Eglise du Dome and Napoleon's Tomb
From Paris Hotels Reviews
Eglise du Dome and Napoleon's Tomb
The Eglise du Dome (same hours and ticket as Musee de l’ Armee, opposite) has a separate entrance on the south side of the complex. Unlike its northern twin, the Soldiers’ Church, it’s a supreme example of architectural pomp, with Corinthian columns and pilasters, and grandiose frescoes in abundance. Napoleon lies In a giant hole in the floor in a sarcophagus of deep red quartizite, surrounded by giant guardian statues representing his military victories. Around the outside of the enclosure runs a circular gallery decorated with friezes representing the emperor’s civic triumphs, captioned with quotations of awesome (and occasionally accurate) conceit such as “By its simplicity my code of law has done more goods in France than all the laws which have preceded me”; and "Wherever the shadow of my rule has fallen, it has left lasting traces of its value". Napoleon’s shadow still fell heavily on Paris on December 14, 1840, the day on which his ashes, freshly returned from St-Helen, were carried through the streets from the newly completed Arc de Triomphe to Invalides. Even though Louis-Philippe, a Bourbon, was on the throne, and Napoleon’s nephew, Louis-Napoleon, had been imprisoned for attempting a coup four months earlier, the Bonapartists came out in force – half a million of them – to watch the emperor’s last Journey. Victor Hugo commented that "it felt as if the whole of Paris had been poured to one side of the city, like liquid in a vase which has been titled".
More affecting than Napoleon's tomb is the simple memorial to Marechal Foch, commander in chief of the allied forces at the end of World War I, which stands in the side chapel by the stairs leading down to the crypt. The marshal’s effigy is borne by a phalanx of bronze infantrymen displaying a soldiery grief, the whole chamber flooded by blue light from the stained-glass window.
