Les Invalides, La tombe de Napoleon (english&espanol)
NAPOLEON’S TOMB
Napoleon Bonaparte died on May 5th 1821 on the Island of St. Helena.
The remains of the emperor were brought back to France nineteen years later when England gave permission to transport them.
Louis Philippe sent his son, the prince of Joinville, to St. Helena to supervise the exhumation of the emperor’s body.
In September 1840 a French ship carried the body of Napoleon to le Havre (a port in the north of France), then they made the trip up the Seine as far as Paris.
On a snowy day, the funeral procession was followed by practically the entire city.
The body of the emperor was carried in a slow procession passing under the Arch of Triumph they travelling down the Champs-Elysées past place of Concorde until they reached the Dôme des Invalides where the remains rest today.
Two massive bronze statues stand guard at the crypt entrance, one bearing an orb, the other the imperial sceptre and crown.
Like an Egyptian pharaoh, the remains were placed in six coffins made from different materials and place one inside the other in the following order:
The first was made of tin
The second of mahogany
The 3rd and 4th were made of lead
The 5th of ebony
And the 6th of oak
These coffins were placed in a huge or mammoth sarcophagus, which was made of red granite and put in the crypt specifically signed by the great architect Visconti to hold the remains of Napoleon.
The church was built in the 17th century but the remains of Napoleon where placed in the 19th century, therefore Visconti had to design a special circular shaped crypt to preserve the original design of the church
Pradier sculpted 12 large statues called Victories that stand around the sarcophagus, holding a constant vigil to the emperor.
There is a circular in shape walkway surrounding the central crypt.
Laying the walls are bas-reliefs depicting scenes of Napoleon accomplishments.
La tumba de Napoleon I
Napoleon I, fue Emperador de los Franceses entre 1804 y 1814. Murió el 5 de mayo 1821, en la isla Santa-Helena dondé estaba exiliado desde 1815, después de la derrota de Waterloo. Fue enterado en esta isla, cerca de una fuente. Sus restos quedaron allá hasta 1840.
Fue aquél año cuando el rey Luis-Felipe decidió el traslado de sus cenizas.
El mismo año, el 15 de diciembre, funerales nationales fueron organizadas para la vuelta de las cenizas del Emperador,
Una tumba fue encargada por el rey, al arquitecto Luis Visconti. La Realizó en un bloque de roca roja, sobre un zócalo verde.
Como anécdota, hay dentro de este sarcófago 6 ataudes uno dentro de otro, como en las tumbas de los faraones egipcios.
Esta tumba está colocada en el centro de una corona de laureles, bajo la cúpola. Las inscripciones evocan las victorias de Napoleon I.
Su cuerpo fue inhumado en 1861, es decir a finales de la construcción de la tumba.
Por fín, alrededor de su sarcófago, hay otras tumbas de personajes importantes y especialmente las de dos hermanos de Napoleon, y la de su hijo.