdalena", a la que muestra en éxtasis, en el momento de ser arrebatada al cielo, transportada en una canastilla por ángeles de enormes alas.
El enorme fresco de Jules-Claude Ziegler, en el casquete del ábside. En él aparecen representados personajes de la Iglesia, de todas las épocas y culturas. La escena central representa a Cristo, que acoge y perdona a María Magdalena (alegoría de Francia arrepentida, como en el relieve del frontón).
Una banda a los pies de la santa explica el motivo: dilexit multum, amó mucho.
En el fresco aparece también la figura de Napoleón Bonaparte, que en ese momento acababa de fallecer y era extraordinariamente popular en Francia. Clica en la imagen para verlo.
There has been a church in this area since the 13th century when the neighbourhood was known as Ville l'Evêque and its church was Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, situated at the end of the present-day boulevard Malesherbes. In the 18th century a new building was deemed necessary in view of the recent growth in the population of the area. Pierre Constant d'Ivry drew up the plans for the structure. The aim was to produce a church worthy of its site on the monumental perspective of rue Royale and place Louis XV. On Constant's death in 1777 the plans were modified by Guillaume Couture but the Revolution stopped construction work in 1791.
In 1802 the signing of the Concordat restored Catholicism to France, however the newly created parish of the Madeleine was centred not on the unfinished building but on the Church of the Assumption in rue Saint-Honoré. Furthermore, the purpose for the site begun by Couture was no longer clearly understood. Consequently, many alternative schemes were put forward, the one accepted being that by Pierre Vignon. In accordance with an imperial decree of February 1806 Vignon's project was to develop the half-built structure into a Stock Exchange, a commercial tribunal as well as the Bank of France.
However, another imperial decree signed by Napoleon at the Posen Camp on the symbolic date of 2nd December, 1806 cancelled the previous decree and advertised a competition for “the building of a temple to the glory of the French army on the site of the Madeleine”. The building programme included the addition of an inscription in the pediment which read “L'Empereur Napoléon aux soldats de la Grande Armée”, as well as on the inside the addition of marble tablets on which were inscribed the names of all the men (arranged in order of army corps and regiment) who had fought at the battles of Ulm, Austerlitz and Iéna. Those who had died on these battlefields were to have their names inscribed in solid gold tablets – there was also to be another list of all the soldiers, this time listed according to their different home departments, these on tablets of silver. To complete this memorial there were to have been bas-reliefs showing the regiments of the Grand Army, statues of the Maréchals and all their trophies, and the “flags, standards and drums” taken from the enemy.
Eighty artists entered the competition which was won by Etienne de Beaumont. But the Emperor nevertheless decided to award the project to Vignon: “I wanted a temple not a church” was his furious comment on Beaumont's design. Vignon then set about demolishing what had been built by Couture – this took until 1811. When the major work finally started it progressed only very slowly owing to shortage of funds. After the Russian Campaign, Napoleon abandoned completely the idea of a Temple of Glory and began to reconsider the idea for a church. With the fall of the Empire work stopped once again.
It was the Restoration which re-launched the project, giving the construction back to the Catholic church and consecrating it to the memory of the Royal family who climbed the scaffold to their deaths close to that spot during the Revolution. Vignon once again directed the work beginning in 1816, but on his death in 1828 this was taken over by Huvée. In 1842 the church was made once again the principal parish of the 1st arrondissement, and it was consecrated by the Archbishop of Paris in 1845.
A peripteral temple with Corinthian columns, the Madeleine is one of the best examples of Neo-classical architecture in Paris. It marks Napoleon's express wish to bring back the grandeur of antiquity in celebration “of the memory of the immortal glory of the Emperor…and that of his companions in arms”. Although nothing of the original Napoleonic programme for the sculptural decoration of the church remains, nevertheless there are many exceptional works within the church, notably the monumental bronze doors by Triqueti and the “Baptism of Christ” by Rude. Of particular interest is the fresco in the semi-cupola of the apse produced by Ziegler representing the glorious history of Christianity (1835-1837). This work, the only fresco in a Parisian church to include a figure of Napoleon, shows Christ surrounded by Mary Magdelene, the Apostles and the great figures of Christianity, namely Constantine, Clovis, Godefroy de Bouillon, Frederick Barbarossa, Joan of Arc, Dante, Raphael, Pius VII and the Emperor in his coronation robes.
Church of the Madeleine
Category:
Monuments, Parks and Gardens
Region:
Paris and Ile de France
Address:
Place de la Madeleine 14, rue de Surène 75008 Paris, France
Napoléon Bonaparte is never far from the cultural imagination; he is arguably the most famous French person of all time.
Ph: Manjik/Dreamstime
But the one-time Emperor of France is back in the news in a big way, thanks to the release of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon.
Joaquin Phoenix as Emperor Napoléon crowning Vanessa Kirby’s Joséphine, with Lincoln Cathedral, England, playing the part of Notre-Dame.
While the movie was mostly filmed in England, Malta, and Morocco, you can relive Napoléon’s Parisian days the next time you’re in the City of Light by visiting the monuments he built, and other sites of Napoleonic significance …
Where Napoléon Stayed & Played
Born in Corsica, Napoléon was sent to military school in Champagne at the age of eight. Seven years later, in 1784, he was awarded a scholarship to attend the prestigious École Militaire in Paris (below). The academy, which still operates today, is located at the southern end of the Champ de Mars (the field where young cadets once drilled), behind the Eiffel Tower.
The École Militaire, as seen from the Eiffel Tower.
Napoléon’s transfer to Paris involved a two-day journey by boat. He disembarked the Seine at a wharf in the Marais and, as he made his way eastwards to his new school, bought a copy of the novel Gil Blas from a quayside bookseller.
In 1787, after having graduated, a young lieutenant Napoléon found himself back in Paris on leave, and gravitated to the gardens of the Palais-Royal, a notorious party central at the time (above). A cash-strapped Duc d’Orléans Louis-Philippe II had redeveloped his palatial backyard into a pleasure ground in 1784. He had the three wings that frame the northern end of the estate built, renting out the ground spaces as shops and restaurants, while filling the upper floors with dance rooms, gaming dens, billiard halls and brothels. In the middle of the garden enclave there was a circus where acrobatic riders thrilled the crowds, and all sorts of puppet shows and dance performances entertained in the groves of fancifully cut trees. Thousands of Parisians strolled, drank, conversed and flirted in these botanical arcades. The Palais-Royal was a fairground, bazaar and dance party, all in one. It was open day and night, and open to all Parisians — except for police. So you can imagine the air of abandon. Much was lost here. Money — although you could always see the various mortgage agents that had set up shop, or pawnbrokers, to sell your precious gold watch if need be. Virginity, too — a future Emperor Napoléon picked up his first female conquest in this very garden. And lives — Louis Philippe II’s heady vision, inaugurated in 1784, struck him gold, but also eventually cost the duke his head, as he had unwittingly laid the fertile ground for the French Revolution. It was here where courtesans passed as countesses, a precursor of a democratic future France; and where, far from the watchful eyes of the authorities, political discussions could gather momentum, morphing into full-blown movements. The sans-culotte Camille Desmoulins gave a particularly impassioned anti-Royalty speech from atop a table of a café terrace; two days later the Bastille was stormed, and the rest is l’histoire …
Napoléon was often in Paris during the revolutionary years, where the now-Republican networked, wheeled-and-dealed, and generally tried not to lose his head. He was by the old Palais des Tuileries on the day it was stormed by a mob that slaughtered the King’s Swiss guard. Napoléon was savvy in both his political and survival instincts, and ambitious to boot, but surely he can’t have had an inkling that day that this palace (which would be later destroyed by the Paris Commune of 1871) would one day be his imperial home. He did aspire extremely high, however, moving in all the right circles, including A-list parties and salons, where he soon met his fate, in the seductive form of the future Empress Joséphine.
Napoléon’s professional fate was secured on 5th October 1795, when he was asked to deal with thousands of Royalist soldiers who were making their way down Rue Saint-Honoré, en route to the National Convention, where they hoped to retake power. In front of the Saint-Roch Church (above), Napoléon commanded, inspired, and led his troops so successfully (the cannon-ball damage bears witness to this day) that the young Corsican became an overnight hero. He received an instant promotion and a plush new office on Place Vendôme for his efforts.
In March 1796, after Joséphine finally agreed to a lovesick Napoléon’s marriage proposal, the couple wed in a civil ceremony at 3 Rue d’Antin. (The building is no longer occupied by the 2nd arrondissement mairie but a plaque marks the momentous event). When not away on duty, Napoléon lived with Joséphine on Rue Chantereine (which was soon renamed Rue de la Victoire).
Ph: Courtesy of Chteau de Malmaison.
Sadly, her elegant manor house no longer exists, but the lovely country estate just west of Paris that she bought for herself while Napoléon was in Egypt — Chteau de Malmaison — remains in all its neo-Classical glory and is a must-visit for lovers of history, gardens, and architecture.
Napoléon’s Architectural Legacy
A coup d’état of late 1799 — generally considered to mark the end of the French Revolution — saw the overthrow of the Directory leadership of France, and the elevation of Napoléon to the autocratic position of First Consul. The future Emperor (he would crown himself in 1804, in Notre-Dame Cathedral) was now in a position to make his physical mark on his capital.
The neo-Classical trend in architecture had been in favour for a while, but Napoléon, with his passion for arches, columns, and temples, took it to whole new heights, for it represented the fabled grandeur he yearned to project. He wanted Paris to be the new Rome, as befitting a leader who saw himself as a future legend of history. But the aesthetically driven ruler was also engineering-minded, and as such he wanted his city to be cleaner, safer, and more practical. To admire the various changes Napoléon made to Paris, visit the following …
Waterways & Bridges
Napoléon’s utilitarian plan included the construction of new bridges. First up was the Pont des Arts (above), built between 1801 and 1804. The visionary leader demanded it be constructed mostly in iron, which was scarce and expensive at the time, and not considered as chic as limestone, Paris’s classic building block. His vision was perfect; the result was a bridge both modern and elegant, one that has stood the aesthetic test of time. The Pont d’Austerlitz and Pont d’Iéna bridges followed.
Ph: Janis Smits/Dreamstime
As First Consul, Napoléon also ordered the construction of the Canal Saint-Martin (above), Bassin de la Villette (Paris’s largest artificial lake), and Canal de l’Ourcq. Intended to boost the city’s supply of drinking water, this was funded, appropriately enough, by a new tax on wine.
He also cleaned up the banks of the Seine, which were more like strips of beach than true working quays required for the trading needs of a major river city. Up on street level, Napoléon had all roads renumbered, starting from the Seine, with even numbers on the right, odd on the left.
And, to bring drinking water to more Parisians, he decorated those streets with various (often grandiose) fountains, including the Fontaine de la Victoire on Place du Chtelet and the Fontaine du Mars, situated by the now-iconic restaurant of the same name (above).
Rue de Rivoli
As the above examples show, Napoléon’s utilitarian plan could overlap into his ornamental plan for the city. This was also the case with his vision for Rue de Rivoli, for which he turned to his favourite architects, Charles Percier and Pierre-François Fontaine (who had so stunningly redecorated Malmaison in the antique style).
Rue de Rivoli was, originally, a project born of necessity. For one, Napoléon wanted to ease the congested traffic on the nearby Rue Saint-Honoré. But an assassination attempt on him in Rue Saint-Niçaise — one of the narrow medieval streets that once criss-crossed this area, cluttering the approach to the Louvre — also gave Napoléon the impetus for change.
Rue Saint-Niçaise, as seen on the 1730s Turgot Map of Paris.
For a little more back-story … on 24th December 1800, Napoléon was in the Palais des Tuileries, waiting for Joséphine and her daughter Hortense who were primping in preparation for a night out at the opera. Napoléon finally gave in to the whims of feminine grooming, and headed out in the first carriage, leaving Joséphine to continue fussing about the best way to wrap on her cashmere shawl. The sartorial delay most likely saved her and Hortense’s lives, for a Royalist-planted gunpowder-filled wagon exploded on Rue Saint-Niçaise just before the second carriage reached its vicinity. Twenty Parisians died in the attack, which also caused major structural damage of nearby buildings. This gave Napoléon both the motivation and excuse for a rebuild; he wanted to clean up the city’s streets, making them safer, wider, and more modern.
While Napoléon’s nephew Emperor Napoléon III, would end up seeing out this city-wide vision (when he hired Baron Haussmann to make over Paris in the mid-century), Napoléon made a great start with Rue de Rivoli (named for one of his Italian victories), which originally stretched from Place de la Concorde to the Place du Palais-Royal. The extensive scope gave Percier and Fontaine a large canvas on which to apply Classical design principles.
Ph: Engin Korkmaz/Dreamstime.
They placed three levels above an arcaded ground floor (the arcades perhaps being inspired by Bologna, which Napoléon had visited in 1796), and minimal decoration beyond shutters and two lines of balconies. (Percier and Fontaine also placed gates opposite the first section of Rue de Rivoli, to line the northern border of the Jardin des Tuileries; they’re still there today.) The seemingly endless perspective projected that Napoléon-adored grandeur, but at the same time, with the continuous arches and curved attic roof (which was added later), the overall effect is charming rather than severe. Rue de Castiglione and Place des Pyramides were also part of the redevelopment, which would go on to influence Haussmann years later.
Colonne Vendôme
Turn from Rue Rivoli into the aforementioned Rue de Castiglione, and you can’t miss the towering verdigris Colonne Vendôme up ahead. The Trajan’s Column-inspired monument was erected in 1806, to replace Place Vendôme’s equestrian statue of Louis XIV, which had been destroyed during the Revolution, and to commemorate the Battle of Austerlitz. Surmounted by a statue of the Emperor, its spiraling bas-relief plates — melted down from 1200 bronze cannons taken from the Russian and Austrian armies — depict Napoléon’s military campaigns.
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
The year 1806 — after France’s success at Austerliz — saw Napoléon at the height of his power. He also commissioned this triumphal arch, originally intended as a gate of honour to the Tuileries Palace, as well as a commemoration of his Grande Armée. Fontaine and Percier took inspiration once more from Rome, specifically from the Arch of Constantine. Atop the lovely arch, with its pink-marble Corinthian columns, they placed the horses of St Mark’s in Venice, which Napoléon had taken as a souvenir of his conquest of that city. The current horses are replicas, after the originals were returned in 1815 (along with much other stolen artwork).
Arc de Triomphe
In the same year, Napoléon commissioned this much larger arch, also in commemoration of his army, on the site of the old city gates. At the time, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées was little more than a country road on the outskirts of Paris. Since the destruction of the Palais des Tuileries, the Arc de Triomphe can be viewed from its little sister arch — they’re two bookends of a world-famous vista. The larger arch’s distance from the palace dictated its majestic size, for it needed to be admired from afar. Sadly, Napoléon didn’t get to see this particular dream materialise; the monument required several decades to reach completion. His ghost, however, would surely be happy that it is now a symbol of French pride and a focus of many civic celebrations, with the Flame of Remembrance burning brightly by the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Église de la Madeleine
Napoléon, in 1806, also announced that the part-built church on this site would be redesigned and repurposed as a temple to the glory of the French army. Cue a rectangular Greco-Roman-style temple with a peristyle of Corinthian columns, styled à la Rome’s Pantheon. View it from the start of Rue Royale, then turn around to locate its twin monument on the other side of the river from Place de la Concorde; Napoléon had this Roman portico façade added to an old palace, Palais Bourbon, to reflect and amplify the overall effect of Classical grandeur on Place de la Concorde. That latter building is now the National Assembly, while the Madeleine has been a church since it was, finally, completed in 1842.
Musée du Louvre
The Louvre — the royal court until Louis XIV moved out to Versailles — found new life as a museum in 1793, which is rather astonishing because this was during some of most the tumultuous days of the Revolution. But it makes sense in the context of liberté and égalité, for it was, among other things, a way to share with everyday French citizens something that had, until now, been exclusive to high society.
Napoléon inspecting the works of Percier and Fontaine, painted by Auguste Couder.
Napoléon continued this mission of the Louvre as a place of art and beauty for all — also, he needed somewhere to store all of the art he had stolen on his various campaigns! (Like the horses atop the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, most would eventually be returned to rightful owners; Veronese’s glorious Wedding Feast at Cana is one that remained at the Louvre.) Napoléon also decreed that it was high time to restore a neglected Louvre, and complete it with a northern wing — which was now an easier job, thanks to the various demolitions that followed the Rue Saint-Niçaise bombing attempt.
Ph: Konstik/Dreamstime
So Percier and Fontaine got to work on beautifying the Louvre in numerous ways, including completing the lovely Cour Carrée. (Much of their interior design no longer exists, but walk through the Salles Percier and Fontaine to admire their gorgeous Empire style.) They were in the midst of constructing the Louvre’s northern wing, which now houses the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (above), when Napoléon was defeated at Waterloo, necessitating a putting-down of tools. The Louvre would finally be completed during the reign of Napoléon’s nephew … although poignantly, the Tuileries Palace, which by now served as the western wing of the complex, burnt down the year after Napoléon III’s abdication.
Also Not-to-Miss for Napoléon Fans …
Debauve & Gallais (30 Rue des Saints-Pères, 75007) is the most historically significant chocolaterie in town, with a classified interior that dates back to its 1817 opening and was designed, no less, by Napoléon’s beloved Percier and Fontaine.
Le Procope (13 Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie, 75006), now a restaurant that serves classic Gallic fare in a glittering olde-worlde setting, was originally — from 1686 — one of Paris’s first cafés, and served coffee along with an inspiring ambience to its philosophically-minded clientele. As the Revolution brewed, the crowds became more politically activist; the now-national motto ‘Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité,’ is said to have been coined here. Napoléon, as an up-and-coming mover and shaker, was by this time a customer, albeit a poor one … One of his famous bicorne hats is on display in a glass cabinet (above), said to have been left here one day by the man himself, in lieu of paying his bill with money.
Le Grand Véfour (17 Rue de Beaujolais, 75001). When Napoléon finally did have money, this jewel box of a restaurant was a favoured dining spot of the imperial couple.
Ph: Mkojot/Dreamstime
While Napoléon’s downfall was brutal, his exile punishing, and his death lonely, his remains made a triumphant return to Paris in 1840. Watched by thousands of Parisians (who had fallen back in love with their former Emperor once more), the horse-drawn hearse made its way from the Arc de Triomphe (which had finally been completed in 1836) down to Place de la Concorde, and then over to Les Invalides, where his tomb still rests under the gilded dome; to visit, buy a ticket to the Musée de l’Armée.
Saint-Mark Golden Basilica Sanctuary, Domes and Horses, in Venice Italy
St. Mark: A Low-rise Basilica
Saint-Mark TreasureCompared to its European contemporaries, the height of St. Mark's Basilica is remarkably modest.
At the same time, we saw that the construction of this third basilica responded more to political than religious considerations and that it had to be a grandiose building capable of impressing the world.
So why did they make it so modest in terms of its height?
There are several reasons for this.
The first is in Venice itself; it should not be forgotten that everything is built on water and that weight is an element that should be taken into account for any construction on stilts, be it a basilica or any Venetian palace.
Indeed, many bell towers in Venice are close to 90 metres in height, but, as is known, many of them have collapsed, starting with that of Saint Mark, whose collapse of 1902 was not the first.
Saint-Mark Apse's MosaicsThe second reason is that at that time, the current Piazza, between the Doge's Palace and the Marciana Library, did not exist.
It was still a dock that gave directly into the lagoon and stopped on the southern side of St. Mark's Basilica.
In front of the basilica, the dock ended into a canal that met the Rio di Palazzo.
All this meant that the southern part and south-eastern part of the basilica were fully reflected in the water, which “grew” the perspective.
Later, during the 12th century, the dock and canal were filled, questioning the basilica's “visual” appearance by changing its primitive spatial relationship.
The Domes of St. Mark's Basilica
Until the beginning of the 13th century, the basilica was significantly lower, outwardly speaking, than today.
Timber Structures of the cupolasThis interior-outer distinction is essential in the sense that if the domes of St. Mark's Basilica have actually been raised, only the outer "visible" part of it is heightened, without modifying the arches of the internal cupolas.
It simply means that the outer cupolas, made of a wooden frame and lead plates to cover it, just contain emptiness and are standing well above the inner cupolas of the basilica.
By this visual artifice, they were able to fill the lack of “visual” height, born after the disappearance of the canal and the dock and this by artificially heightening the cupolas of the basilica of Saint Mark.
It is true that when you are on St. Mark's Square, at the other end of it, the basilica of St. Mark seems very small in proportion to the square.
Saint-Mark Apse's MosaicsThe church is, in fact, on the outside, significantly wider than tall, which amplifies this visual effect of small size.
And this is perhaps one of the most beautiful surprises St. Mark's Basilica can offer to its visitors.
Crossing its threshold, you expect to enter a “small” church and barely have you entered that you are genuinely grasped by the imposing height of its domes.
Indeed, once inside St. Mark's Basilica, it is suddenly you who feel small.
Since then, it seems no longer so small, and, like many things in Venice, we have to know how to approach them without a priori to be able to see them better and appreciate them.
So let's forget about the lengths, widths and angles! Beauty is not to be measured!
The Horses of St. Mark Basilica: The Quadriga
Saint-Mark Basilica's HorsesThe horses of St. Mark appeared long after the third construction of St. Mark's Basilica.
They were a war trophy stolen in 1204 by the Venetians in Constantinople.
The Doge Enrico Dandolo sent them to Venice at the time of the fourth crusade, which had seen the Crusaders' capture of Constantinople, thanks to the help of the Venetians.
These horses belonged to an imperial quadriga coming from the island of Chios.
Saint-Mark's HorsesThey were then sent to Constantinople, where they were positioned on the high towers of the hippodrome.
On their origin, opinions diverge; some historians consider the Corinthian source, from the 4th or 3rd century BC.
Others say that they were made by Lysippos of Sicyon, a Greek sculptor and bronzer, for Alexander the Great, and that Tiridates I, king of Armenia, owned them and then offered them to Nero, in exchange for the crown he received from his hands.
After this gift, they would have been placed at the four corners of the colossal statue of Nero in Rome.
They were then transported by Emperor Constantine to Byzantium.
When they arrived in Venice, they were first stored at the Arsenal before being installed at the top of the basilica to reinforce its symbolic power.
“Before St. Mark still glow his steeds of brass, Their gilded collars glittering in the sun; But is not Doria's menace come to pass? Are they not bridled !” Lord Byron - Childe Harold Canto IV-XIII
To understand this allusion to Doria, it is worth knowing that the horses of St. Mark had become one of the symbols of Venetian power.
Pietro Doria, the Genoese admiral, promised in 1378 to the Venetians, during the war between Genoa and Venice, that after the Genoese capture of the island close to Chioggia, he would bridle the horses of Venice. What he did not succeed in doing!
Byron's poem was written after the fall of Venice and its occupation by Austrian troops.
“I was looking closely at the four bronze horses placed above the arcades of St. Mark's Church.
What a beautiful hitch!
I would have liked to hear him judge by a real horse connoisseur.
Seen on the terrace that supports these horses, they seem very heavy, but when you look at them from below, that is, from St. Mark's Square, they look light as deer.“ Goethe Memoirs - October 8 1786
These horses are indeed made to be watched from St. Mark's Square, and it is no wonder that Schopenhauer did not appreciate them at their fair value when he had the opportunity to see them in Paris, out of their context, and at a wrong level:
“It is in Paris, in the Tuileries Garden that in front of the castle, there are the famous four horses that Bonaparte brought back from Venice and which have always accompanied the conquerors.
But I don't find them as extraordinary as I imagined.“ Schopenhauer
They had indeed been stolen by Napoleon Bonaparte in Venice on December 7, 1797 and were not returned until 1815, where they return to their place on the Basilica Terrace.
They left their place twice again, but this time to protect them, during the first and last world war.
Finally, the horses you see today on the basilica are copies; the real horses, even more beautiful, are inside the church, in the museum of St. Mark's Basilica, sheltered from the bad weather.
Mosaics of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice
One of the most beautiful things that St. Mark's Basilica can offer to its visitors is undoubtedly its mosaics, both outside and inside it.
Saint-Mark Apse's MosaicsThey were initially highly Byzantine-inspired, and it is even believed that some Byzantine artists would have come to Venice especially to make them.
However, we do not have proof of this, especially since most of the original mosaics of the basilica have been replaced.
Their maintenance was indeed delicate, and most of the original mosaics deteriorated quickly, resulting in near-constant restorations.
Thus, rather than restoring existing mosaics, the Venetians, as they went on, simply replaced them with new mosaics, representing scenes that often correspond more to the moment's artistic tastes and religious themes.
The only original mosaic on St. Mark's facade represents the translation of the remains of Saint Mark on a background that represents the basilica around 1250.
Was Napoleon Bonaparte born French and was he really short?
Click Image to Enlarge.
Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) revolutionized warfare and changed Europe radically. Born in Ajaccio on the island of Corsica in 1769, he was the third son of Carlo Bonaparte. A copy of his birth certificate bears the mention "Giuseppo Nabulione Buonaparte". The Christian name Napoleon was given in memory of an uncle who died in 1767. Fifteen months before Napoleon's birth, the Republic of Genoa transferred on 15 May 1768 its sovereign rights over Corsica to the King of France. The definitive sovereignty was transferred just in time for the future general of the French revolutionary armies and Emperor, not to be born, neither Genoese, nor Corsican, but French. At the age of ten, Bonaparte arrived at the Royal Military School of Brienne, and spent five years studying there to become an artillery officer. He was commissioned at the age of 16 years and 15 days. For a time, Napoleon exercised his hegemony over a large part of Europe. It was only after the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig that French troops were forced in October 1813 to conduct a withdrawal, outnumbered by the coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Russia and Sweden. On 2 April 1814, the French Senate forced Napoleon to abdicate, and into exile, to rule the small Island of Elba. Ten months later, Emperor Napoleon I tried to regain power rapidly joined by veterans and followers. His fall was definitively sealed in 1815 when his troops were defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. The dazzling rise of the "Little Corporal" was stopped by another European figure, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852), nicknamed the "Iron Duke".
Napoleon still inspires devotion and hatred for winning a series of striking battles. At the height of his power, he ruled over 70 million people. Curiously, he is remembered for being short. In fact, this military genius was 1.70 m tall (5 feet 7 inches), no shorter than the average 1.65 m Frenchman. It's all about comparison. The Imperial Guard men had to be at least 1.70 m tall. Many were over 1.80 m (5 feet 11 inches) making Napoleon a small man by the waist among his soldiers. In addition, there was a difference in height between Napoleon's simple bicorne and the marshal's hats with white feathers, still playing against the Emperor. This is how the legend was created. In comparison, Wellington was about 1.75 m (5 feet 9 inches). Two great figures of European history, but as Napoleon himself put it "There is no immortality but the memory that is left in the minds of people".
The year 2019 is an interesting commemorative milestone as it marks the 250th birth anniversaries of both Napoleon and Wellington. On 3 April 2019, a first tribute – organized by the 'Souvenir Napoléonnien' – was celebrated in Paris in memory of Napoleon at the Church of La Madeleine, located next to Place de la Concorde. Songs, readings and music offered an array of the Emperor's youth, based on letters and writings that were read by Robert Hossein (30 December 1927 – ), French film actor, director, and writer. The location may surprise many since the Emperor's sarcophagus, designed by French architect Louis Visconti (11 February 1791 – 29 December 1853), is located under the dome of the Church of Saint-Louis des Invalides. Although Napoleon considered many projects during his reign, the Invalides was to become a temple of war, not his mausoleum. He only wished in his last will that "[his] ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people, whom [he has] loved so well." So why this choice? This man of ambition used and acknowledged the zeal of his soldiers. On 2 December 1806, an imperial decree launched a competition for "the construction of a temple to the glory of the French army on the [old church] site of the Madeleine". Napoleon's aim was to celebrate the achievements of his armies and veterans.
As this neoclassical jewel – designed by Pierre-Alexandre Vignon (1763 – 1828) – with its dome, paintings, and names of the men who took part in the battles of Ulm, Austerlitz and Iena (1805 – 1806) was nearly completed at the time of Napoleon's ashes being returned to the Invalides, it is most appropriate that the Church of the Madeleine was chosen to launch the anniversary tribute to a man who could not have shaped the world according to his personal vision without his soldiers. Shown in the photograph is the Church’s cupola of the choir which displays a mural entitled "The History of Christianity" (1835 – 1838). Completed by French painter Jules-Claude Ziegler (16 March 1804 – 25 December 1856), it illustrates Mary Magdalene ascending into heaven borne by three angels. "Beneath her is Napoleon in his coronation robes, positioned center stage, his figure directly aligned with Christ’s. Facing him is Pope Pius VII, with whom he signed the Concordat of 1801, a document which re-established the authority of the Catholic church in France after the Revolution…". This is the only fresco in a Parisian church to include a figure of Napoleon. It is worth noting that it took more than three decades from the time Napoleon awarded the building contract to the completion of this mural during the July Monarchy (1830 – 1848) under King Louis-Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850).
Also, while it is not known if an official commemorative ceremony was held for the 250th anniversary of Napoleon’s birth on 15 August 2019, there was a public event organized – 'La Nuit aux Invalides' – held from 12 July until 31 August 2019.
On this day, 15 August 2022, we celebrate the 253rd anniversary of the birth of Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French.
Napoleon’s Forgotten First Battle: La Maddalena, 1793
Napoleon got his first taste of battle in February 1793 at the siege of La Maddalena. By the year’s end, Napoleon was a general and a hero.
Jun 6, 2024 • By Dale Pappas, PhD Modern European History, MA History, BA History, Italian Studies
Napoleon’s name is synonymous with French history. But before Napoleon rose to power in France, he dreamed of becoming influential in his native Corsica. In fact, Napoleon made many decisions in his early life, believing that it could help further his career in Corsica rather than France. However, Napoleon’s participation in the failed attempt to seize La Maddalena in February 1793 contributed to a shift in his thinking about Corsica. By the end of 1793, this Corsican patriot had emerged as a rising star of the French Republic.
Napoleon’s Homeland: Corsica
Decorative Map of Corsica by Victor Levasseur, 1861. Source: Wikipedia Commons
In his book TheSocial Contract (1762), Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote of Corsica, “I have a presentiment that one day this small island will astonish Europe.” Indeed, the rebellion launched by the islanders against Genoese rule in the 1760s captured Europe’s attention. Even people in distant Boston and Philadelphia admired Corsica’s rebellious spirit. They tried to emulate it in opposing British policies on the eve of the American Revolution.
Corsican rebels continued their fight against the French, who purchased the north Mediterranean island of Corsica from Genoa in 1768. France formally annexed Corsica the following year and appointed Charles Louis de Marbeuf as the island’s governor.
But Rousseau’s statement equally applies to the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, born in Ajaccio, Corsica, on August 15, 1769. He was the second son of Carlo and Letizia Buonaparte. Despite aristocratic lineage, Napoleon’s parents were Corsican revolutionaries determined to upend Genoese rule. At first, they also backed resistance to the French, but soon realized loyalty presented opportunities for the family.
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Napoleon’s Youth
Napoleon Studying at Auxonne, 1788, by François Flameng. Source: Wikipedia Commons
Thanks to his family’s close ties to Marbeuf, Napoleon received admission to one of France’s military academies. Napoleon started school in France at age nine, first in Autun and then in Brienne. The young Napoleon impressed his instructors as he advanced through different academies.
Although initially recommended for naval service because of his knack for mathematics, Napoleon was soon placed on track for a career in the prestigious artillery branch of the French army. In 1785, he received his first commission in the French army as a lieutenant.
However, Napoleon longed to return to Corsica and found adjusting to life in France difficult. Indeed, at this point, Napoleon still signed his name “Napoleone di Buonaparte” rather than the Napoleon Bonaparte. Despite his promising academic record and French military commission, Napoleon spent most of the years 1786-1788 on leave from his regiment. Most of that time was spent in Corsica.
Napoleon grew interested in and supported republican ideals as the French Revolution unfolded. But at this stage, Napoleon saw the French Revolution as an opportunity for Corsica’s independence. In other words, Napoleon still saw his future in Corsica rather than Paris.
On this day in 1812, French Emperor Napoleon—who had massed his troops in Poland in the spring to intimidate Russian Tsar Alexander I—and 600,000 troops of his Grand Army launched an ill-fated invasion of Russia.How much do you know about Napoleon?
Painting by Jacques-Louis David. Napoleon in his office'.
5 May marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte. He is still the most famous ruler France has ever had. Despite his contradictory nature, he is undoubtedly one of the most important personalities in history. Many generations of French people have been filled with admiration, pride and unremitting interest in studying the life of the "little corporal" who became emperor.
Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769 on the island of Corsica. He became a successful and popular military leader and came to power in France in 1799. This was not enough for the ambitious Napoleon: he later crowned himself emperor.
With his armies, he conquered large parts of Europe in those years. However, the campaign in Russia in 1812 ended in defeat. Napoleon was exiled to Elba. But he escaped and within 100 days he was back in power in France. In 1815 he was finally defeated at Waterloo. The English bring him to the remote island of Saint Helena, where he finally dies in 1821, at the age of 51.
Was Napoleon a Freemason? Historians have no document that could confirm this, but there are some undeniable facts that show Napoleon's strong affiliation with Freemasonry. It was thanks to Napoleon that Freemasonry spread in Europe. He changed Freemasonry from a secret society, as it was until then, to almost an official state religion and united all French Lodges in the Grand Orient de France. On his native island of Corsica, Bonaparte grew up surrounded by Freemasons. His father and all three of his brothers were Freemasons, so there was undoubtedly a lot of talk about Freemasonry.
The youngest brother, Jerome Bonaparte (1784-1860) was initiated into Freemasonry at the age of 17 in the Mir Lodge in the east of Toulon. His Masonic career developed rapidly. A year later, in 1801, he became Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Westphalia, and in 1807 Napoleon made him King.
The elder brother, Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844), was initiated into the Loge La Parfaite Sincérité (The Perfect Sincerity) in the east of Marseille. In 1804 he became Grand Master of the Grand Orient de France and King of Naples, then King of Spain.
Finally, Louis Bonaparte (1778-1846), father of the future Napoleon III, served as Deputy Grand Master from 1803 to 1806, before being succeeded by Jean-Jacques Regis Cambasseres.
Napoleon's wife, Empress Josephine de Beauharnais (1763-1814), was initiated into a women's lodge in Strasbourg and held the position of Grand Master for some time.
Eugène de Beauharnais, Josephine's only son from her first marriage, at the age of 24, who had been given the title of Viceroy of Italy by her stepfather, became the founder of the Grand Orient of Italy and the High Council of Italy.
The support of Freemasonry in Europe by Napoleon, caused an unprecedented stir. Many soldiers, politicians, nobility and citizens wanted to become members of Freemasonry. Twenty-two of Napoleon's thirty Marshals, five of the six members of the Imperial Military Council and six of the nine government ministers were Freemasons. The reign of Bonaparte can be called the golden age of Freemasonry. In the 18 years that he was in power, the number of Masonic lodges in France increased from 300 to 1220, of which a large part were military lodges. Napoleon saw in Freemasonry a powerful tool to unite the army, which was very useful for his European ambitions.
Napoleon's Grande Armée, crosses the Berezyna River.
During his military operations in Europe, the International Brotherhood was an ideal instrument. Freemasonry, however, responded to the Emperor with reciprocity. Busts of the emperor were installed in many Masonic temples and any criticism of his rule was considered provocation. In 1801, the Loge Bonaparte was founded in Paris with the main task of glorifying the emperor's name. The lodge successfully survived exile and Napoleon's death and was not closed until 1871. It withstood the reactionary years thanks to the fact that it was carefully renamed Moderation Lodge.
It was the military officers, subordinates of Bonaparte, who took part in the Egyptian expedition that brought Freemasonry to the banks of the Nile. General Kleber founded Loge Isis in Cairo, also founded by Napoleon.
But the question remains. Although Napoleon made Freemasonry a part of his government policy, was he an active Mason? If he wanted to become a member, he would immediately receive the highest and most honourable title in the Order. If we know the character of Napoleon, the answer to this question is quite clear: it was not enough that he was "first among equals", he had to be "above" equality. The Bonaparte family came from an old Florentine aristocratic family. Napoleon had every right to add the title of Count to his family name, but he never took advantage of this opportunity. But neither did he want to be called a friar. For the same reason Napoleon once renounced the title of Marshal - it was enough for him that he was "de facto" commander-in-chief of the French army. Ranks and titles were in no way attractive to him. Napoleon was only interested in absolute power. After he was crowned Emperor of France, Napoleon got his ambition. He called the imperial throne, "a piece of wood" and sitting at the dinner table with the nobility of Europe, he would sometimes remark, "When I had the honor of being a junior lieutenant..." .
L'empereur had a nose for propaganda. When it was necessary to demonstrate the wealth and power of his empire, he was not stingy. His palaces were richly decorated with gold and the court was the most refined in Europe.
Coronation of Napoleon I as Emperor of France. Notre Dame, Paris. December 2, 1804.
After he became Emperor, Napoleon remained closely involved in Masonic affairs. At the execution site of King Louis XVI, he ordered an obelisk to be erected with a Masonic symbol, a five-pointed star. A bee, a Masonic symbol, was used in the creation of his personal imperial coat of arms. The bee is a very old symbol. In ancient Egypt, it accompanied the goddess Isis and had many meanings. For Napoleon, the bee meant a willingness to sacrifice for the country and the ability to rebirth.
Shortly after Napoleon came to power, on 22 June 1799, a nine-article memorandum was signed between the two largest French Grand Lodges, laying down specific rules. In particular, the Honorable Master was stripped of his exclusive privileges. A system for the election of officials was made compulsory for all lodges. Only a few Lodges in the Scottish Rite refused to join the Memorandum.
Thus, the fragmented French Freemasonry became a unified and homogeneous system, fully supported by Napoleon. Soon the 'Regulator of Freemasonry' was published - a set of rules and rituals for the lodges of Le Grand Orient de France. The Lodges under the Scottish Rite also made appropriate changes to their rules, but this took three years. As a result, the rituals were still not identical, but there was one Supreme Council of the 33rd degree. The decisions of this council were binding. The Emperor could influence every decision, as the High Council was meanwhile headed by his elder brother Joseph, who had become the Grand Master.
The 'Regulator of Freemasonry', which unified the activities of Freemasons, became a document that organically continued the reforms of Napoleon, along with the Constitution, the Civil Code, the system of universal education, a single award system of the state (the Order of the Legion of Honour), etc.
An engraving with a list of members of Loge Bonaparte. On the left is Bonaparte and on the right is Jean-Baptiste Willermose (1730-1824), who designed a system of High Degrees for Freemasonry in France and Germany.
Following France, the Freemasons of other European countries began to combine their rituals into one system. Marshal of the realm, Freemason Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, who became crown prince of Sweden, reformed the Swedish rite. The system of 12 Masonic degrees still exists.
Friedrich Ludwig Schröder, Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Hamburg, inspired by the ancient rites of the Knights Templar, developed his Rite, limited to three symbolic degrees. Today it is practised in some lodges in Germany, Hungary, Austria and Switzerland.
In Spain, the Grand Master Count François Joseph Paul de Grass also established a Masonic hierarchy under the leadership of the Supreme Council.
In 1806, to celebrate his triumph at Austerlitz, Napoleon decided to build the Arc de Triomphe. A team of builders and architects, composed entirely of Freemasons, was set up to carry out the project. Brother Jean-Baptiste Nomper de Champagny proposed the concept and chose the building site. The original plan was designed by the architect Charles-Louis Balzac (Loge Le Grand Sphinx, Paris) and the architect Jean-Francois Chalgren (Loge L'etoile Polaire, Paris). Freemasons created the relief on the arch. The sculptors François Rueud (north side, composition "Marseillaise") and Jean-Pierre Corto (south side, composition "Le monde viennoise"). The official government architect, Maison Pierre Fontaine, supervised the construction.
On the engraving from 1860, under the shadow of the emperor above whom The Eye of the Providence shines, are 61 historical figures from his time. On the left are Désé, Cambassaire, Kleber and the commanders Davaux, Lannes, Murat, Lasalle, Mathieu Dumas, among others. On the right: Washington, Frederick the Great, Alessandro Volta, Diderot, Lased, Lafayette, Parmatier, Helvetia.
Following the military leaders, Napoleonic Freemasonry was enthusiastically received by the most prominent figures of science and culture in France:
Pierre Simon de Laplace - mathematician, physicist and astronomer, one of the creators of probability and differential equations,
Charles Louis Cadet de Gassicourt - chemist, pharmacist and writer, founder of one of the first scientific journals, Le Bulletin Pharmalogique,
Artist Pierre Prudon (Loge Charity, Bonn),
Artist Francois Gérard (Loge Le Grand Sphinx, Paris),
Portrait painter Jean-Baptiste Isabé (Loge Saint Napoleon, Paris),
Actor Francois-Joseph Talma, reformer of theatrical art (Loge Union, Paris),
Academician Pierre Jean Georges Cabanie, physiologist and philosopher (Loge Les Neuf Sœurs, Paris),
Academician Joseph Lacanal, professor of philosophy, member of the monastery, organiser of the education system in France (Loge Le Point Idéal, Paris),
writer, publicist and politician Henri-Benjamin Constant, the most important representatives of French Romanticism in literature,
sculptor Claude Claudion (Les Amis Fidèles, Paris),
Alexander Bognard, professor of natural sciences, chemist, pharmacist, geologist, zoologist, botanist and palaeontologist (Loge Saint-Jean-du-Contrat, Paris),
architect Pierre Fontaine,
composer André Gretry, creator of the French comic opera,
Composer Luigi Cherubini, creator of the genre "opera salvage" (Loge Saint Jean de Palestine, Paris).
The legacy of Napoleon.
Perhaps the most famous legacy of Napoleon. He introduced the civil registry in the areas where he had power, in the Netherlands in 1811. Births, marriages, everything had to be registered from then on. Family names were already being used, but this ensured that your ancestors adopted their definitive family name. Useful for when you are doing genealogical research. But Napoleon simply wanted a good overview, so that he could levy taxes more easily.
When you get into your car now, you drive on the right side of the road. Thanks to Napoleon. In earlier times, knights on horseback rode on the left, so that they could more easily wield their sword or lance with their right hand. The rich French bourgeoisie stuck to the left. The common people usually walked on the right. But since the French Revolution in 1789, everyone was officially equal. Therefore, Napoleon decreed that right-handedness became the norm. It was also more convenient with the carriages and carts in those days. Countries which he did not conquer, such as Great Britain, continued to drive on the left.
Thanks to the French, we also have street names with even and odd house numbers. This system was first used in Paris, and later in all conquered regions. We also owe paved roads to Napoleon, who wanted straight lines between cities. Handy for moving his troops, of course. In France, these roads were called the Route Nationale; in Europe they are called Napoleon roads. The Amsterdamsestraatweg in Utrecht is an example of this. It was built by order of Napoleon in 1812, as part of the Route Impériale between Paris and Amsterdam.
A kilo of potatoes, a litre of milk, and, let's say, a metre of beer. Standard measures and measurements. Napoleon introduced the metric system in 1799. Before that, all kinds of different measures were used in Europe, such as inches, ells and feet. Napoleon found this inconvenient and confusing in his empire. And even if you don't realise it, you probably have to deal with it every day.
According to Napoleon himself, his most important legacy: the Code Napoleon, or the Code Civil. The French Civil Code, which laid down the principles of 'liberty, equality and fraternity', but also the separation of church and state, served as inspiration for law books in many countries. Napoleon eventually made his code compulsory in the Netherlands as well. By the way, equal rights did not apply to women in those Napoleonic days.
Abattoir, desk, purse, all words that came into vogue during the French era here in the Netherlands. From 1810 to 1813, French was even an official language here, alongside Dutch. It was also compulsory in education. Napoleon also carried out reforms there. Teachers became obliged to teach in class. Parents had to pay school fees. And he introduced the final exam.
Napoleon appointed his brother Louis king of the Netherlands in 1806, in order to retain as much influence as possible. This makes the Netherlands a kingdom for the first time. It forms the basis for the later monarchy. Iek ben konijn van Olland', said the French Louis when he took office, as he had difficulty with the Dutch pronunciation.
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Brother Louis Napoleon took up residence in the Town Hall on Dam Square, which has since become known as the Palace on Dam Square. He made Amsterdam the capital, and founded institutions that we still know today, such as the Rijksmuseum, the Royal Library and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).
Another striking structure that we owe to the Napoleons: the Pyramid of Austerlitz, near Woudenberg in Utrecht. A 17 metre high homage to Napoleon, constructed by French troops who were stationed there for a few months in 1804. The name Pyramid of Austerlitz was actually invented by Louis Napoleon. It is the place in the Czech Republic where his imperial brother defeated Russian and Austrian armies in a legendary battle.
Although not his invention, Napoleon did provide the impetus. In 1800, he offered a cash prize to anyone who could think of a way to keep food fresh for longer. After all, he needed this for his soldiers during their campaigns. French cook Nicolas Appert discovered pickling. By boiling vegetables in sealed bottles to kill the bacteria, they stayed good longer. Glass was too fragile for soldiers, so the canning jar was invented.
After the battle of Waterloo, where Napoleon lost his power and began his exile on the island of Elba, the golden age of the French Lodges came to an end. The restoration of the Bourbons as rulers and the persecution of the Bonapartists made activities of most Masonic Lodges downright dangerous. But even the dissolved Lodges were not closed. According to Masonic tradition, they were only declared as "sleeping Lodges". After the deposition of Louis Napoleon III and the proclamation of the Third Republic in 1870, French Freemasonry experienced its second golden age, thanks to the Napoleonic era.
Assunto anterior
Ph: Manjik/Dreamstime
Joaquin Phoenix as Emperor Napoléon crowning Vanessa Kirby’s Joséphine, with Lincoln Cathedral, England, playing the part of Notre-Dame.
The École Militaire, as seen from the Eiffel Tower.
Ph: Courtesy of Chteau de Malmaison.
Ph: Janis Smits/Dreamstime
Rue Saint-Niçaise, as seen on the 1730s Turgot Map of Paris.
Ph: Engin Korkmaz/Dreamstime.
Napoléon inspecting the works of Percier and Fontaine, painted by Auguste Couder.
Ph: Konstik/Dreamstime
Ph: Mkojot/Dreamstime
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